Jehoiachin

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("appointed by Jehovah, or he whom Jehovah establishes or fortifies" (Keil).) Jeconiah, Coniah Son of Jehoiakim and Nehushta; at 18 succeeded his father, and was king of Judah for three months and ten days; 20th king from David. In  2 Chronicles 36:9 his age is made "eight" at his accession, so Septuagint, Vulgate. But a few Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac and Arabic, read "eighteen" here also; it is probably a transcriber's error. The correctness of eighteen, not eight, is proved by  Ezekiel 19:5-9, where he appears as "going up and down among the lions, catching the prey, devouring men, knowing the widows" (margin) of the men so devoured; unless Jehoiakim is meant. The term "whelp" appears to apply more to his son Jehoiachin, who moreover answers better to the description of the mother (Judah) "taking another of her whelps, and making him a young lion."

Lord A. C. Hervey prefers "eight," from  Matthew 1:11. "Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon," fixing his birth to the time of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion ( 2 Kings 24:1), namely, three years after Jehoiakim's accession, and eight before his reign ended and Jehoiachin succeeded; but Matthew's language hardly justifies this; Jeremiah's language implies Jehoiachin was a "man," and capable of having a "child" ( 2 Kings 22:28;  2 Kings 22:30). Jerusalem was an easy prey to Nebuchadnezzar at this time, Judah having been wasted for three or four years by Chaldaean, Ammonite, and Moabite bands, sent by Nebuchadnezzar (as Jehovah's executioner of judgment) in consequence of Jehoiakim's rebellion. Egypt, after its defeat at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar, could not interpose ( 2 Kings 23:7-17).

After sending his servants (generals distinct from the Chaldaean and other bands) to besiege Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar in person came ( 2 Chronicles 36:10 margin) at the turn of the year, i.e. spring, in the eighth year of his reign, counting from the time that his father transferred the command of the army against Necho to him (so that his first coincides with the fourth of Jehoiakim,  Jeremiah 25:1). Jehoiachin seeing the impossibility of resistance made a virtue of necessity by going out to Nebuchadnezzar, he, the queen mother (who, as the king was only 18, held chief power;  Jeremiah 13:18 undesignedly coincides with and confirms the history, "Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves," etc.), servants, princes, and eunuchs (margin).

Nebuchadnezzar, after Jehoiakim's rebellion (notwithstanding his agreement at Nebuchadnezzar's first advance to be his vassal) ( 2 Kings 24:1;  Daniel 1:1), would not trust his son Jehoiachin, but carried him away, the queen mother, his wives, chamberlains, and all the men of might, 7,000, and 1,000 crafts. men and smiths; fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy ( Jeremiah 22:24, etc.), He had already taken at the first siege of Jerusalem in Jehoiakim's third year part of the vessels of God's house ( Daniel 1:1-2;  2 Chronicles 36:7) and put them in the house of his god in Babylon, namely, the smaller vessels of solid gold, basins, goblets, knives, tongs, etc., which Cyrus restored ( Ezra 1:7, etc.). Now he cut the gold off (not "cut in pieces,"  2 Kings 24:13) the larger vessels which were plated, the altar of burnt offering, the table of shewbread, and the ark, so that at the third conquest of Jerusalem under Zedekiah there were only the large brazen vessels of the court remaining, beside a few gold and silver basins and firepans ( 2 Kings 25:13-17).

Nebuchadnezzar also carried off the treasures of Jeconiah's house ( 2 Kings 24:13), "as Jehovah had spoken" to Hezekiah long before ( 2 Kings 20:17;  Jeremiah 15:13;  Jeremiah 17:3;  Jeremiah 29:2). The inhabitants carried off were the best not only in means but in character. In  2 Kings 24:14 they are said to be 10,000; the details are specified in  2 Kings 24:15-16; "none remained save the poorest sort of the people of the land," having neither wealth nor skill to raise war, and therefore giving Nebuchadnezzar no fear of rebellion. The "princes" (satire) are the king's great court officials; "the mighty men of valor" ( Gibbowrey Hachail , "mighty men of wealth," same Hebrew as  2 Kings 15:20) are men of property, rather than prowess:  2 Kings 15:14. In  2 Kings 15:16 "men of might" ( Anshey Hachail ) may mean the same, but Nowsh is a low man; I think therefore it means "men of the army," as in  Ezekiel 37:10, and is defined by "all that were strong and apt for war," 7,000.

