Commentaries:
Manasseh was the son of the second or third best king that Judah ever had. A list of the three best kings of Judah, hands down, begins with David, and he stands in a class of his own because every king is compared to him, even the good ones. He is the standard. Only three other kings are compared favorably to David: Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah. God seems to draw special attention to Josiah as having been the second best, with Hezekiah being the third, and Jehoshaphat the fourth. That is my own list, but it has sound biblical reasoning behind it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Why Three Kings Are Missing From Matthew 1
King Manasseh devastated the worship of the true God. As usually happens when the leadership is corrupt, the nation fell apart as well. What God has recorded here has New Covenant significance. Though this happened carnally to the people under the Old Covenant, they were recorded for the admonition of those under the New Covenant (I Corinthians 10:11). The same mistakes must not be repeated.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Guard the Truth!
Library resources that contain this verse: