JEHOAHAZ WAS TWENTY-THREE years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 32He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his fathers had done. 33Pharaoh Neco put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died. 35Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments.
36Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37And he did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.
24:1During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he changed his mind and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. 2The LORD sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him. He sent them to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the LORD proclaimed by his servants the prophets. 3Surely these things happened to Judah according to the LORD’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, 4including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive.
5As for the other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 6Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.
7The king of Egypt did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. 9He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father had done.
10At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, 11and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. 12Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him.
In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. 13As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed all the treasures from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace, and took away all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the LORD. 14He carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.
15Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother, his wives, his officials and the leading men of the land. 16The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand craftsmen and artisans. 17He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
Original Meaning
THE DEATH OF Josiah is the beginning of the last days of Judah. Within four years Nebuchadnezzar invades Judah, and the first exiles (with Daniel among them) are taken to Babylon (Jer. 46:2). Egyptian control begins with the death of Josiah in 609 B.C.1 The campaign of Neco lasts for three months; upon his return, Neco deposes Jehoahaz and installs Eliakim (Jehoiakim) as king. During that time the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar campaigns against Judah, taking the first of the captives to Babylon (2 Kings 24:1); in the eleventh year of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar puts Jerusalem under siege and installs Mattaniah (Zedekiah) as king (24:15–17), putting an end to Egyptian hegemony over Judah (24:7). Just eleven years after the appointment of Zedekiah, the final siege against Jerusalem will end the rule of the descendants of David in Jerusalem.
Egyptian Intervention (23:31–35)
THE CIVIC LEADERS of Israel appoint Shallum to succeed Josiah (2 Kings 23:30; Jer. 22:11–12). Shallum is the fourth son of Josiah according to the Davidide genealogy (1 Chron. 3:15); he receives the throne name Jehoahaz when he is anointed king. His mother comes from the countryside of the Shephelah. Jehoahaz is appointed by the same leaders who made Josiah king (2 Kings 21:24), in the hopes that he will continue the policies of his father. Neco imprisons him in Riblah, an Assyrian administrative center on the Orontos River in the north Lebanon Valley. The site later serves as headquarters for Nebuchadnezzar during his campaigns in the west (25:6, 20). Neco levies an indemnity against Judah, making it a vassal of Egypt. The number of talents of gold appears to have been lost in the Masoretic text; old Greek says ten talents of gold, which is proportionate in relation to the amount of silver. There is no concluding regnal summary for Jehoahaz, since he dies in Egypt; the place of his tomb is not known.
Neco makes Eliakim the king of Judah on his successful return from Haran. The name Eliakim is changed in minimal fashion, simply replacing the divine element (ʾel) with the covenant name (yhw). This name change may have been connected with an oath of loyalty. Neco demands a special tax, which is levied from the civic leaders who have influence over the throne. Menahem used the same procedure to pay Tiglath-Pileser (15:20). The tribute in silver is only one-tenth of what was required by the Assyrians.
Babylonian Control (23:36–24:17)
JEHOIAKIM, JOSIAH’S SECOND son, is twenty-five when Josiah dies; he must have been born when Josiah was only fourteen. His mother is from Rumah, identified with Aruma near Merom in upper Galilee. This northern location indicates Josiah took wives from the north to strengthen his associations there, much as Manasseh did in marrying a woman from Jotbah (21:19).
Political forces change during Jehoiakim’s reign. Pharaoh Neco fails to restrict the power of the Babylonians at Haran. Egypt controls the Levant for about four years, until the Babylonians conquer Carchemish in 605 B.C. Jeremiah tells us that Neco marches north against Nebuchadnezzar, meeting him at Carchemish in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Jer. 46:2). Nebuchadnezzar is victorious, but that same year he must return to Babylon to take control of the throne after his father’s death. In his accession year, Nebuchadnezzar follows up this victory with a campaign to the borders of Egypt.2 Another campaign to the west is conducted in his first full regnal year, resulting in the capture of Ashkelon and arousing such fear in Judah that a fast is proclaimed (Jer. 36:9). Jehoiakim, enthroned by the Egyptians, soon comes under the domination of the Babylonians, the successors of the Neo-Assyrian empire.
Nebuchadnezzar marches to Egypt in his fourth year but fails to gain a victory.3 Neco followed up his victory by invading the southern coast and taking Gaza (cf. Jer. 47:1). This is the time of Jehoiakim’s rebellion against Babylon (2 Kings 24:1). Jehoiakim is caught in the power struggle; Nebuchadnezzar stays in Babylon rebuilding his army in his fifth year, which gives Neco the opportunity to rebuild his position in encouraging a coalition against Babylonia.4
In his sixth year Nebuchadnezzar again goes west (599 B.C.), his engagements including an attack against the Arabs in the desert (Jer. 49:28–33). The main entry for his seventh year is the capture of Jerusalem.5 Nebuchadnezzar also uses detachments from Aram, Ammon, and Moab in the attack against Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:2).6 The expedition against Judah is a punitive action, because Jehoiakim has broken his vassal oath.
