Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
Parallel Translations
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Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
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Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
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Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months; and his mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 24:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Chronicles 3:16 The sons of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, and Zedekiah his son.
- 2 Chronicles 36:9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight.
- Jeremiah 22:24 “As I live,” says Yahweh, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on my right hand, I would still pluck you from there.
- Jeremiah 22:28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? Is he a vessel in which no one delights? Why are they cast out, he and his offspring, and cast into a land which they don’t know?
- Jeremiah 24:1 Yahweh showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs were set before Yahweh’s temple, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 37:1 Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.
- Matthew 1:11-12 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 24:8 Jehoiachin [was] eighteen years old when he…
2Ki 24:8 Jehoiachin [was] eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name [was] Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
Ver. 8. Jehoiakin was eighteen years old,] sc., When he began to reign alone. See 2Ch 36:9. Mutavit Iudaea dominos, non miserias. This king is also called Jechonias, {Mat 1:11} and Coniah - that is, prepared, sc., for destruction; {Jer 22:24} the name of God - whom he had forsaken - being defalked. {a}
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{a} [Withdrawn; i.e., Je (Jehovah) left out of his name Jeconiah.]
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to…
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign.
Object. He was then but eight years old, 2Ch 36:9.
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Answ. 1. Both are true; in his eighth year he began to reign with his father, who made him king with him, as divers other kings of Israel and Judah had done in the like times of trouble; and in his eighteenth year he reigned alone.
2. He is called a son of eight years when he began to reign, 2Ch 36:9, because this was the eighth year, not of his age, but of the Babylonish captivity, or bondage; under which both he and his father had been just so long; for it began in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, as it is affirmed Jer 25:1, and continued all his reign, which lasted eleven years, 2Ki 23:36; and so the first year of Jehoiachin was precisely the eighth year of that captivity. And this is certain, that the years of kings mentioned in Scripture are not always accounted from the beginning of their age, but from some other remarkable time or thing: thus Saul, when at man’s estate, is called the son of one year, 1Sa 13:1, of which See Poole "1Sa 13:1" and Ahaziah (whose father lived only forty years, 2Ch 21:20) is called a son of forty and two years when he began to reign, 2Ch 22:2, because that was the forty and second year of the reign of Omri’s family, as most think. And therefore it cannot seem strange if the years of this king be computed, not from his birth but from the beginning of so great and famous a change of the Jewish affairs, as this captivity made; this being the usual way of the Romans and Greeks, and other more ancient and eastern nations, to compute the times from the great changes and revolutions happening among them. And that this was the practice of the Jews in the computation of these very times, is evident from the use of it in the Prophecy of Ezekiel, Eze 1:2, which was the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity; and Eze 33:21, in the twelfth year of our captivity; and Eze 40:1, in the twenty-fifth year of our captivity.
3. To all this might be added, that some here acknowledge an error of the scribe, and affirm, that in the first and best copies, in 2Ch 36:9, it was not eight, but eighteen; which they gather from hence, because those two ancient and venerable translators, the Syriac and Arabic, read there, as it is here, was eighteen years old; which, they say, they would never have presumed to do, if they had not so read it in those Hebrew copies, out of which they drew their translation, or in some of them.
He reigned in Jerusalem three months, and ten days, which are added, 2Ch 36:9. But such small sums are frequently omitted in great numbers. See Poole "Gen 15:13"; See Poole "1Ki 16:8".
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain This should have been the history of king Jehoiachin's…
This should have been the history of king Jehoiachin's reign, but, alas! it is only the history of king Jehoiachin's captivity, as it is called, Eze 1:2. He came to the crown, not to have the honour of wearing it, but the shame of losing it. Ideo tantum venerat, ut exiret - He came in only to go out.
