2 Kings 24 is the twenty-fourth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the events during the reigns of

Jehoiakim Jehoiakim, also sometimes spelled Jehoikim; la, Joakim was the eighteenth and antepenultimate king of Judah from 609 to 598 BC. He was the second son of king Josiah () and Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. His birth name was Eliakim.; ...

Jehoiachin Jeconiah ( he, יְכָנְיָה ''Yəḵonəyā'' , meaning "Yah has established"; el, Ιεχονιας; la, Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin ( he, יְהוֹיָכִין ''Yəhōyāḵīn'' ; la, Ioachin, Joach ...

and

Zedekiah Zedekiah (), was the 20th and last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu ( he, מַתַּנְיָהוּ, ''Mattanyāhū'', "Gift of God"; el, Μαθ� ...

kings of Judah The Kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of Judah. According to the biblical account, this kingdom was founded after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David to rule over it. After seven years, Davi ...

Text

This chapter was originally written in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. It is divided into 20 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century) and

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century).

Old Testament references

*: 2 Kings 24, Berean Study Bible *: *: *: ;

Analysis

A parallel pattern of sequence is observed in the final sections of 2 Kings between

2 Kings 11 2 Kings 11 is the eleventh chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings ...

- 20 and 2 Kings 21– 25, as follows: :A. Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, kills royal seed ( 2 Kings 11:1) ::B. Joash reigns (

– 12) :::C. Quick sequence of kings of Israel and Judah (

2 Kings 13 2 Kings 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kin ...

– 16) ::::D. Fall of Samaria ( 2 Kings 17) :::::E. Revival of Judah under Hezekiah (

2 Kings 18 2 Kings 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kin ...

– 20) :A'. Manasseh, a king like Ahab, promotes idolatry and kills the innocence ( 2 Kings 21) ::B'. Josiah reigns (

2 Kings 22 2 Kings 22 is the twenty-second chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of t ...

– 23) :::C'. Quick succession of kings of Judah (2 Kings 24) ::::D'. Fall of Jerusalem (

2 Kings 25 2 Kings 25 is the twenty-fifth (and the final) chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording t ...

) :::::E'. Elevation of Jehoiachin ( 2 Kings 25:27–30) 2 Kings 23–24 contain a 'neat scheme' within the chaos at the end of the kingdom of Judah:

Judah overrun by enemies (24:1–7)

With the placement of Jehoiakim as the puppet king in 609 BCE, Judah was firmly in Egypt's hand. When the Egyptian army of

Necho II Necho II (sometimes Nekau, Neku, Nechoh, or Nikuu; Greek: Νεκώς Β'; ) of Egypt was a king of the 26th Dynasty (610–595 BC), which ruled from Sais. Necho undertook a number of construction projects across his kingdom. In his reign, accordi ...

and his Assyrian allies were defeated by the Babylonian army of Nebuchadnezzar II and his allies—the

Medes The Medes ( Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, ...

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

, and

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

—in the Battle of Carchemish (605 BCE), Jehoiakim switched to be Babylonian vassal. In 601 BCE, a battle near Pelusium between Egypt and Babylonia resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, forcing Nebuchadnezzar to return to Babylon to rebuild his army, but Jehoiakim apparently considered this as a Babylonian defeat, so he revolted against Babylonia and returned under the Egypt's wing. During 601-598 BCE Nebuchadnezzar dispatched 'raiding parties from various surrounding nations to harass Judah', until he mustered strong enough army to attack Jerusalem (cf. Jeremiah 35:1, 11;

Zephaniah 2 Zephaniah 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Zephaniah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zephaniah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Proph ...

; Babylonian Chronicles, ''ANET'' 564), while Egypt could not protect Judah anymore (verse 7). In late 598 BCE, the Babylonian army laid siege to Jerusalem for three months. Jehoiakim apparently died before the siege ended. The Book of Chronicles recorded that "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ... bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon." Jeremiah prophesied that he died without proper funeral, describing the people of Judah "shall not lament for him, saying, 'Alas, master!' or 'Alas, his glory!' He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem" ( Jeremiah 22:18–19) "and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night" ( Jeremiah 36:30).

