2 Kings 25:18-21

VII. THE AFTERMATH OF THE FALL OF JERUSALEM 25:18-30

Chapter 25 closes with a series of notices which are somewhat in the nature of an appendix. The author speaks here of (1) the execution of certain Jewish leaders (2 Kings 25:18-21); (2) the appointment and assassination of Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:22-26); and (3) the release of King Jehoiachin (2 Kings 25:27-30).

A. THE EXECUTION OF JEWISH LEADERS 25:18-21

TRANSLATION

(18) And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and three of the keepers of the threshold; (19) and from the city he took an officer who was appointed over the men of war, and five men from those who had served in the presence of the king which were found in the city, and the scribe of the captain of the host, the one who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men from the people of the land which were found in the city; (20) and Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them unto the king of Babylon to Riblah. (21) And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them in Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went captive from upon their land.

COMMENTS

To the account of the fall of Jerusalem is appended a listing of the prominent persons taken to Riblah and executed before Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuzaradan selected those who were highest in authority and therefore most responsible for the prolonged resistance of Jerusalem. First, the author mentions the religious leaders who met this untimely death. At the head of these officials was Seraiah the chief of priests. Seraiah came from a noble line of priests, being the grandson of the great priest Hilkiah who had assisted so ably in the reforms under good King Josiah. After Seraiah, Zephaniah the second priest is named. It is not entirely clear what the office of second priest entailed. According to 2 Kings 23:4 there were several second priests. This Zephaniah is probably the Zephaniah son of Maaseiah of whom so much is said in the Book of Jeremiah.[693] Three keepers of the threshold were also among those executed at Riblah. These must have been high-ranking clergy who supervised the four thousand Levites (1 Chronicles 23:5) whose duty it was to prevent any disturbance or desecration of the Temple (2 Kings 25:18).

[693] See Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:25-29; Jeremiah 37:3.

In the second category of those executed at Riblah are certain officials of state. The first such official is not named but is designated as the officer that was set over the men of war. Some commentators have suggested that this gentleman was the general who commanded the city garrison; others propose that he was a civilian official equivalent to minister of defense or the like. Five men who saw the king's face, i.e., who were part of the king's personal entourage, were also executed.[694] The scribe of the captain of the host is next listed among the officials who were slain. His job had been to muster the people of the land. A scribe in Old Testament times was not merely a stenographer. Some of the highest officials of state are called scribes. This particular scribe was likely the head of the war department of Judah (2 Kings 25:19). All these prisoners were brought before King Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (2 Kings 25:20) and were slain.[695] All the other important people of Judah were deported to Babylon (2 Kings 25:21).[696]

[694] Jeremiah 52:25 mentions seven such courtiers who were slain. Perhaps two such officials were slain either sometime before or sometime after the massacre being narrated in 2 Kings 25. Jeremiah would then be giving the totals whereas Kings would be giving only partial figures of one specific execution.

[695] Whether or not this was the same day on which Zedekiah's sons were slain and his eyes blinded cannot be determined.
[696] For a discussion of the problems relating to the numbers of Jews carried away to Babylon, see Smith, JL, pp. 832-34.