2 Kings 21

Following the death of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20, this chapter covers the reigns of his son Manasseh and his grandson Amon. It immediately precedes the account of the reforms of Josiah, which begins in chapter 22.

Outline

• Verses 1–9 Manasseh becomes king at the age of twelve and reigns fifty-five years. He rebuilds the high places (altars erected on elevated sites) that Hezekiah had torn down, makes altars for Baal and an Asherah image ("grove" in the KJV), and builds altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the temple. He makes his son pass through the fire and practices divination and enchantments.
• Verses 10–15 The LORD declares through His servants the prophets that He will bring disaster upon Jerusalem and Judah. He says that He will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab.
• Verses 16–18 Manasseh sheds a great deal of innocent blood. He dies and is buried in the garden of Uzza.
• Verses 19–26 Amon becomes king at the age of twenty-two and reigns two years, walking in the ways of his father. His servants conspire against him and kill him; the people of the land then kill the conspirators and make Josiah king.

Key Verses

• 2 Kings 21:3 "For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed" — shows that Hezekiah's reforms were overturned within a single generation.
• 2 Kings 21:12 "whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle" — a characteristic expression in the announcement of Judah's destruction.
• 2 Kings 21:16 "Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much" — cited, together with his idolatry, as one of Manasseh's sins.

People and Places

• Manasseh: King of Judah; son of Hezekiah.
• Hephzibah: Mother of Manasseh.
• Amon: Son of Manasseh; king of Judah who was assassinated after reigning two years.
• Ahab: King of the northern kingdom of Israel, mentioned as an example of idolatry.
• David, Solomon, Moses: Mentioned in connection with the promises concerning the temple and the law.
• Jerusalem, Samaria: Jerusalem is the object of judgment, and Samaria serves as the standard of comparison.

Points for Reflection

• 2 Kings does not record Manasseh's repentance, but 2 Chronicles 33 relates that he was carried off to Babylon, humbled himself in prayer, was restored, and removed the foreign gods. This is explained as a difference in perspective between the two books.
• The Prayer of Manasseh, traditionally attributed to him, is classified among the Apocrypha and is not included in the Protestant canon.
• The account that the prophet Isaiah was martyred by being sawn asunder during Manasseh's reign is a later Jewish and Christian tradition and does not appear in the biblical text. It is sometimes read in connection with Hebrews 11:37.
• 2 Kings 23:26 and 24:3–4 again cite the sins of Manasseh as the cause of Judah's downfall.
• Manasseh and Amon are named in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:10.