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

wrote that Nebuchadnezzar slew Jehoiakim along with high-ranking officers and then commanded Jehoiakim's body "to be thrown before the walls, without any burial."

Verse 1

:''In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.'' *"In his days": that is, 605 BCE, toward the end of the third year () and beginning of fourth year ( Jeremiah 25:1) of

's reign.Benson, Joseph
'’Commentary on the Old and New Testaments''. 2 Kings 24.
Accessed 9 Juli 2019. Barnes, Albert
''Notes on the Bible'' - 2 Kings 24
James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998.

Verse 2

:''And the Lord sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets.'' *"Bands": or "troops"

Verse 3

:''Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,'' *"Surely at the commandment of the Lord": literally, "only upon the mouth of

YHWH The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

"; the Greek

and Syriac versions read "wrath" instead of "mouth". Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905)
''Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers''. 2 Kings 24.
London : Cassell and Company, Limited, 905-1906Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019.

Verse 6

:''So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.'' *"Slept": rendered as "rested" (

NKJV The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson, now HarperCollins. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the origin ...

) or "lay down".

Verse 7

:''And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.'' *" Brook of Egypt": mostly identified with Wadi El-Arish an epiphemeral river pouring at the

Mediterranean sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

near the city of Arish (cf.

1 Kings 8 1 Kings 8 is the eighth chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a ...

:65).

Jehoiachin, king of Judah (24:8–16)

The regnal account of Jehoiachin (also called Jeconiah) consists of an introductory regnal form (verses 8–9) and a two-part narrative describing the brief three months reign and his exile to Babylon. The first part is marked by the 'syntactically independent introductory temporal formula' of ''waw''-consecutive verbal form, "in that time" (verse 10) regarding the siege of Jerusalem (verses 10–13), whereas the second one (verses 14–17) starts with a 'converted perfect verbal form', "and he exiled". There is no concluding regnal formula, because Jehoiachin's account did not end with his death. The record in

:27-30 describes his release from the prison during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar's son,

Evil-Merodach Amel-Marduk (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Amēl-Marduk'', meaning "man of Marduk"), also known as Awil-Marduk, or under the biblical rendition of his name, Evil-Merodach (Hebrew: , ''ʾÉwīl Mərōḏaḵ''), was the third king of the Neo-Babylonian E ...

, stating that he was still alive the writing of the book of Kings was concluded.

Verse 8

:''Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.'' *Cross reference: 2 Chronicles 36:9 *"

" the son of

. His existence was attested by tablets found near the

Ishtar Gate The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed circa 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was pa ...

of ancient Babylon (now in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

), such as the

Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets Jehoiachin's rations tablets date from the 6th century BC and describe the oil rations set aside for a royal captive identified with Jeconiah, king of Judah. Tablets from the royal archives of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon were unearthed in the ...

, dated to c. 592 BCE, mentioning his name in

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...

( akk, 𒅀𒀪𒌑𒆠𒉡, "''Ia-'-ú-kinu''") and his five sons as recipients of food rations in Babylon.James B. Pritchard, ed., ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969) 308. "Jehoiachin" is the throne name of

Jeconiah Jeconiah ( he, יְכָנְיָה ''Yəḵonəyā'' , meaning "Yah has established"; el, Ιεχονιας; la, Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin ( he, יְהוֹיָכִין ''Yəhōyāḵīn'' ; la, Ioachin, Joach ...

as written in Jeremiah 24:1; 28:4; 29:2, which has the abbreviated form "Coniah" in Jeremiah 22:24, 28; 37:1.

Verse 12

:''And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.'' *"Eighth year": based on the ascension method of counting the regnal year in Judah, considering the time Nebuchadnezzar took control of the army prior to his father's death as year 1, whereas the Babylonian Chronicle records this as the seventh year (from the time Nebuchadnezzar's accession to the throne) which is also used in .

