II Kings 24:8-19, II Chronicles 36:9-13
“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. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.” (II Kings 24:8-9)
“Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.” (II Chronicles 36:9)
Once again we confronted with the problems of maintaining accuracy in copies of scripture over long periods. Was Jehoiachin eight or eighteen?
Since his father was only about thirty four when he died, it is unlikely that he was eighteen. The fact that they also took his mother as captive, and that his uncle would assume the throne when he went into captivity support that conclusion. Since he was so young, his mother probably directed his decisions, but the decisions were just continuations of Jehoiakim’s policies. Since marriages were often arranged at birth, later mention of his wives does not preclude this conclusion.
“At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.” (II Kings 24:10-12)
Jehoiakim had rebelled against Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem to regain control. Just a hundred days after Jehoiachin was made king, Jerusalem capitulated, in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, in 593 BC. Jehoiachin, his mother, and the cabinet and military leaders surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar.
“And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and 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 said.
And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, 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.” (II Kings 24:13-16)
It took Nebuchadnezzar the rest of the year to set up a new government and gather all the things the spies had seen in Josiah’s day that he wanted to take back to Babylon. Besides the temple treasures, he took the most skilled of the craftsmen, as well as the most skilled fighting men. By tapping their knowledge, he could improve Babylon’s military and technological skills.
“And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
“Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.” (II Kings 24:17-19)
“And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.” (II Chronicles 36:12)
Jehoiakim’s brother was only twenty two when Nebuchadnezzar appointed him as the next king in Jehoiachin’s place, renaming him Zedekiah. He had the same attitude and followed the same policies as his brother, refusing to pay attention to the message God had delivered through Jeremiah.
“And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.” (II Chronicles 36:13)
Zedekiah had taken an oath of loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar in the Lord’s name. Ignoring God’s command to fulfill their oaths, he promptly broke it along with executing those who disagreed with his decisions and refusing to worship God.
“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. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.” (II Kings 24:8-9)
“Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.” (II Chronicles 36:9)
Once again we confronted with the problems of maintaining accuracy in copies of scripture over long periods. Was Jehoiachin eight or eighteen?
Since his father was only about thirty four when he died, it is unlikely that he was eighteen. The fact that they also took his mother as captive, and that his uncle would assume the throne when he went into captivity support that conclusion. Since he was so young, his mother probably directed his decisions, but the decisions were just continuations of Jehoiakim’s policies. Since marriages were often arranged at birth, later mention of his wives does not preclude this conclusion.
“At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.” (II Kings 24:10-12)
Jehoiakim had rebelled against Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem to regain control. Just a hundred days after Jehoiachin was made king, Jerusalem capitulated, in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, in 593 BC. Jehoiachin, his mother, and the cabinet and military leaders surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar.
“And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and 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 said.
And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, 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.” (II Kings 24:13-16)
It took Nebuchadnezzar the rest of the year to set up a new government and gather all the things the spies had seen in Josiah’s day that he wanted to take back to Babylon. Besides the temple treasures, he took the most skilled of the craftsmen, as well as the most skilled fighting men. By tapping their knowledge, he could improve Babylon’s military and technological skills.
“And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
“Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.” (II Kings 24:17-19)
“And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.” (II Chronicles 36:12)
Jehoiakim’s brother was only twenty two when Nebuchadnezzar appointed him as the next king in Jehoiachin’s place, renaming him Zedekiah. He had the same attitude and followed the same policies as his brother, refusing to pay attention to the message God had delivered through Jeremiah.
“And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.” (II Chronicles 36:13)
Zedekiah had taken an oath of loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar in the Lord’s name. Ignoring God’s command to fulfill their oaths, he promptly broke it along with executing those who disagreed with his decisions and refusing to worship God.
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