Tag Archives: Zedekiah

Josiah’s Children

Posted on by
8

Josiah’s heirs are the last kings of Israel before the Exile. They are integral parts of the story that lead to the judgment of Jerusalem and then its rebuilding. They are mentioned in several books including 2 Kings, 1 + 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, and time stamps put them in Daniel, Esther, and Ezekiel. There is an interesting 3 months/11-year cycle that is mentioned (twice) with these men concerning their times as rulers.

Johanan/Jehoahaz – When Josiah died the people made Jehoahaz king. He lasted three months when Pharaoh Neco came in and took him to Egypt where he died. 1 Chronicles 3:15 states he was Josiah’s firstborn. 

Eliakim/ Jehoiakim – Pharaoh was in charge of Israel, again! In reality, Israel was once again “slaves” of Egypt.  Neco showed his power by removing the king of “the people” and putting in one of his choosing.  In another show of power, Neco changes the king’s name. Eliakim (God establishes) was changed to Jehoiakim (Yahweh lifts up or establishes). He rules 11 years.

Jehoiachin/Shallum – Jehoiachin means “Yahweh supports” and it shows.  His rule started when he was eighteen and it lasted three months.  He was taken to Babylon and stayed in prison until he was fifty-five years old. This fulfills Jeremiah 22:11. The reason he is so important, he is the grandfather of Zerubbabel. Kings and Chronicles don’t give much about him, so read Jeremiah 22:24 – 30.  Then temper this with Haggai 2:23.

A signet ring lost and then restored.  Jeremiah 23 then talks about The Branch and this theme is repeated in Zechariah 3:8 (which is in the time frame of Haggai).  Jeremiah 24 completes the Lord’s thoughts about him and the other exiles.  If you only read Jeremiah 22 it is easy to get the impression that God “hates” Jehoiachin; actually, God did him a favor by bringing them out of Jerusalem. 

Zedekiah/Mattaniah  – Jeremiah tells Zedekiah’s story, he is mention frequently starting in the 21st chapter until the end of the book. (be careful there are other Zedekiah’s mentioned) He is the embodiment of the spiritual attitude of Judah at that time; at times he is seeking God, sometimes protecting Jeremiah, and then ready to give him to up to be abused.

His reign as king mirrors his spiritual life.  He accepts Babylon, he rejects Babylon and tries to come under Egypt; he just makes bad decisions.  So, he lasted eleven years and came to a bad end.  He had to watch his family die, and then his eyes were blinded.

Shallum | The amazing name Shallum: meaning and etymology

The family stories/trees are in 2 Kings; 2 Chronicles 36; 1 Chronicles 3:15-16; Jeremiah 22:11-30, 24:1-10, 25:1-3, 52:1-11 and 31-34; and Matthew 1:11-12.  

2 Kings 23 – 25 –

  1. Jehoahaz 23 yrs. old, ruled 3 months the people put him as ruler went to Egypt and did not return;
  2. Jehoiakim/Eliakim 25 yrs old, ruled 11 yrs;
  3. Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim 18 yrs old, ruled three months, went to Babylon with his mother, lived out his life there (Jer. 52, 2 Kgs. 25:27);
  4. Mattaniah/Zedekiah he was Jehoiachin uncle (Josiah’s son) he was 21 yrs old and ruled 11 years. Do the math he was 9/10 yrs old when Josiah died or Jehoiakim was 4 when he birthed him.

2 Chronicles 36 These are changes from 2 Kings

  1. Jehoahaz/Joahaz;
  2. Jehoiakim;
  3. Jehoiachin – NIV footnote, some manuscripts have eight yrs old;
  4. Zedekiah – NIV footnote Hebrew may indicate brother.

1 Chronicles 3:15-16

1599 Geneva Bible – 15 And of the sons of Josiah, the [a]eldest was [b]Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, and the fourth Shallum.

16 And the sons of Jehoiakim were Jeconiah his son, and Zedekiah his son.

  1. 1 Chronicles 3:15 So called because he was preferred to the dignity royal before his brother Jehoiakim which was the elder.
  2. 1 Chronicles 3:15 Or, Jehoahaz, 2 Kings 23:30.

 

NIV 1 Chronicles 3:16 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 17

These are from BibleGateway, which is a big help.

Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, is the traditional writer/compiler/editor of the Books of Kings. Ezra the priest/scribe is noted for the same thing with the Books of Chronicles. They did not make it easy for our western minds and sense of order. I have heard rigid rules about the oldest male child/first-born, and who gets listed first in a family tree. Yet there are examples where those things are changed. Josiah’s heirs (children) seem to be an example of not fitting into “the norm”.

Jeremiah 21:1 – 22:9 Is against Zedekiah.

Jeremiah 22:10-30 – Verse 10 seems to be an introduction and 11 is about Shallum who will never return or see Jerusalem again; if this is Jehoiachin he was “just” exiled. Is 11-17 an introduction to Jehoiakim in verse 18, he had 11 years to build his palace? (Cedar probably came from Lebanon. David and Solomon had a “Palace of Lebanon” cedar.) Verse 24 talks about Jehoiachin who went to Babylon with his mother and never came back, but his heirs became governors in Judah. Mary’s line is through Nathan another son of Bathsheba, fulfilling the promise to David. The text goes to the prophecy about Jesus, the righteous Branch, Jeremiah 23.

Jeremiah 24:1-10 – Jehoiachin (he ruled three months) and the exiles are the good basket of figs and Zedekiah and those in Jerusalem are the bad figs.

Jeremiah 25:1-3 is a timestamp with Jehoiakim as a reference point for twenty-three years. Remember he ruled 11 years.

Jeremiah 52:1-11 Zedekiah died in Babylon at 31 years of age; he ruled 11 years.

Jeremiah 52:31-34 Jehoiachin is released from prison and lives a “good” life under Evil-Merodach.

Matthew 1:11-12 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel (KJV). Jechonias is Jehoiachin.

Age order seems to be: Eliakim/ Jehoiakim, Johanan/Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin/Shallum, Zedekiah/Mattaniah 

In my opinion the order of importance is the reverse of 1 Chronicles 3: Jehoiachin/Shallum, Zedekiah/Mattaniah, Eliakim/ Jehoiakim, Johanan/Jehoahaz 

Answer to RZ

Thanks for the question. If you reread the post, you will see I changed it. (So, to the other readers RZ statement may be strange, but it was a great question.) I did account for all four names and in doing so I realized I goofed. In Jeremiah I saw a footnote (NIV) and they identified Jehoahaz and Shallum as being the same person. That should be challenged, it makes more sense that the prophecy refers to Jehoiachin who goes on to produce offspring to continue the royal line of Solomon. Jeremiah 52 talks about his release. 1 Chronicles 3:16 (NIV) has the term successors. Another note that is hard for me at times is the Hebrew word for male family member, it can be translated brother or uncle.

Thanks for the catch and I hope I fixed it.

Mark