23:25 This superlative praise marks Josiah as unique in his law-keeping character (cf. Jer 22:15–16). with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength. Fulfills the greatest commandment (Deut 6:5; cf. Matt 22:37–38). all the Law of Moses. May suggest that the lost Book of the Law was not only the book of Deuteronomy but the entire Pentateuch.

23:26 Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away. Even Josiah’s obedience is not enough to remove the threat of exile. This is not an arbitrary judgment on the Lord’s part; it reflects the deep-seated idolatry in the hearts of the people, which is revealed after Josiah dies. The nation not only needs a righteous king but requires a new covenant that will provide a circumcision of every person’s heart (cf. Deut 30:6; Jer 31:31–34).

23:29 Necho. Ruled Egypt 610–595 BC. He mounted a campaign to Harran in 609 BC to support Assyria against the rising threat of Babylon. King Josiah marched out. The text does not give his motivation. He may have been trying to assert sovereignty over the former territory of the northern kingdom by meeting the Egyptian army at the strategic pass through Mount Carmel at Megiddo. It is also possible that he was siding with Babylon against the Assyrians. killed. See 2 Chr 35:20–25.

23:30 Jehoahaz. Jehoiakim’s younger brother (vv. 31, 36). Judging from Necho’s hasty reaction in deposing Jehoahaz, perhaps the people of Judah chose Josiah’s younger son to succeed him because Jehoahaz would likely have continued his father’s anti-Egyptian policies.

23:31—24:20a The Final Four Kings of Judah. Three sons and a grandson succeed Josiah, none of whom follow in his ways. The way to exile is now unobstructed, and the prophecies will be fulfilled. Two of the kings rule for merely three months. Three of the kings are carried off in exile. The glorious kingdom of David and Solomon crumbles to pieces on account of the nation’s treason against their great King.

23:31–35 Jehoahaz King of Judah. The record of Jehoahaz’s brief reign highlights his arrest and deportation.

23:31 three months. In 609 BC. Jeremiah. Not the famous writing prophet because Jeremiah never married (Jer 16:2).

23:32 He did evil. All four of Josiah’s successors fail to walk in his ways, leading to short reigns and multiple deportations.

23:33 Riblah. Modern Ribleh, eight miles (12 kilometers) south of Kadesh on the eastern bank of the Orontes River (see note on Jer 39:5). It was the headquarters for Pharaoh Necho and later the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (25:6).

23:34 The Lord maintains his promise to preserve the Davidic dynasty on the throne even through a foreign power. changed Eliakim’s name. Necho asserts his sovereignty over the nation through this action. carried him off to Egypt. This wicked king dies like many of his ancestors—as a slave in Egypt (cf. Jer 22:10–12).

23:36—24:7 Jehoiakim King of Judah. Jehoiakim’s reign is characterized by rebellion against the Lord and Babylon. Additional details of this king’s evil rule are given in Jer 22:13–19; 26; 36:20–31.

23:36 eleven years. 609–598 BC.

23:37 he did evil. He oppresses the people, murders the prophet Uriah, and burns Jeremiah’s scroll (Jer 22:13–19; 26:20–23; 36:20–26).

24:1 Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon 605–562 BC and carried off exiles from Judah on three occasions. In his first campaign in 605 BC, he deported some members of the royal family, including Daniel (Dan 1:1–6). turned against Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiakim’s rebellion in ca. 602 BC was likely motivated by his hope that Egypt would protect Judah.

24:2 proclaimed by his servants. Throughout the book of Kings, the Lord sent his messengers to call the rulers back to the covenant, and since they ignored the prophets (17:13–14), the Lord began to fulfill his promise to exile the covenant nation (cf. 1 Kgs 8:46; Deut 29:28). The prophetic voice is unmistakable in interpreting Judah’s history from a divine standpoint. Prophets not mentioned in the book of Kings who predicted exile for Judah include Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

24:3 sins of Manasseh. See 21:1–16; see also note on 21:2.

24:6 Jehoiakim rested. This does not give the expected reference to the king’s burial, suggesting that Jeremiah’s prediction of Jehoiakim’s disgraceful end comes to pass (Jer 22:18–19).

24:7 taken all his territory. In 605 BC, the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians at the battle of Carchemish (Jer 46:2). By 601 BC, Nebuchadnezzar had subdued the eastern Mediterranean seaboard as far south as the Brook of Egypt (modern Wadi el-Arish), about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of the city of Gaza.

24:8–17 Jehoiachin King of Judah. The description of Jehoiachin’s brief rule focuses on the Babylonian deportation of the king, the royal family, and the temple treasures.

