Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT
The aim of this article is to show that the empire praises loyal vassals and punishes disloyal ones. This is done by juxtaposing the contradictory images of King Manasseh of Judah and the images of leaders of two Southern African countries: Zimbabwe and South Africa namely, President Robert Mugabe, the late President Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. The article observes that King Manasseh of Judah was negatively depicted in the Bible (cf. 2 Kings 21:1-18; 2 Chron. 33:1-20) and was described by his own people as the worst king ever to rule over them. Yet the same Manasseh was described 'positively' by foreigners as was confirmed by Assyrian archaeological documents, in which Assyrian kings described him as one of their most loyal vassal kings ever to rule over Judah. As such Manasseh reigned 55 years, the longest reign in the history of Israel. This article argues that these two contradictory images of King Manasseh are consistent with how African leaders are presented today. African leaders who are described by their own people as bad are praised by the West as good and role models for Africa. On the other hand, African leaders who are characterised by Africans as heroes and role models are described by the West as bad, violent and terrorists.
1. INTRODUCTION
Both the Deuteronomistic History (DH) and the Chronicler agree that Manasseh was one of the worst kings that ever ruled the Israelites (cf. 2 Kings21:l-18;2Chron. 33:1-9). They both believe that it was on account of Manasseh's evil deeds that God destroyed Judah; its citizens captured and sent into exile. Among serious charges against Manasseh was the shedding of innocent blood, enough to fill Jerusalem. While this may imply his killing of worshippers of Yahweh who rej ected his call to worship Assyrian gods, the phrase 'shedding innocent blood' could be a reference to oppression of the poor or the underprivileged, a theme profusely attested in prophetic literature (Jer 7:6; 22:3,17; Ezek 22:6-7) (Hulbert, 2008, p. 73). While the Chronicler and the DH generally agree that Manasseh was an evil king, the two strands of Israelite history differ on their presentation of the end of Manasseh's reign. For instance, in the Chronicler, there is a record of Manasseh's...