Manasseh

Today’s name is Me•na•she (pronounced like Me•na•sheh), Manasseh.

You may remember that Jacob, who wanted to marry Rachel and worked for 7 years to win her, was cheated by her father, Laban, who gave him at the wedding night his other daughter, Leah, instead of Rachel. He was forced to serve Laban for 7 more years for the right to marry Rachel, whom he loved. According to the Hebrew Bible, Leah was hated by Jacob, but God opened her womb and gave her six sons and one daughter, while Rachel was still barren. With the births of Joseph and Benjamin Rachel’s honor was restored by God, though she died while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin.

While Bin•ya•min (Benjamin) became the father of one of the 12 tribes of Israel, his brother, Yosef (Joseph) never did. Joseph’s first-born son, Manasseh, became a father of a tribe. Manasseh was the son of Joseph and his Egyptian mother, Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On.

“And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh; ‘For God,’ said he, ‘has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house’”

In this verse, the English translation is correct, and the name, Me•na•she, indeed comes from the verb ‘linshot,’ which means ‘to make someone forget.’ Note that there is another biblical meaning to this word that means ‘to dry out.’