24:8 Jehoiachin. Josiah’s grandson. The other three kings who followed Josiah (Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah) were his sons. Zedekiah ruled after Jehoiachin. three months. The king’s brief rule ended when Jerusalem surrendered on Mar. 15 or 16, 597 BC. (Cf. 2 Chr 36:9).

24:10 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem. The Babylonian Chronicle documents the capture of Jerusalem in 597 BC.

24:12 eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon. The first time the book dates an event by the reign of a foreign ruler, signifying that Judah has lost its sovereignty.

24:13 As the LORD had declared. The author often points out both the prophecies of judgment as well as their fulfillments (e.g., 23:15–16; 1 Kgs 13:32; 21:19; 22:38). removed the treasures. Predicted in the reign of Hezekiah (20:17). King Belshazzar later profanes these sacred vessels in a banquet he gives on the night that Babylon falls (Dan 5:2–3).

24:14 carried all Jerusalem into exile. This is the second deportation; the first occurred in 605 BC (see note on v. 1). This second deportation includes the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 1:2–3). By deporting the leaders, skilled craftsmen, and military personnel, Nebuchadnezzar strengthens his own economy and army while reducing the possibility of a future rebellion.

24:15 took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. Fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy to Hezekiah that his own descendants will be carried off to Babylon (20:18). It also fulfills Jeremiah’s prophecy that Jehoiachin will be hurled out of the land of Israel (Jer 22:24–30).

24:17 changed his name. See note on 23:34. Zedekiah. The third son of Josiah to sit on the throne (see note on v. 8). He does evil like his brothers.

24:18–20a Zedekiah King of Judah. Zedekiah’s reign is characterized by idolatry and judgment. Additional details are given in Jer 32:1–5; 34; 37–38.

24:18 eleven years. 597–586 BC.

24:19 did evil. See 2 Chr 36:12–14.

24:20a the LORD’s anger. Mentioned only three times in chs. 1–20 and nine times in chs. 21–24, the sin of the Israelites is about to result in divine judgment (13:3; 17:11, 17; 21:6, 15; 22:13, 17; 23:19, 26; 24:20). he thrust them from his presence. Judah’s exile to Babylon is not another conquest in the history of nations but is the disciplinary action of a God faithful to fulfill his covenant promises to bless and judge.

24:20b—25:26 The Fall of Jerusalem. This extended treatment of the conquest of Jerusalem emphasizes the destruction and pillaging of the Lord’s house. Under the curse of God for covenant disobedience, the people starve, the army scatters, and the king runs away. The poorest of the land are left behind to till the fields, but the rest are either killed or deported. The Babylonians appoint Gedaliah governor, but even this attempt at maintaining order fails when surviving rebels assassinate him. Those left alive flee back to Egypt, a sad conclusion for a people whom God had once delivered from there.

24:20b Zedekiah rebelled. Though Nebuchadnezzar placed him on the throne, Zedekiah may have grown weary of paying tribute and wrongly supposed that Babylon’s campaigns elsewhere would prevent its return to Jerusalem. He may have chosen to rebel when the ambitious Hophra came to the Egyptian throne in 589 BC. Ezek 17:15–18 explains the folly of this action.

25:1 ninth year . . . tenth month. Jan. 15, 588 BC. Jer 34:6–7 reports the conquest of some of the cities of Judah.

25:3 ninth day of the fourth month. July 18, 586 BC. famine. Predicted in Jer 38:2–9. Excavations in Jerusalem found evidence of the desperate dietary conditions in the final months of the Babylonian siege, including the presence of two human intestinal parasites associated with shortage of food.

25:4 fled. Contrasts with Joshua’s valiant army that routed the Canaanites and reveals the tragic results of rebelling against the one who fought their battles for them. gate. Possibly the Fountain Gate at the southeastern corner of Jerusalem near the convergence of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys (Neh 3:15). Arabah. The depression between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.

25:5 plains of Jericho. Judah’s last king is captured near the place where the Israelites won their first great victory in Canaan (Josh 6). See note on Jer 39:5.

25:6 Riblah. See note on 23:33.

25:7 killed the sons of Zedekiah. To prevent a future uprising. put out his eyes. The last scene the king sees is the elimination of his family line. This fulfills the prophecies that Zedekiah would see the king of Babylon (Jer 32:4) and be carried off to Babylon but not see it (Ezek 12:13). Zedekiah disappears from the historical record at this point.

25:8 seventh day of the fifth month. Aug. 14, 586 BC.