I. His reign was short and inconsiderable. He reigned but three months, and then was removed and carried captive to Babylon, as his father, it is likely, would have been if he had lived but so much longer. What an unhappy young prince was this, that was thrust into a falling house, a sinking throne! What an unnatural father had he, who begat him to suffer for him, and by his own sin and folly had left himself nothing to bequeath to his son but his own miseries! Yet this young prince reigned long enough to show that he justly smarted for his fathers' sins, for he trod in their steps (Kg2 24:9): He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as they had done; he did nothing to cut off the entail of the curse, to discharge the incumbrances of his crown, and therefore (transit cum onere - the incumbrance descends with the crown) with his own iniquity that of his fathers shall come into the account.
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II. The calamities that came upon him, and his family, and people, in the very beginning of his reign, were very grievous. 1. Jerusalem was besieged by the king of Babylon, Kg2 24:10, Kg2 24:11. He had sent his forces to ravage the country, Kg2 24:2. Now he came himself, and laid siege to the city. Now the word of God was fulfilled (Deu 28:49, etc.), The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, of fierce countenance, that shall first eat of the fruit of thy land and then besiege thee in all thy gates. 2. Jehoiachin immediately surrendered at discretion. As soon as he heard the king of Babylon had come in person against the city, his name having at this time become very formidable, he beat a parley and went out to him, Kg2 24:12. Had he made his peace with God, and taken the method that Hezekiah did in the like case, he needed not to have feared the king of Babylon, but might have held out with courage, honour, and success (one should have chased a thousand); but, wanting the faith and piety of an Israelite, he had not the resolution of a man, of a soldier, of a prince. He and his royal family, his mother and wives, his servants and princes, delivered themselves up prisoners of war; this was the consequence of their being servants of sin. 3. Nebuchadnezzar rifled the treasuries both of the church and of the state, and carried away the silver and gold of both, Kg2 24:13. Now the word of God by Isaiah was fulfilled (Kg2 20:17), All that is in thy house shall be carried to Babylon. Even the vessels of the temple which Solomon had made, and laid up in store to be used as the old ones were worn out, he cut off from the temple, and began to cut them in pieces, but, upon second thoughts, reserved them for his own use, for we find Belshazzar drinking wine in them, Dan 5:2, Dan 5:3. 4. He carried away a great part of Jerusalem into captivity, to weaken it, that he might effectually secure to himself the dominion of it and prevent its revolt, and to enrich himself with the wealth or service of those he took away. There had been some carried away eight years before this, in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar and the third of Jehoiakim, among whom were Daniel and his fellows. See Dan 1:1, Dan 1:6. They had approved themselves so well that this politic prince coveted more of them. Now he carried off, (1.) The young king himself and his family (Kg2 24:15), and we find (Kg2 25:27-29) that for thirty-seven years he continued a close prisoner. (2.) All the great men, the princes and officers, whose riches were kept for the owners thereof to their hurt (Ecc 5:13), tempting the enemies to make a prey of them first. (3.) All the military men, the mighty men of valour (Kg2 24:14), the mighty of the land (Kg2 24:15), the men of might, even all that were strong and apt for war, Kg2 24:16. These could not defend themselves, and the conqueror would not leave them to defend their country, but took them away, to be employed in his service. (4.) All the craftsmen and smiths who made weapons of war; in taking them he did, in effect, disarm the city, according to the Philistines' policy, Sa1 13:19. In this captivity Ezekiel the prophet was carried away (Eze 1:1, Eze 1:2) and Mordecai, Est 2:6. This Jehoiachin was also called Jeconiah (Ch1 3:16), and in contempt (Jer 22:24, where his captivity is foretold) Coniah.
