What of the tribe of Manasseh?

Question

Dear Gramps,

I am of the tribe of Manasseh and understand that all information of my tribe was contained in the 116 pages lost by Martin Harris. I would like to learn more of my tribe. Is there anything available? In the Bible dictionary, after Manasseh, it uses the adjective “forgetting?” What does this mean?

CS

Answer

Dear CS,

The word, Manasseh, is the English translation of the Hebrew, Mnashsheh, which means “causing to forget.” The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were part of the ten tribes who were carried captive into Assyria by Shalmaneser in 721 B.C. After being freed from captivity they migrated northward and were lost to the records of history. We know that Lehi was of the tribe of Manasseh and that Ishmael was of the tribe of Ephraim. So both the Nephites and the Lamanites carry the blood of both tribes. Here is a tidbit of information about the tribe of Manasseh from the works of Hugh Nibley.

“Now of all the tribes of Israel, Manasseh was the one which lived farthest out in the desert, came into most frequent contact with the Arabs, intermarried with them most frequently, and at the same time had the closest traditional bonds with Egypt. And Lehi belonged to the tribe of Manasseh (Alma 10:3). The prominence of the name of Ammon in the Book of Mormon may have something to do with the fact that Ammon was Manasseh’s nearest neighbor and often fought her in the deserts east of Jordan” (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.5, Part.1, Ch.2, p.38-39).

Gramps