25:9 set fire to the temple of the LORD. The Lord warned Solomon that he would destroy the temple if his descendants were disobedient (1 Kgs 9:6–8). Jeremiah warned the people of Jerusalem that the presence of the temple would not prevent the Lord from bringing about the promised judgment (Jer 7:4–15; cf. Isa 64:11; Mic 3:12). The temple built by Solomon was 380 years old when the Babylonians reduced it to ashes. Archaeological excavations in the City of David have discovered evidence of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem.

25:10 broke down the walls. To prevent Jerusalem from rebelling again. Nehemiah returns 140 years later to rebuild the city walls (Neh 2:5–6, 17; 6:15).

25:11 people who remained. After the deportations of 605 and 597 BC (see 24:1, 14 and notes), only a remnant is preserved in the city (Jer 52:28–29). The Babylonians deport 832 people from Jerusalem at this time (Jer 52:29).

25:13 carried the bronze to Babylon. The Babylonians remove from Jerusalem all the valuable pieces that they had not carried off in the previous deportations. The temple receives more attention in the narrative than the king’s palace or the rest of the city because of its significance as the Lord’s dwelling place among his people. The loss of the temple means the departure of God’s presence, the end of atoning sacrifices, and the cessation of corporate worship. See “Temple.”

25:17 Recalls the glorious temple construction that the early chapters of 1 Kings describe.

25:18 Seraiah. Grandson of the faithful priest Hilkiah (22:4) and an ancestor of Ezra (Ezra 7:1).

25:20 Riblah. See note on 23:33.

25:21 Judah went into captivity. Fulfills the Lord’s promises to remove his people from the land if they were not loyal to their King and his covenant (Deut 4:26; 8:19–20; 30:18). The book of Lamentations recounts the nation’s spiritual distress because of the destruction of Jerusalem.

25:22 Gedaliah. Grandson of King Josiah’s scribe (22:8–9); he served in the royal courts as well and had previously escorted the prophet Jeremiah home from imprisonment (Jer 39:14). Nebuchadnezzar probably selects Gedaliah as governor because of his administrative experience and his pro-Babylonian views. Jer 40:7—41:15 describes these events in greater detail.

25:23 Mizpah. Eight miles (12 kilometers) north of Jerusalem; the administrative headquarters of Judah moved there after Jerusalem’s destruction (cf. Jer 41:4–6).

25:24 Settle down. Gedaliah’s counsel follows Jeremiah’s instruction to submit to the Babylonians as an instrument of God’s judgment (Jer 27:11; cf. Hab 2:2–20). Given Jeremiah’s prophecy of a 70-year exile (Jer 25:11), this is sensible advice.

25:25 seventh month. Sept–Oct. The year is not clear. Because a period of two months since the fall of Jerusalem seems too little time for everything to transpire (25:8), this may refer to the following year or even five years later when the Babylonians deport an additional group of Jews (Jer 52:30). Judahites who later return from the exile commemorate Gedaliah’s assassination annually with a fast in the seventh month (Zech 7:5; 8:19). Ishmael . . . assassinated Gedaliah. Ishmael’s royal pedigree may have motivated his assassination of Gedaliah, but Jer 40:14 reports that the Ammonite king commissioned him.

25:26 fled to Egypt. The assassins fear reprisal from the Babylonian authorities for murdering the governor they had appointed. By returning to Egypt, they disobey the Lord’s explicit command (Jer 42:18). Jer 41:16—43:13 describes these events in greater detail.

25:27–30 Jehoiachin Released. Though the Babylonians have destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, the house of David continues to live on, indicating that though the book has come to a close, the Lord’s plans continue for the covenant nation and the Messianic line. The nation that recalls Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple will know that turning back to the Lord will lead to forgiveness, restoration from exile, and the fulfillment of all of God’s promises (1 Kgs 8:46–51; cf. Deut 30:1–10; Jer 31:23–40).

25:27 Awel-Marduk. Nebuchadnezzar’s son and successor; he ruled 562–560 BC. released Jehoiachin. At age 55. He was carried off at age 18 and outlived his captor, Nebuchadnezzar. Though the author does not explain that this happened “for the sake of David,” the reader is expected to understand this given the repeated statements that God’s grace to the evil kings of Judah was on account of his promises to David (8:19; 19:34; 20:6; 1 Kgs 11:12–13, 32–39; 15:4).

25:28 a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings. Jehoiachin’s prominence provides hope that God will yet fulfill his promise to establish David’s house and kingdom forever (2 Sam 7:16).

25:29 ate regularly at the king’s table. The former king of Judah receives food, clothing, and housing. A Babylonian administrative text that lists the rations provided for Jehoiachin and his five sons confirms the biblical account.