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Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
mə·naš·šeh šə·têm ‘eś·rêh ben- šā·nāh ḇə·mā·lə·ḵōw mā·laḵ bî·rū·šā·lim wa·ḥă·miš·šîm wə·ḥā·mêš šā·nāh ’im·mōw ḥep̄·ṣî- wə·šêm ḇāh
Word by word15 · parsed
√ Mᵉnashsheh — Menashsheh, a grandson of Jacob, also the tribe descended from him, and its territoryNounpropermasculine singular
√ shᵉnayim — twoNumberfd
√ ʻâsâr — ten (only in combination), iNumberfeminine singular
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular construct
bên: a son, in the widest sense The Hebrew counts age as sonship (a son of twelve year), which is why the word is doing more than arithmetic here. Barnes and K&D both draw the same inference from the number: at twelve in his accession year, Manasseh was not yet born when Hezekiah lay dying in 2 Kings 20:1, so this child is the fruit of the added fifteen years.
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
√ mâlak — to reignPreposition-bVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular
mâlak: to reign (Qal infinitive construct) An infinitive with suffix, in his reigning, subordinating the whole clause to the age. Ellicott takes the early accession as itself explanatory of the apostasy that follows; Pulpit and JFB reach for a regency or a guardianship. The text supplies the twelve years and no regent, and the Verifier's candidates supply no regency anywhere.
√ mâlak — to reignVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
mâlak: to reign (Qal perfect) The finite form, reporting a completed fifty-five-year reign. Benson and Gill both note that the years of the Babylonian captivity of 2 Chronicles 33:11 are reckoned inside this total, not added to it.
√ Yᵉrûwshâlaim — Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of PalestinePreposition-bNounproperfeminine singular
√ chămishshîym — fiftyConjunctive wawNumbercommon plural
√ châmêsh — fiveConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
√ ʼêm — a mother (as the bond of the family)Nounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular
ʼêm: a mother, as the bond of the family The queen-mother formula is standard in Kings, but Cambridge observes that Chronicles omits her name entirely here.
√ Chephtsîy bâhh — Cheptsi-bah, a fanciful name for Palestine
√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
√ Chephtsîy bâhh — Cheptsi-bah, a fanciful name for PalestineNounproperfeminine singular
Chephtsîy bâhh: my delight is in her The lexeme H2657 occurs in only two verses in the canon: here, and Isaiah 62:4, where it is the new name of the restored Zion. The Verifier confirms the pair. So the mother of the worst king in Judah carries, as a personal name, the word God will one day speak over the city her son defiled, which is the sharpest irony in the chapter and is entirely a matter of sourced lexical fact, not invention.