2 Kings 24:8-17

IV. THE REIGN AND DEPORTATION OF JEHOIACHIN 24:8-17

TRANSLATION

(8) Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months In Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. (9) And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD according to all which his fathers had done. (10) At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem; and the city came under siege. (11) And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants set siege against it. (12) And Jehoiachin king of Judah went out unto the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his princes and his officers; and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. (13) And he brought out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the house of the king; and he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the Temple of the LORD as the LORD had spoken. (14) And he took captive all Jerusalem and all the princes and the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none was left except the poor of the people of the land. (15) And he took away Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king, the wives of the king, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. (16) And all the men of might seven thousand, the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all the mighty men who were warriors; and the king of Babylon brought them captive to Babylon. (17) And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Eighteenth King of Judah
JEHOIACHIN BEN JEHOIAKIM
597 B.C.
(Yabweb will establish)

2 Kings 24:8-17

Contemporary Prophets
Jeremiah, Ezekiel; Daniel

Mother: Nehushta

Appraisal: Bad

Write this man down childless, a man who will not prosper in his days, Jeremiah 22:30

COMMENTS

Some confusion exists as to the age of Jehoiachin when he became king, but the figure eighteen must surely be correct.[674] His reign lasted three months, or to be more precise, three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9). Jehoiachin's mother Nehushta was of the powerful family of Elnathan, one of the chief princes under Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 26:22; Jeremiah 36:12; Jeremiah 36:25). Nehushta was probably the ruling spirit of the time during her son's short reign[675] (2 Kings 24:8).

[674] 2 Chronicles 36:9 gives his age as eight. In Hebrew the number eighteen is written with two words, the word for eight and the word for ten. In the process of copying the manuscript of Chronicles, some scribe must have accidentally omitted the word for ten.

[675] Nehushta is mentioned in Jeremiah 22:26; Jeremiah 29:2.

In spite of his brief reign, the author of Kings declares that Jehoiachin did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord. As in the case of similar evaluations of short-reigned kings, this statement probably means the Jehoiachin made no attempt at a religious reformation, but allowed the idolatries and superstitions which had prevailed under Jehoiakim and Jehoahaz to continue. Jeremiah called this king a despised broken idol and a vessel wherein is no pleasure (Jeremiah 22:28).

During most of the short reign of Jehoiachin, the armies of Nebuchadnezzar were encamped about the walls of Jerusalem.[676] The Great King himself was temporarily detained in a siege at Tyre, and so sent his servants to deal with Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:10). While the siege conducted by his generals was still going on, Nebuchadnezzar himself appeared on the scene, probably bringing with him additional forces (2 Kings 24:11). The Holy City was well fortified and could have withstood several months of siege. But Jehoiachin realized that further resistance would only bring upon his people incalculable hardship. Perhaps he hoped that if he surrendered Nebuchadnezzar would allow him to retain his throne as a vassal king. Whatever his motives, Jehoiachin and the leading citizens of Jerusalem walked through the gates of the city and surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar on March 16, 597 B.C., the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar[677] (2 Kings 24:12). This is the first instance in Kings of dating in terms of a foreign king. The Biblical record of Jehoiachin's surrender to Nebuchadnezzar is substantiated and supplemented by the Babylonian Chronicle.[678]

[676] The precise day on which the Chaldean forces arrived at Jerusalem cannot be determined. But the Babylonian Chronicle indicates that the siege began sometime after December 18, 598 B.C.

[677] The author here (as later in 2 Kings 25:8) uses the non-accession year method of computing the regnal years of Nebuchadnezzar. In this system, the first year of Nebuchadnezzar was only a few months long, from September 7, 605 till New Years (March-April) of 604 B.C. According to this system of counting, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar began in the spring of 598 B.C. Jehoiachin surrendered on Adar 2 (the second day of the twelfth month) of that eighth year. Jeremiah 52:28 uses the standard Babylonian system of countingwhere the months up until the first New Years were not countedand places this deportation in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar.

[678] See ANET, p. 564.

In addition to the royal captives, Nebuchadnezzar carried off from Jerusalem additional treasure from the Temple and palace.[679] These treasuries had been exhausted in the days of Hezekiah when the Assyrian Sennacherib demanded heavy tribute (2 Kings 18:15). But fresh accumulations had been made during the long reigns of Manasseh and Josiah. The vessels of gold made originally by Solomon were cut in pieces, i.e., had the gold stripped from them. These vessels would include articles of furniture, like the altar of incense and the table of showbread which were covered with golden plates, and other articles made wholly of the precious metal such as the lamp-stand, tongs, spoons, etc. This confiscation of the wealth of the nation had been prophesied by a long line of prophets.[680]

[679] According to Daniel 1:1, he had carried away some of the sacred Temple vessels in 605 B.C.

[680] 2 Kings 20:17; Isaiah 39:6; Jeremiah 15:13; Jeremiah 17:3 etc.

The statement that Nebuchadnezzar carried away all Jerusalem like so many other universal statements in the Bible is not intended to be taken literally. All Jerusalem means all that was important in the population of the citythe upper classes. This included the princes or nobles of the city, the professional soldiers and the skilled craftsmen[681] (2 Kings 24:14). Most prominent among the captives was Jehoiachin and his mother and wives and officers. All the mighty of the land, i.e., all the prominent citizens, were taken away to Babylon (2 Kings 24:15). The professional soldiers taken captive numbered some seven thousand, the skilled workmen another thousand and other ranking citizens two thousand making a total of ten thousand captives (2 Kings 24:16; cf. 2 Kings 24:14).

[681] There are still princes in Jerusalem under the last king (Jeremiah 38:4; Jeremiah 38:25; Jeremiah 38:27), and courtiers of rank (Jeremiah 38:7), and captains of forces (Jeremiah 40:7) and men of war (Jeremiah 52:7).

After the deportation of Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Mattaniah as king of Judah. Mattaniah was the third son of Josiah[682] to reign on the throne of David. The Great King demanded that his new vassal change his name. Mattaniah (Gift of Yahweh) chose the throne name of Zedekiah (Righteousness of Yahweh). This last king of Judah certainly made no attempt to live up to his new name; he made no effort to establish the righteousness of Yahweh in the land.

[682] 2 Kings 24:18 makes it clear that Mattaniah-Zedekiah was a son of Josiah (Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, was the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz). See also 1 Chronicles 3:15. The Hebrew text of 2 Chronicles 36:10 calls Zedekiah the brother of Jehoiachin. Brother is used here in the general sense of relative.