Verse 15

:''And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.'' *"The mighty of the land": The

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

translates it as "the magnates of the land".

Verse 17

:''And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.'' *" Mattaniah/Zedekiah: The youngest son of king Josiah ( Jeremiah 1:3; Jeremiah 37:1) who was 10 years old when his father died, and 21 years old when he ascended the throne ( verse 18).Keil, Carl Friedrich; Delitzsch, Franz
''Commentary on the Old Testament'' (1857-1878). 2 Kings 24
Accessed 24 Juni 2018. As

, who was eighteen at that time ( verse 8) and could not have a son capable of reigning, Mattaniah as Jehoiachin's uncle had the first claim to the throne. *"His father's brother": the "paternal uncle" (of King

) from Hebrew , ''dodow''.

Zedekiah, king of Judah (24:17–20)

The regnal account of Zedekiah consists of an introductory regnal part (verses 18–20) and the main part in

:1–30, without the typical concluding part, because there was no king to succeeded him on the throne after Jerusalem was destroyed.

Verse 18

:''Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.'' *

: was the throne name of "Mattaniah", the younger brother of Jehoahaz from the same father and mother (cf. 2 Kings 23:31) and the uncle of

. Despite receiving advice from

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewi ...

(

Jeremiah 37 Jeremiah 37 is the thirty-seventh chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It is numbered as Jeremiah 44 in the Septuagint. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jerem ...

:17–21; 38:14–28), Zedekiah chose to revolt against Babylon (cf. 2 Kings 24:20 and

Ezekiel 17 Ezekiel 17 is the seventeenth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. ...

) and this caused the destruction of Jerusalem. *

Libnah Libnah or Lobana ( he, לִבְנָה, ''whiteness''; la, Lobana) was an independent city, probably near the western seaboard of Israel, with its own king at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan.Gina Hens-Piazza Abingdon Old Testament Comm ...

: in

Shephelah The Shephelah or Shfela, lit. "lowlands" ( hbo, הַשְּפֵלָה ''hašŠǝfēlā'', also Modern Hebrew: , ''Šǝfēlat Yəhūda'', the "Judaean foothills"), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel str ...

. Taking Hamutal as his wife may indicate Josiah's effort to strengthen this southwestern border area of Judah to resist Egypt.

Verse 20

:''For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.'' :''And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.'' ESV *"Zedekiah rebelled": as he sent a messenger to ask help from

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

Hophra (Apries), king of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

( Ezekiel 17:15; cf. Jeremiah 37:5; Jeremiah 44:30), spurred by the eagerness of the neighboring nations (Edom, Ammon, Moab, Tyre and Sidon) to throw off the yoke of Babylon ( Jeremiah 27:3) and the false prophecy of Hananiah (

Jeremiah 28 Jeremiah 28 is the twenty-eighth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': An Abbreviated Bible Commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing Ho ...

), despite the advice of Jeremiah to submit to Babylon.

Illustration

File:Second Book of Kings Chapter 24-5 (Bible Illustrations by Sweet Media).jpg, The king of Babylon made Zedekiah king of Judah.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

translations: *
Melachim II - II Kings - Chapter 24 (Judaica Press)
translation ith_Rashi's_commentary.html"_;"title="Rashi.html"_;"title="ith_Rashi">ith_Rashi's_commentary">Rashi.html"_;"title="ith_Rashi">ith_Rashi's_commentaryat_Chabad.org *__Christian_translations: *
''Online_Bible''_at_GospelHall.org
(ESV,_KJV,_Darby,_American_Standard_Version,_Bible_in_Basic_English) *
2_Kings_chapter_24._Bible_Gateway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings_2_24 Second_Book_of_Kings_chapters.html" ;"title="2_Kings_24.html" ;"title="Rashi">ith_Rashi's_commentary.html" ;"title="Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org * Christian translations: *
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) *
2 Kings chapter 24. Bible Gateway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings 2 24 Second Book of Kings chapters">24