along in Jewish history. There is a fascinating story about how this came about. The Jewish people had come to be divided into two nations. The northern nation, or kingdom, was called Israel. The southern kingdom was called Judah. Judah had been ruled for more than fifty years by a king named Manasseh. From the point of view of Jewish religion—the religion of Yahweh—he was an unacceptable king. He promoted the worship of many different gods, and during his reign, every community or village had its