Jehoiakim dies before the city surrenders and is followed by his eighteen-year-old son, Jehoiachin. He reigns only three months (24:8). Nebuchadnezzar himself arrives to join the army besieging Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin surrenders, sparing the city from destruction (vv. 11–12).7 Jehoiachin pays for the policy of his father with exile, not only of himself but also of his harem, high officials, and upper classes of society, including all skilled workers. The temple and the palace are emptied of their treasures, as was common practice (vv. 13–16).
The total of the exiles is given in round numbers, either ten thousand (v. 14) or eight thousand (vv. 15–16). Another tally of exiles in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar is 3,023 (Jer. 52:28), but this may refer to the deportees from the countryside. Before leaving Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar installs Mattaniah as his vassal king, the youngest son of Josiah; he has the same mother as Jehoahaz (2 Kings 24:17–18; cf. 23:31).8 His throne name is Zedekiah; he rules until the fate of the kingdom of Judah is sealed.
Bridging Contexts
EZEKIEL. Ezekiel the priest is among the leaders exiled to Babylon in the siege of Nebuchadnezzar against Jerusalem in his eighth year of his reign (2 Kings 24:8–12). The importance of this historical situation can be seen by the dates provided in Ezekiel. All sections in the prophecy are dated according to the time of the Exile.9 The book begins with the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin (i.e., 593 B.C.; Ezek. 1:2). The last date given is the twenty-fifth year of the captivity (573 B.C.), which introduces the vision of the new temple (40:1).
The dates of Ezekiel follow a chronological arrangement that corresponds to the divisions of the book. Ezekiel 1–24 deals with events before the final destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.). Chapters 25–32 are oracles against the nations dated at the time of the fall of Jerusalem, except for the notation of the failure of the siege of Tyre (29:17) in the seventeenth year (571 B.C.), which is linked to a judgment against Egypt. Chapters 33–39 are oracles dealing with restoration hopes and conditions after the destruction of Jerusalem (33:21). The book closes with a description of the ideal future of the people (chs. 40–48), a vision dated to the fourteenth year after the city was conquered (573 B.C.). The five dated sections in chapters 1–24 are in chronological order. The second section against the nations is arranged topically into a collection of oracles against Tyre (26; 28:19) and Egypt (29–32). The last two sections are dated generally.
Though the fortunes of the temple are critically important to Ezekiel as a priest, he presents the Exile in terms of God’s being true to his name. Though his message is stubbornly resisted (Ezek. 3:4–9), Ezekiel stoutly declares the reversal of the Exodus (7:1–6). The Exodus involved a revelation of God’s name, beginning with Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:12–14). The divine name was understood in ways previously unknown (6:2–8). Pharaoh needed to receive an answer to his question: “Who is the LORD, that I should obey to him?” (5:2). Pharaoh received an answer ten times; the plagues made known God’s name to the Egyptians (7:5, 17; 8:18; 14:4, 18). Divine redemption made God’s name known to Israel for future generations (10:2; 16:6, 12; 29:45–46; 31:13). Conversely, Ezekiel announces that the end of Israel, experienced without mercy, will teach Israel the same lesson: “Then you will know that I am the LORD” (Ezek. 7:1–9). This time the day of Yahweh is not the beginning but the end of Israel.
The revelation of Yahweh’s name is also an oath whereby God affirms the choice of his people and the fulfillment of his promise to them. This is the force of what it means to hear the words “I am the LORD.” Ezekiel understands the time of God’s election of the nation to be that of the revelation of his name.10 He paraphrases the self-revelation of God given at the time of the Exodus as an oath to Israel (Ezek. 20:5–6; cf. Ex. 6:4–5):
On the day I chose Israel,
a I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of … Jacob
b and revealed myself to them in Egypt
a′ With uplifted hand I said to them,
b′ “I am the LORD your God”—
On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey.
The leaders of Judah have come to Ezekiel in exile in order to seek the God who took the oath of the covenant. The message of the prophet is that he can do nothing other than pass judgment on them (Ezek. 20:4). The declaration of the name when God made his covenant with Israel requires uncompromising allegiance (vv. 7–8). Israel has never left the idolatries of Egypt. The fate of Jerusalem is sealed; there will be no pity.
