Manasseh's Long Shadow
This is the total number of years Manasseh occupied the throne of Judah, the longest reign of any Davidic king.
What is 55 years?
This empire’s king (likely Esarhaddon or Assurbanipal) captured Manasseh and took him away in chains.
What is Assyria?
Amon was this many years old when he began his reign.
What is 22?
Josiah was famously this age when he was crowned king.
What is eight?
Josiah appointed three "overseers" to manage the workers repairing the Temple; they were of this priestly tribe.
What are Levites?
Rawlinson notes that Manasseh did not just neglect Hezekiah’s reforms, but actively did this to the "high places" his father had destroyed.
What is rebuilt/Restored them?
Manasseh was not taken to Nineveh, but to this city, which Rawlinson notes served as a secondary capital for Assyrian royalty.
What is Babylon?
Rawlinson describes Amon’s reign as a "brief and disastrous" period that lasted only this long.
What is two years?
In the eighth year of his reign, while still a teenager, Josiah began to do this.
What is "seek after the God of David"?
The money for the repairs was collected from the people by these specific Temple workers.
What are the doorkeepers?
According to Rawlinson, Manasseh introduced the worship of "all the host of heaven," which refers to these celestial bodies.
What are the sun, moon and stars?
This physical restraint, mentioned by Rawlinson, was used to lead Manasseh away, often interpreted as a hook through the nose or lips.
What are "among the thorns" or manacles/hooks?
Unlike his father, Amon is noted for never doing this before his death.
What is humbling himself/repenting?
Josiah’s purge of idolatry began in this year of his reign, according to the chronicler and Rawlinson.
What is the 12th year?
Rawlinson notes that the workmen were so honest that no "reckoning" or this was made with them for the money.
What is an accounting/audit?
Manasseh placed a "graven image of the grove" (an Asherah pole) inside this most holy structure.
What is the Temple/House of the Lord?
Upon his return to Jerusalem, Manasseh built an outer wall for this specific part of the city to strengthen its defenses.
What is the City of David/Ophel?
Amon met his end not by foreign invasion, but by this group within his own household.
What are his servants/officials?
Rawlinson points out that Josiah’s reforms extended beyond Judah into the territory of this fallen kingdom.
What is Israel/the Northern Kingdom?
This scribe was sent by Josiah to the High Priest to check on the progress of the Temple funds.
Who is Shaphan?
Rawlinson highlights Manasseh’s cruelty, stating he filled Jerusalem from one end to the other with this.
What is innocent blood?
Rawlinson observes that Manasseh’s late-life repentance resulted in the removal of these from the Temple.
What are foreign gods/idols?
Rawlinson notes that "the people of the land" did this to the conspirators who killed Amon.
What is executed/slew them?
This man served as the High Priest during the early part of Josiah’s reign and oversaw the Temple repairs.
Who is Hilkiah?
The primary materials purchased for the restoration were "hewn stone" and this type of organic material.
What is timber/wood?