Overview
The Bible addresses manasseh, the tribe of across 56 verses, drawn from the Old Testament. These passages cluster most in Numbers, Joshua and 1 Chronicles. Closely related themes include Children, Tribes of Israel, the, Noah and Daughter. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Moses, Zelophehad, David and Joseph.
Key Bible verses about manasseh, the tribe of
Old Testament
Genesis
Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: branches: Heb. daughters
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
Numbers
On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh:
His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:
One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:
One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:
One kid of the goats for a sin offering:
And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead come the family of the Gileadites.
These are the sons of Gilead: of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites:
And of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites:
And of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.
And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.
Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. done: Heb. diminished
And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.
And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.
And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.
And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.
And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Deuteronomy
And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, put: Heb. thrust moon: Heb. moons
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. unicorns: Heb. an unicorn
Joshua
And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families.
And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities:
And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families.
There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.
And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;
Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah.
Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;
And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea: river Kanah: or, brook of reeds
Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.
And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.
1 Chronicles
And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads. to the: Heb. on our heads
As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zilthai, captains of the thousands that were of Manasseh.
And they helped David against the band of the rovers: for they were all mighty men of valour, and were captains in the host. against: or, with a band
And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, which were expressed by name, to come and make David king.
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, which could keep rank: they were not of double heart. expert: or, rangers of battle, or, ranged in battle keep: or, set the battle in array not: Heb. without a heart and a heart
And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand.
And of the Danites expert in war twenty and eight thousand and six hundred.
And of Asher, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, forty thousand. expert: or, keeping their rank
And on the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, an hundred and twenty thousand.
People in the Bible and manasseh, the tribe of
Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.
In the Bible dictionary
Studying manasseh, the tribe of for yourself
- Begin with Genesis 49:22, then read the passages below in canonical order.
- Compare how Numbers, Joshua and 1 Chronicles each treat the theme.
- Consider the lives of Moses, Zelophehad and David and how their stories intersect with it.
- Widen the study to related themes: Children, Tribes of Israel, the, Noah and Daughter.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about manasseh, the tribe of?
The Bible addresses manasseh, the tribe of across 56 verses, drawn from the Old Testament. These passages cluster most in Numbers, Joshua and 1 Chronicles. Closely related themes include Children, Tribes of Israel, the, Noah and Daughter. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Moses, Zelophehad, David and Joseph.
How many Bible verses are about manasseh, the tribe of?
The Bible references manasseh, the tribe of in 56 verses (King James Version).
Where does the Bible first mention manasseh, the tribe of?
In canonical order, the first of these passages is Genesis 49:22: “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: branches: Heb. daughters”
Which people in the Bible are associated with manasseh, the tribe of?
Moses, Zelophehad, David, Joseph and Eleazar.
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