The time of exile is to bring the Israelites to know their God just as much as the times of redemption and promise. God is not a person to show favorites to any nation (Deut. 10:12–20); idolatrous Israel will not receive mercy any more than any other nation. There is always a tendency to misunderstand God’s promise; that promise never pertains to those who turn from God. Perhaps because of deliverance in the days of Hezekiah, there was a tendency to think that the temple as the place of divine residence would be spared (Jer. 7:4). Such thinking is utterly errant; Ezekiel the priest observes the glory of God leave the temple toward the east (Ezek. 10:18–19). The name of God will not be compromised.
LESSONS IN THE midst of pain. The tumultuous last days of Judah are an opportunity to learn faithfulness and trust in God. The Deuteronomistic Historians understand it this way; Egyptian and Babylonian interventions are not a sign of God’s absence but confirmation of his presence. Life in a vassal province is not evidence of the failure of the covenant, but assurance that God will honor his name, as Ezekiel said (Ezek. 20:39–44). These events are part of God’s work in history; the faithful will become stronger in faith.
Times like those of Jehoiakim continue to be experienced. One of the most powerful examples of such a danse macabre11 for people of faith took place in Ukraine at the end of World War I. The traumatic upheaval of the Russian Revolution and Civil War was particularly devastating in Ukraine. Living in the rich heartland of Ukraine, devout, hardworking, and self-sufficient German colonists could not anticipate the violence and chaos that would come with revolution and counterrevolution.
The first tremors were felt with land liquidation laws, which called for all colonists to sell off their land holdings within eight months. This threat had grave implications for the future, but the government was so busy with the war that the laws were only sporadically enforced and few were affected. The German colonists were patriotic citizens, who were conscientious about noncombatant military service in forestry or medicine. When the revolution came, many colonists welcomed it. It meant their military duties would end and that they did not need to worry about czarist property liquidation laws.
The positive developments were quickly superseded by ominous developments. The time-honored system of autonomous village and district government was abruptly replaced by hastily organized revolutionary councils made up of peasants, workers, ex-servicemen, and assorted riff-raff. They seldom answered to any higher authority, and to advance their own powers they “requisitioned” huge supplies of grain, livestock, food, clothing, and currency from the colonies. Total anarchy was delayed by the Whites, a volunteer army that represented various anti-Bolshevik groups and favored the old czarist regime. By fall of 1919, the Whites were defeated by an anarchist group led by Nestor Makhno.
The months that followed were most horrific. Under the black flag of anarchy, the Makhnovites went on a prolonged orgy of plunder, rape, and murder. Over a period of three months about seven hundred colonists died; many more were left destitute, wounded, and homeless. Ironically their prosperity provided Makhno with the means to maintain his brutal oppression. By late December the Red Army began taking control, but disease and starvation killed several times as many people as the invasions. In the summer of 1920, the Whites thrust north from Crimea and engaged the Red Army in a summer-long, see-saw battle. Some villages changed hands several times. By November Makhno was on the run and the Red colossus held in its iron grip the fractious Ukraine.
Testimony to these dreadful events has been preserved in the diary of a survivor named Dietrich Navall (Dietrich Neufeld).12 Navall records the following of one of the many home invasions he endured:
“Hey, there’s a piano here,” came the shout. “Who plays it? Come on, gals, play something for us.”
The middle daughter [Liese], a spirited girl, stepped forward bravely. With a defiant glance, she sat down at the piano. She opened the book and began to play a Bach air while the wild, travel-stained brutes sprawled around … uttering filthy mother-of-God oaths, they leaped to their feet and demanded dance music. The poor girl protested that she didn’t know any. She retreated from the piano, frightened and confused. The coarse brutality of these wretches was enough to sicken us all.
The bandits’ greed for valuables was insatiable. They were all trying to get ahead of each other. When evening came they demanded a light. They then attacked the china cabinet, taking out glasses and smashing them.… They amused themselves by tearing books out of their bindings.
Such horrendous stories have been repeated many times. The Mennonite experience has been enacted in a docudrama entitled “… and When They Shall Ask.”13 I grew up hearing of these stories from my grandparents, who also survived that era. My mother was not yet born when the revolution happened, but she grew up in a home that lived with the legacy. I made a copy of the docudrama available to her, but she was never able to watch it. The emotional impact of warfare cannot be understood by those without such an experience.
As a young teenager I remember visits with my maternal grandparents. I remember the poverty and the struggles of those bereft of everything coming to a foreign land and struggling with language as they tried to find a way to earn a living on the farm. What I have come to appreciate more than ever is their unwavering faith. It is said that God is all you need, but you do not know that until God is all you have. That was the faith story of my mother and her parents.
The same story is true for the Israelites in Exile. They suffered the same alienation and ignominy. The story preserved in Kings is testimony to the strength and resolution of their faith.