Editing Tribe of Manasseh (section)

==Biblical narrative==
According to the Tanakh, the Tribe of Manasseh was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes from after the conquest of the land by [[Joshua]] until the formation of the first [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]] in c. 1050 BC. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as [[Biblical judges|Judges]] (see [[Book of Judges]]). With the growth of the threat from [[Philistine]] incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong centralised monarchy to meet the challenge, and the Tribe of Manasseh joined the new kingdom with [[Saul]] as the first king. After the death of Saul, all the tribes other than [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] remained loyal to the House of Saul, but after the death of [[Ish-bosheth]], Saul's son who succeeded him to the throne of Israel, the Tribe of Manasseh joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making Judah's king [[David]] the king of a re-united Kingdom of Israel. However, on the accession of David's grandson [[Rehoboam]], in c. 930 BC the northern tribes split from the [[Davidic line|House of David]] and from Saul's tribe [[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]] to reform [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel as the Northern Kingdom]]. Manasseh was a member of the Northern Kingdom until the kingdom was conquered by [[Assyria]] in c. 723 BC and the population deported.

From that time, the Tribe of Manasseh has been counted as one of the ten lost tribes of Israel.