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4 sty 2022 · Ancient Jewish-Christian tradition suggests that Isaiah was martyred by King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah. According to the tradition, Isaiah was tied inside a sack, placed within the hollow of a tree trunk, and then sawed in two.
Manasseh said to Isaiah, "Moses, thy master, said, 'There shall no man see God and live' [Ex. xxxiii. 20, Hebr.]; but thou hast said, 'I saw the Lord seated upon his throne'" (Isa. vi. 1, Hebr.); and went on to point out other contradictions—as between Deut. iv. 7 and Isa. lv. 6; between Ex. xxxiii. 26 and II Kings xx.
Manasseh and Isaiah have a tumultuous relation ship from the start, when Hezekiah invited Isaiah to the court to meet his sons. Isaiah prophesied then that Manasseh would be evil. After Manasseh becomes king, Isaiah tells him the temple will be destroyed. Infuriated, the king orders Isaiah’s arrest.
Relations with Assyria. When Manasseh's reign began, Sennacherib was king of Assyria, who reigned until 681 BC. Manasseh is mentioned in Assyrian records as a contemporary and loyal vassal of Sennacherib's son and successor, Esarhaddon.
Manasseh shed very much innocent blood: This puts Manasseh, king of Judah, in the same spiritual family as Ahab, king of Israel. Under both of these kings – among others – the people of God were persecuted by the religion of state-sponsored idolatry.
Isaiah, on account of Manasseh's evil doings, flees into the desert with several other prophets; then, accused by Balkira, a Samaritan, he is seized by Manasseh, in whose heart Beliar (Belial) reigns.
Rabbinical lit. places emphasis upon the idea that Manasseh was even more evil than Ahaz, and that he killed Isaiah, who had fled and hid in a tree, by sawing him asunder. When Manasseh’s immediate successor, Josiah, came to the throne the supreme need was religious revival ( 2 Kings 23:26 ).