III. The successor whom the king of Babylon appointed in the room of Jehoiachin. God had written him childless (Jer 22:30) and therefore his uncle was entrusted with the government. The king of Babylon made Mattaniah king, the son of Josiah; and to remind him, and let all the world know, that he was his creature, he changed his name and called him Zedekiah, Kg2 24:17. God had sometimes charged it upon his people, They have set up kings, but not by me (Hos 8:4), and now, to punish them for that, the king of Babylon shall have the setting up of their kings. Those are justly deprived of their liberty that use it, and insist upon it, against God's authority. This Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Judah. The name which the king of Babylon gave him signifies The justice of the Lord, and was a presage of the glorifying of God's justice in his ruin. 1. See how impious this Zedekiah was. Though the judgments of God upon his three immediate predecessors might have been a warning to him not to tread in their steps, yet he did that which was evil, like all the rest, Kg2 24:19. 2. See how impolitic he was. As his predecessor lost his courage, so he his wisdom, with his religion, for he rebelled against the king of Babylon (Kg2 24:20), whose tributary he was, and so provoked him whom he was utterly unable to contend with, and who, if he had continued true to him, would have protected him. This was the most foolish thing he could do, and hastened the ruin of his kingdom. This came to pass through the anger of the Lord, that he might cast them out from his presence. Note, When those that are entrusted with the counsels of a nation act unwisely, and against their true interest, we ought to take notice of the displeasure of God in it. It is for the sins of a people that God removes the speech of the trusty and takes away the understanding of the aged, and hides from their eyes the things that belong to the public peace. Whom God will destroy he infatuates.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he did that which was evil in the…
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done. Being partner with him in his throne, he was in his sins, and continued therein, see Kg2 23:37.
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2 Kings 24:10
kg2 24:10
kg2 24:10
kg2 24:10At that time,.... When Jehoiachin reigned:
when the year was expired; so it is in Ch2 36:10 or at the revolution of the year; which some take to be autumn, the beginning of the civil year with the Jews; but rather it was the spring, the time when kings went out to battle, Sa2 11:1.
the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem; that is, his army, under proper generals and officers, and by his orders:
and the city was besieged; in form by the Chaldean army.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain To reign - In his eighth year he began…
To reign - In his eighth year he began to reign with his father, who made him king with him as divers other kings of Israel and Judah had done in times of trouble; and in his eighteenth year he reigned alone.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old] He is…
Verse 8. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old] He is called Jeconiah, 1Ch 3:16, and Coniah, Jer 22:24. In 2Ch 36:9, be is said to be only eight years of age, but this must be a mistake; for we find that, having reigned only three months, he was carried captive to Babylon, and there he had wives; and it is very improbable that a child between eight and nine years of age could have wives; and of such a tender age, it can scarcely be said that, as a king, he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. The place in Chronicles must be corrupted.
That he was a grievous offender against God, we learn from Jer 22:24, which the reader may consult; and in the man's punishment, see his crimes.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 24:8. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he…
2Ki 24:8. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign — In 2Ch 36:9, it is said that he was eight years old when he began to reign. But as both the Syriac and Arabic versions in that place read eighteen, it seems most reasonable to believe that the transcriber of the book of Chronicles made a mistake, and wrote eight for eighteen. Poole, however, and many other commentators, suppose that both places are correct, and that in his eighth year he began to reign with his father, who made him king with him, as divers other kings of Israel and Judah had acted in times of trouble; and that in his eighteenth year he reigned alone. Jehoiachin’s succeeding his father in the throne of Judah may seem to disagree with the threat which the prophet denounces against his father, Jer 36:30, He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; but as Jehoiachin’s reign lasted little more than three months, during which time he was absolutely subject to the Chaldeans, a reign of so short continuance, and of so small authority, may well be looked upon as nothing: see Eze 19:6, &c.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain His mother’s name - On the position of the…
His mother’s name - On the position of the “queen mother” see 1Ki 15:10 note. Nehushta’s rank and dignity are strongly marked by the distinct and express mention which is made of her in almost every place where her son’s history is touched (2Ki 24:12; compare Jer 22:26; Jer 29:2).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Eighteen. One Hebrew manuscript reads "thirteen," (Haydock) or 3…
Eighteen. One Hebrew manuscript reads "thirteen," (Haydock) or 3 instead of 8. (Kennicott) --- The number seems also (Haydock) to be incorrect in Paralipomenon, where we find that Joachin was only eight years old, as the Syriac and Arabic have 18 in both places, and it could not well be said, that he did evil, &c., (ver. 9.) at the age of 8, much less that he had wives so soon, ver. 15. (Calmet) --- Some attempt to reconcile both places, by saying that the eight years refer to the commencement of his father’s reign; (Junius) which is very unusual: (Calmet) or to the servitude of Babylon, when Jerusalem was taken under Joakim. (Hardouin.) --- Sanctius conjectures that Joachin was associated with his father when he was 10 years old, and after 8 years became sole king. (Kimchi, &c.) (Du Hamel)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain JEHOIACHIN SUCCEEDS HIM. (Kg2 24:8-9)
JEHOIACHIN SUCCEEDS HIM. (Kg2 24:8-9)
Jehoiachin--that is, "God-appointed," contracted into Jeconiah and Coniah (Jer 22:24).
