Verse 18
WARNING TO THE ROYAL FAMILY
"Say thou unto the king and to the queen mother, Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headtires are come down, even the crown of your glory. The cities of the South are shut up, and there is none to open them: Judah is carried away captive, all of it; it is wholly carried away captive."
The mention of the queen-mother indicates the importance of the king's mother among the kings of Judah. "They seem to have had some official status in Judah; indeed, 1 Kings 2:19 suggests that she even occupied a throne adjacent to that of the king." The passage before us also may indicate that she likewise wore a crown. "Because Jewish kings generally married subjects, and lived in polygamy, the king's mother took precedence over his wives."[8]
Dummelow also mentioned the importance of this verse in ascertaining the date when this chapter was written. "The date of this prophecy is shown pretty clearly by the word queen-mother, namely, Nehushta, mother of Jehoiachin. The queen-mother always had a high position; and, in Jehoiachin's case, this would have been especially so, owing to the king's young age."[9]
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