2 Chronicles 33:11

Which took Manasseh. This section dealing with Manasseh’s captivity and repentance and his restoration and reforms (vs. 11-17) is peculiar to Chronicles. Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C.) and Ashurbanipal (669-627? B.C.) both list Manasseh among the kings of Western Asia who were their vassals.

Thorns. Heb. chochim, which some interpret as thorns put through noses or cheeks of captives to lead them on a rope. Assyrian reliefs picture distinguished captives as being led away by hooks passed through their lips or nostrils (see Isa. 37:29; cf. Amos 4:2).

Others interpret chochim as “hollows,” “recesses.”

Carried him to Babylon. Babylonia was part of the Assyrian Empire, and a number of Assyrian kings with the title of king of Babylon reigned over it as well as over their own nation of Assyria (see Vol. II, pp. 61, 156, 157). It was thus that an Assyrian king could take a king of Judah captive to Babylon rather than to Nineveh. The king who took Manasseh to Babylon could have been either Esarhaddon, who ruled Assyria and Babylon throughout his reign, or Ashurbanipal, who took the title for a short time, although during most of his reign Babylon was governed by a separate king under Assyrian supervision.