דברי הימים ב, פרק ל״ג, פסוק י״ג

In a moment of profound despair, King Manasseh reaches out to God in prayer. The divine response to this desperate plea leads to a complete transformation in the king's life, sparking both his physical restoration to the throne in Jerusalem and a deep spiritual awakening.

The primary approach among commentators is that God simply accepts the king's prayer and answers his cry for help [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Alongside this straightforward understanding, a deeper layer of interpretation reveals a vivid picture of divine mercy. Based on an ancient tradition, there is a conceptual link between the act of answering a prayer and the act of digging a tunnel. This connection stems from a linguistic exchange of similar-sounding guttural letters, a phenomenon also recognized in other regional languages like Arabic [מנחת שי].

Through this lens, a striking image emerges: God, as it were, dug a secret tunnel through the heavens to receive Manasseh's repentance. This hidden pathway was necessary to bypass the strict attribute of divine justice, which fiercely opposed forgiving the king for his extensive history of sin [מנחת שי]. Ultimately, this remarkable process of hidden mercy achieves its purpose. After God hears the plea and restores the king to his royal seat, Manasseh undergoes a profound internal shift. He arrives at a genuine recognition that God is the true God, completing his sincere return to Him [ביאור שטיינזלץ].