www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Scripture and Patristic Writings Prayer of Manasses

Dear Learned Friends,

Exactly where in Scripture does one find the Prayer of Manasses (one of many spellings)?

This text is an element of Great Compline. As I'm preparing materials for Great Compline with Lytia for the Eves of the Nativity and Theophany, I'd like to make a note of a scriptual reference.

Thanks!

Oυτις ημιν φιλει ου φροντιδα | Nemo Nos Diliget Non Curamus

It simply stands alone.

Dear Kobzar,

As your learned friends are still at lunch, I'll just say that the Prayer of Manasses is included as part of the deuterocanonicals of the Old Testament (i.e. RSV with Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical books).

Otherwise, one won't find it in the OT.

Alex

I see... Or to be more precise, I *don't* see... it in any of my Ukrainian Bibles, including the recent UOC-KP edition.

Thank you, Father Deacon.

Oυτις ημιν φιλει ου φροντιδα | Nemo Nos Diliget Non Curamus

In the Oxford RSV it is sim0ply included in the Deuterocanonical section as a book on its own. Wikipedia has this to say:

Prayer of Manasseh is a book included in the certain editions of the Greek Septuagint and in an appendix to the Latin Vulgate, but considered apocryphal by Jews, Catholics and Protestants alike. Jerome included the book in an appendix to the Vulgate "lest it perish entirely". In some editions of the Septuagint, it forms a part of the book of Odes; it is accepted as a deuterocanonical book by some Orthodox Christians, though it does not appear in Bibles printed in modern Greece, no matter whether these Bibles are in ancient or in modern Greek language. In the Ethiopian Bible, this text appears within 2 Chronicles.

This short book of only 15 verses is a penetential prayer attributed to the Judean king Manasseh, who is recorded in the Bible as one of the most idolatorous (2 Kings 21:1-18). However, after having been taking captive by the Assyrians, he prays for mercy (2 Chronicles 33:10-17) and turns from his idolatorous ways.

The Prayer of Manasseh is chanted during the Orthodox Christian service of Great Compline.

From the Net Bible's notes:

Although the Prayer of Manasseh is not regarded as canonical by Judaism, Protestantism, or Roman Catholicism, it is accepted as authoritative by the Eastern Orthodox churches. This document is not uniformly a part of Septuagint manuscripts. However, at the end of the Psalter the Greek manuscript codex Alexandrinus has some fourteen Odes, one of which is the Prayer of Manasseh. Apart from the title, the prayer itself does not indicate the name of the supplicant. It is thus possible to envision the prayer as appropriate to situations other than that of king Manasseh. Whether there may have been an original Hebrew or Aramaic form of this text is not known for certain. Most scholars seem to think that Jerome was unfamiliar with the Prayer of Manasseh, since he makes no mention of it when commenting on the biblical account of Manasseh. In addition to the Greek text of this prayer there are also translations into Latin, Syriac, Ethiopic, Old Slavonic, and Armenian. The present translation is based on the Greek text of the G�ttingen edition.
Of all the Davidic kings of the Old Testament none reigned longer than Manasseh (698-642 B.C.). He came to the throne as a twelve-year-old boy and reigned for some fifty-five years (2 Kgs 21:1; 2 Chr 33:1). However, his administration was not one viewed with favor by the biblical writers due to the enormity of his religious failures and his advocacy of many pagan practices. Reversing the reforms of his father Hezekiah, Manasseh encouraged the building of pagan altars and the worship of foreign deities; he was also responsible for putting to death many innocent people (2 Kgs 21:16). The following summary of his life is not encouraging: �He did evil before the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites� (2 Kgs 21:2; 2 Chr 33:2). Eventually Manasseh was deposed by the Assyrians who took him captive to Babylon, a humbling fate that the biblical historians interpreted as a fitting consequence of his sins. But while captive in Babylon Manasseh is said to have repented of his prior sins, praying for the Lord�s mercy and forgiveness. In answer to his prayer the Lord forgave him and restored him to his throne in Jerusalem (2 Chr 33:12-13). Although his prayer is not recorded in the Hebrew Bible, it is said to have been preserved in the archival records of the kings of Israel and in those of the prophets, neither of which has been preserved (2 Chr 33:18-19). It is the absence of this prayer from the biblical record that the apocryphal Prayer of Manasseh seeks to rectify. The author of this work voices a petition of the sort that Manasseh might have prayed while repenting and turning to the Lord during his stay in Babylon. The sincere piety so beautifully expressed in this prayer led to its finding considerable acceptance in early Christian liturgy. Apparently the earliest appearance of this work is found in the third century A.D. writing known as the Didascalia, which a couple of centuries later was included in the Apostolic Constitutions. The inclusion of the Prayer of Manasseh in these works probably played a significant role in later Christian familiarity with this work. The date of composition for the Prayer of Manasseh is uncertain, although most scholars favor a date in the first or second century B.C. The provenance of the Prayer is unknown, although some scholars suggest that its theology more closely resembles that of Palestinian Judaism during this period than that of Hellenistic Judaism (so, e.g., B. M. Metzger, Introduction to the Apocrypha, 125).

http://www.bible.org/netbible/prm1_notes.htm

This is another one of those subjects worthy of several dissertations. It is also interesting that the Greek and Russian canons of the Old Testament differ somewhat, the Greek containing I-III Maccabees, with IV Maccabees included as an appendix. The Russian OT does not include IV Maccabees at all but does II Esdras, with the Greek including IV Maccabees and not II Esdras. Both do include Psalm 151 and the Prayer of Manasses.
DD

Thank you, everyone!

Doamne Iisuse Hristoase, Fiul lui Dumnezeu, miluieste-mă pe mine păcătosul.

Dear Friends,

The Bible that Kobzar sent to me has, as I've discovered, the official "imprimatur" of Patriarch Lubomyr Husar (aka as "Major Archbishop" ) on the front!

This Bible has the complete Orthodox OT Canon - this is the first time any Orthodox Bible I am aware of (with the additional six books of the Orthodox OT) has been approved by an EC Hierarch.

Comments?

Alex

That prayer is so beautiful...

I just read it for the first time... made tears come to my eyes...

Even if it is not really the prayer of Manasses... it is still a wonderful prayer...