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eighteen years old when he began to reign--At the age of eight his father took him into partnership in the government (Ch2 36:9). He began to reign alone at eighteen.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain JEHOIACHIN’S REIGN, AND THE FIRST GREAT DEPORTATION OF EXILES…
JEHOIACHIN’S REIGN, AND THE FIRST GREAT DEPORTATION OF EXILES TO BABYLON, 2Ki_24:8-17.
8. Three months — The same length of time that his uncle Jehoahaz had reigned. 2Ki_23:21. Such an insignificant rule, and so associated as it was with Judah’s direst woe, made the prophet Jeremiah ignore it as any thing worthy to be called a sitting on the throne of David. Jer_36:30. Jehoiachin was noted more for his being thirty-seven years in a Babylonian prison. 2Ki_25:27. But though his reign at Jerusalem was so short and unfortunate, he was looked upon by the exiles as the last lawful successor to the throne of David; and notwithstanding the appointment of Zedekiah, Jehoiachin remained the representative king of Judah, and in the preservation of his life through thirty-seven years of imprisonment, and his elevation to kingly honours in the court of Babylon, (2Ki_25:27,) the theocratic historian discerned the purpose of Jehovah to perpetuate the throne of David.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8–17. Reign of Jehoiachin. Capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.…
8–17. Reign of Jehoiachin. Capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Plunder and captives carried away: Zedekiah made king of Judah (2Ch_36:9-10)
8. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old] The Chronicler says eight. The letter which is required to make the difference is the smallest in the Hebrew alphabet, and may easily have fallen out by a slip of the copyist. That ‘eighteen’ is the correct number may be concluded because (see verse 15) Jehoiachin had wives, which would hardly be the case at eight. To the ‘three months’ of the king’s reign here set down, the Chronicler adds ‘and ten days’, probably having before him a precise record. Though after the last reign we come no more upon quotations from the chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiachin is called Jeconiah in Jer_24:1, and Coniah in Jer_22:24; Jer_22:28. For the double form compare Oshea and Jehoshua (Num_13:16).
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Elnathan of Jerusalem] Almost certainly the same person who is called ‘Elnathan the son of Achbor’ (Jer_26:22) and who was sent by Jehoiakim with a party of men into Egypt to fetch thence Urijah the prophet, whom Jehoiakim caused to be put to death. The name also occurs among the princes in the account of Jeremiah’s roll (Jer_36:12; Jer_36:25). He was one of those who made intercession with the king not to burn it.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) Jehoiachin.—“Jah will confirm.” Four or five different forms…
THE REIGN OF JEHOIACHIN. BEGINNING OF THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY
(2Ki_24:8-16).
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(8) Jehoiachin.—“Jah will confirm.” Four or five different forms of this name occur in the documents. Eze_1:2 gives the contraction Joiachin. In Jeremiah we find a popular transposition of the two elements, thus: Jechonjahu (once, viz., Jer_24:1, Heb.), and usually the shorter form, Jechoniah (Jer_27:20; Est_2:6); which is further abridged into Coniah (Heb., Chonjahu) in Jer_22:24; Jer_22:28. Ewald thinks this last the original name; but Hengstenberg supposes that the prophet altered the name, so as to make of it a “Jah will confirm” without the “will,” in order to foreshadow the fate which awaited this king.
