Manasseh is the firstborn son of Joseph and Asenath, and the eponymous ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The name means "causing to forget," from the Hebrew root nashah, as Joseph declared: "God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house" (Genesis 41:51). In the Qabalistic schema of Liber 777, Manasseh corresponds to Path 17, the seventeenth path of the Tree of Life, which is attributed to the Zodiacal sign Gemini and the Hebrew letter Zain. This path connects Binah (Understanding) to Tiphareth (Beauty), forming a route of rational analysis and duality that mirrors the tribe's historic division across the Jordan.

Position on the Tree of Life

Manasseh appears on the Tree of Life at Path 17, which falls between the sephiroth Binah and Tiphareth. This is the path of the Sword, the Twin Path, governed by Gemini. The placement reflects the tribe's dual inheritance, half settling east of the Jordan in the fertile lands of Gilead and Bashan, the other half west in the central highlands. The two halves of Manasseh functioned as distinct communities yet retained a single tribal identity—a resonance with the twin nature of the zodiacal sign.

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Historical context

Manasseh's historical significance is shaped by its double territory and its loss of identity following the Assyrian conquest. According to the biblical narrative, Manasseh was allotted the largest share of land among the northern tribes, stretching from the Jordan River to Mount Carmel and including strategic cities such as Megiddo, Beth-Shean, and Dor. The eastern half of Manasseh, settled by the families of Machir and Gilead, was renowned for its warriors and briefly held the core of the Israelite kingdom under Gideon and Abimelech.

Notably, Manasseh is the progenitor of the only tribe whose land straddles the Jordan, a geographical distinction that underscores its pivotal role in maintaining a connection between the Transjordanian tribes and the western heartland. The tribe's symbol is often given as a wild ox or an olive tree, reflecting strength and fruitfulness.

The later history of Manasseh is one of absorption and loss. Following the Assyrian deportation of the northern kingdom in 722 BCE, the ten tribes, including Manasseh, ceased to exist as a coherent nation. In rabbinic literature, Manasseh is remembered as representing the principle of forgetting—a necessary forgetting that allows for spiritual growth, not mere erasure. The medieval Kabbalistic text Sefer ha-Bahir alludes to the partitioning of Manasseh as emblematic of divine providence operating through hidden channels, a theme consonant with Path 17’s function as a conduit of intellectual differentiation.

In Liber 777, Manasseh stands at Path 17, paired with Gemini and the letter Zain, as one of the three tribes on this path (along with Gad and Ephraim in different systems). Here it signifies the power of discrimination that arises from division—the ability to distinguish, to classify, and to remember amid forgetting.