2 Kings 24:8-17

G. Jehoiachin’s Evil Reign 24:8-17

Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin, whose other names were Jeconiah and Coniah, succeeded him on the throne but only reigned for three months (598-597 B.C.). When Nebuchadnezzar’s troops were besieging Jerusalem, the Babylonian king personally visited Judah’s capital, and Jehoiachin surrendered to him (2 Kings 24:12). The invasion fulfilled the Lord’s warning to Solomon about apostasy in 1 Kings 9:6-9. A large deportation of Judah’s population followed in 597 B.C. None of Jehoiachin’s sons ruled Judah, as Jeremiah had prophesied (Jeremiah 22:30). Rather, Nebuchadnezzar set up Jehoiakim’s younger brother, Mattaniah, on the throne as his puppet, and exercised his sovereign prerogative by changing his name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17). The Jewish people, however, seem to have continued to regard Jehoiachin as the rightful heir to David’s throne until his death. [Note: William Albright, "Seal of Eliakim," Journal of Biblical Literature 51 (1932):91-92. Cf. 25:27-30.]