Nehushta.—Referring, perhaps, to her complexion (as we say “bronzed”).
Elnathan.—See Jer_26:22; Jer_36:12; Jer_36:25; one of Jehoiakim’s “princes.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 8-16REIGN OF JEHOIACHIN. The short reign of Jehoisshin…
Vers. 8-16REIGN OF JEHOIACHIN. The short reign of Jehoisshin is now described. It lasted but three months. For some reason which is unrecorded, Nebuchadnezzar, who had placed him on the throne, took offence at his conduct, and sent an army against him to effect his deposition. Jehoiachin offered scarcely any resistance. He "went out" of the city (ver. 12), with the queen-mother, the officers of the court, and the princes, and submitted himself to the will of the great king. But he gained nothing by his pusillanimity. The Babylonians entered Jerusalem, plundered the temple and the royal palace, made prisoners of the king, his mother, the princes and nobles, the armed garrison, and all the more skilled artisans, to the number altogether of ten thousand souls (Josephus says 10, 832, "Ant. Jud:," 10:7. and carried them captive to Babylon. Zedekiah, the king"s uncle, was made monarch in his room.
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign. 2Ch_36:9 he is said to have been only eight years old, but this is probably an accidental corruption, the yod, which is the Hebrew sign for ten, easily slipping out. As he had "wives" (ver. 15) and "seed", (Jer_22:28) he could not well be less than eighteen. And he reigned in Jerusalem three months. "Three months and ten days," according to 2 Chronicles (l.s.c. ) and Josephus. ("Ant. Jud:," l.s.c) And his mother"s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. Elnathan was one of the chief of the Jerusalem princes under Jehoiakim. (Jer_26:22 Jer_36:12, Jer_36:25) His daughter, Nehushta the Noste of Josephus ("Ant. Jud:," 10:6. was probably the ruling spirit of the time during her son"s short reign. We find mention of her in Jer_26:2-6 Jer_29:2; and in Josephus, "Ant. Jud:," 10:6. and 10:7. Ewald suggests that she "energetically supported" her son in the policy whereby he offended Nebuchadnezzar.
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Vers. 8-16. Blow upon blow.
A mild and conciliatory policy might, perhaps, have won the Jews to acquiescence in their subjection. But Nebuchadnezzar"s policy was the reverse, and could only tend to their exasperation. With what exact intention or expectation he made Jehoiachin king after executing his father, it is difficult to conjecture. Perhaps he thought he had nothing to fear from a youth of eighteen. Perhaps he trusted to the known mildness of the youth"s disposition (Josephus, "Ant. Jud:," 10:7. In either case, the experiment failed. Jehoiachin, within a few weeks, gave him cause of offence, or, at any rate, furnished him with some pretext for reopening the quarrel. Then blow was struck upon blow. An army was sent to besiege the city (ver. 10); soon the great king came up against it in person (ver. 11). In vain did Jehoiachin make submission. He was seized and carried off to Babylon, and there shut up in prison. The temple and the royal palace were plundered, and at least ten thousand of the inhabitants the noblest, wealthiest, bravest, and most skilled torn from their homes and led into captivity (vers. 12-16). A remnant only, consisting chiefly of "the poorest of the people of the land" (ver. 14), were left behind. Jerusalem, denuded of more than half her population, can scarcely have known herself. She "sat solitary" (Lam_1:1) and "wept sore in the night", (Lam_1:2) and felt that her total destruction was nigh at hand. So ended the second scene of the last act.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain
JEHOIACHIN
B.C. 597
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2Ki_24:8-16
B.C. 597
"There are times when ancient truths become modern falsehoods, when the signs of Gods dispensations are made so clear by the course of natural events as to supersede the revelations of even their most sacred past."
