Two Assyrian kings, listing the vassals they compelled to supply materials for their building projects, both name “Manasseh, king of Judah.” It is a matter-of-fact administrative mention, from Judah's overlords, of the same long-reigning king the Bible describes as a tributary of Assyria — and it fits the picture in Chronicles of Manasseh dragged in chains to Babylon.
- What it is
- Assyrian royal inscriptions (clay prisms) of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal listing vassal kings who paid tribute, among them Manasseh of Judah
- Date of artifact
- mid-7th century BC
- Discovered
- the palace archives of Nineveh, Iraq (the British Museum expeditions of Layard and Rassam)
- Where it is now
- British Museum, London
- Related to
- King Manasseh of Judah, Assyria's vassal
- Scripture
- 2 Kings 21 · 2 Chronicles 33:11
What this find showsThat Manasseh was a real king of Judah and an Assyrian vassal in exactly the period the Bible places him.
What it does not proveIt confirms his existence and vassal status, not the account of his repentance in 2 Chronicles 33.
Sources & further reading