- STANLEY, "Lectures," 2:521
JEHOIACHIN-"Jehovah maketh steadfast"-who is also called Jeconiah, and-perhaps with intentional slight-Coniah, succeeded, at the age of eighteen, to the miserable and distracted heritage of the throne of Judah. The "eight years old" of the Chronicler must be a clerical error, for he had a harem. He only reigned for three months; and the historian pronounces over him, as over all the four kings of the House of Josiah, the stereotyped condemnation of evil-doing. Was there anything in the manner in which Josiah had trained his family which could account for their unsatisfactoriness? In Jehoiachins case we do not know what his transgressions were, but perhaps his mothers influence rendered him as little favorable to the prophetic party as his brother Jehoiakim had been. For the Gebirah was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. Her name means apparently "Brass," and nothing can be deduced from it; but her father Elnathan was (as we have seen) the envoy who, by order of Jehoiakim, had dragged back from Egypt the martyr-prophet Urijah. {Jer_26:22} Brief as was his reign of three months and ten days {2Ch_36:9}-a hundred days, like that of his unhappy uncle Jehoahaz-he is largely alluded to by the contemporary prophets. Indignant at the sins and apostasies of Judah, and convinced that her retribution was nigh at hand, Jeremiah took with him an earthen pot to the Valley of Hinnom, and there shivered it to pieces at Tophet in the presence of certain elders of the people and of the priests, explaining that his symbolic action indicated the destruction of Jerusalem. On hearing the tenor of these prophecies, the priest Pashur, who was officer of the Temple, smote Jeremiah in the face, and put him in the stocks in a prominent place by the Temple gate. Jeremiah in return prophesied that Pashur and all his family should be carried into captivity, so that his name should be changed from Pashur to Magor-Missabib, "Terror on every side." Against the king himself he pronounced the doom: "As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet will I pluck thee thence; and I will give thee into the hands of them that seek thy life even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar. And I will hurl thee, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country; and there shall ye die. Is this man Coniah a despised broken piece of work? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they hurled, he and his seed, and cast into a land which they know not? O land, land, land! hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, or ruling any more in Judah."
Yet there must have been something in Jeconiah which impressed favorably the minds of men. Brief as was his reign, his memory was never forgotten. We learn from the Mishna that one of the gates of Jerusalem-probably that by which he left the city-forever bore his name. Josephus says that his captivity was annually commemorated. Jeremiah writes in the Lamentations:-
"Our pursuers are swifter than the eagles of heaven: they have pursued us upon the mountains, they have laid wait for us in the wilderness. The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen."
Ezekiel compares him to a young lion:-
"He went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey. And he knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fullness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. And they put him in ward in hooks, and brought him to the King of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel."
A prince of whom a contemporary prophet could thus write was obviously no fainéant. Indeed, the energetic measures which Nebuchadrezzar adopted against him may have been due to the fact that he had endeavored to rouse his discouraged people. But what could he do against such a power as that of the Chaldaeans? Nebuchadrezzar sent his generals against Jerusalem; and when it was ripe for capture, advanced in person to take possession of it. Resistance had become hopeless; there lay no chance in anything but that complete submission which might possibly avert the worst effects of the destruction of the city. Accordingly, Jeconiah, accompanied by his mother, his court, his princes, and his officers, went out in procession, and threw themselves on the mercy of the King of Babylon. Nebuchadrezzar was far less brutal than the Sargons and Assurbanipals of Assyria; but Judah had twice revolted, and the defection of Tyre showed him that the affairs of Palestine could no longer be neglected. He thoroughly despoiled the Temple and the palace, and carried the spoils to Babylon, as Isaiah had forewarned Hezekiah should be the case. That he might further weaken and humiliate the city, he stripped it of its king, its royal house, its court, its nobles, its soldiers, even its craftsmen and smiths, and carried ten thousand eight hundred and thirty-two captives to Babylon (Jos., "Antt.," X 7. I), among whom was the prophet Ezekiel. He naturally spared Jeremiah, who regarded him as "the sword of Jehovah," {Jer_47:6} and as "Jehovahs servant, to do His pleasure". {Jer_25:9; Jer_27:6; Jer_43:10} On the whole, Nebuchadrezzar is not treated with abhorrence by the Jews. There was something in his character which inspired respect; and the Jews deal with him leniently, both in their records and generally in their traditions. "Nebuchadnezzar," we read in the Talmud ("Taanith," f. 18, 2), "was a worthy king, and deserved that a miracle should be performed through him."
From the allusion of Ezekiel we might infer that Jehoiachin was violent and self-willed; but Josephus speaks of his kindness and gentleness. Was he, as Jeremiah had prophesied, literally "childless"? It is true that in 1Ch_3:17-18, eight sons are ascribed to him, and among them Shealtiel, in whom the royal line was continued. But it was far from certain that these sons were not the sons of his brother Neri, of the House of Nathan {Luk_3:27; Luk_3:31 Mat_1:12} and it seems that they were only adopted by the unhappy captive. The Book of Baruch describes him weeping by the Euphrates. But if we may trust the story of Susannah, his outward fortunes were peaceful, and he was allowed to live in his own house and gardens in peace and in a certain degree of splendor.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Cf. 2Ch 36:9; 1Co 10:8. (See Scofield "1Co 10:8").
eighteen
Cf. 2Ch 36:9; 1Co 10:8. (See Scofield "1Co 10:8").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Reign of Jehoiachin
The Reign of Jehoiachin
v. 8. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His name is also given as Jeconiah, 1Ch 3:16; Jer 24:1, and as Coniah, Jer 22:24-28. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem, Elnathan having been one of the chief officers at court, Jer 26:22; Jer 36:12-25.
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v. 9. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.
v. 10. At that time, in the spring of the year, when military operations were opened, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged, his officers being in general charge of the siege.
v. 11. And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against the city, taking personal charge of the campaign as the fall of the city seemed imminent, and his servants did besiege it.
v. 12. And Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, realizing the uselessness of further resistance, went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers, all the most influential men of the nation; and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign, he dethroned him, made him captive.
v. 13. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, whatever money and gifts had been deposited there in about the last decade, and cut in pieces, rather, tore loose from their fastenings, all the vessels of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made in the Temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said, Jer 20:5.
v. 14. And he carried away all Jerusalem, all the most representative citizens, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths, such as might provide the people of Judah with weapons; none remained save the poorest sort of the people of the land, such as would not be dangerous to his rule.
v. 15. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, for he also had a harem according to Oriental style, and his officers, and the mighty of the land; those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon, their number being some two thousand.
v. 16. And all the men of might, the able-bodied men, those fit for military duty, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon, to the country in which his capital was situated, where they were colonized, Jeremiah 29. Any corruption of morals usually proceeds from the leaders of a nation, and therefore the Lord’s punishment strikes these first. God is righteous in all His judgments and rewards every one according to his deeds.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Nehushta ... Elnathan
Nehushta ... Elnathan
Nehushta is the name of a woman. Elnathan is the name of a man. (See: How to Translate Names)
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what was evil in the sight of Yahweh
The sight of Yahweh represents Yahweh's judgment or evaluation. See how you translated this in 2 Kings 3:2. AT: "what was evil in Yahweh's judgment" or "what Yahweh considers to be evil" (See: Metaphor)
he did all that his father had done
Here "all" is a generalization. It means he did the same sinful things as his father. AT: "he committed the same kinds of sins his father had committed" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
translationWords
reign
Jerusalem
evil
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 24:8 Jehoiachin became king in 597 BC. • he…
24:8 Jehoiachin became king in 597 BC. • he reigned in Jerusalem three months: cp. Jer 22:28-30.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.