The craftsmen (masons, smiths, and carpenters) and locksmiths (including weapon makers, Hamasgeer ), were 1,000; so the "princes" or king's officials, "the mighty men of wealth," and "the mighty of the land" ( Uley Haarets ), i.e. heads of tribes and families found in Jerusalem (including the nation's spiritual heads, priests and prophets, with Ezekiel:  Jeremiah 29:1;  Ezekiel 1:1) must have been 2,000, to make up the "ten thousand." In  Jeremiah 52:28 the number is 3,023, but that was the number carried away "in the seventh year," "in the eighth year" of Nebuchadnezzar the 10,000 were carried away. The 1,000 "craftsmen" may be exclusive of the 10,000. Evidently, the 4,600 in all mentioned ( Jeremiah 52:30) as carried away do not include the general multitude and the women and children ( Jeremiah 52:15;  Jeremiah 39:9;  2 Kings 25:11), for otherwise the number would be too small, since the numbers who returned were 42,360 (Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7).

Jehoiachin wore prison garments for 36 years, until at the death of Nebuchadnezzar, having been for a time sharer of his imprisonment ( Jeremiah 52:31-34), "in the 12th month, the 25th day of the month (in  2 Kings 25:27 'the 27th,' the day when the decree for his elevation, given on the 25th, was carried into effect) lifted up the head of Jehoiachin (compare  Genesis 40:13-20;  Psalms 3:3;  Psalms 27:6), and brought him forth out of prison, and spoke kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, and changed his prison garments (for royal robes; compare  Zechariah 3:1-5;  Luke 15:22), and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life (compare  2 Samuel 9:13); and there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day its portion (compare margin  1 Kings 8:59) until the day of his death." (See Evil -MERODACH.)

God, in sparing and at last elevating him, rewarded his having surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, which was God's will ( Jeremiah 38:17;  Jeremiah 27:6-12; compare  2 Kings 24:12). In the fourth year of his uncle Zedekiah (so called by Nebuchadnezzar instead of Mattaniah), false prophets encouraged the popular hope of the return of Jehoiachin to Jerusalem ( Jeremiah 28:4).(See Hananiah .) But God's oath made this impossible: "as I live, though Coniah were the signet (ring seal,  Song of Solomon 8:6;  Haggai 2:23) upon My right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence." "Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? (he was idolized by the Jews). Is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure?" Jeremiah hereby expresses their astonishment that one from whom they expected so much should be now so utterly east aside. Contrast the believer,  2 Timothy 2:21; compare as to Israel  Hosea 8:8, to which  Romans 9:20-23 gives the answer.

Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 22:28) mentions distinctly "his seed," therefore "childless" in  Jeremiah 22:30 means having no direct lineal heir to the throne. One of his sons was Zedekiah (Zidkijah), distinct in name and fact from Zedekiah (Zidkijahu), Jeconiah's uncle, whose succession after Jehoiachin would never cause him to be called "his son" ( 1 Chronicles 3:16). This Zedekiah is mentioned separately from the other sons of Jehoiachin, Assir and Salathiel, because probably he was not led to Babylon as the other sons, but died in Judea (Keil). In  Luke 3:27 Shealtiel (Salathiel) is son of Neri of the lineage of David's son Nathan, not Solomon. Probably Assir left a daughter, who, according to the law of heiresses ( Numbers 37:8;  Numbers 36:8-9), married a man of a family of her paternal tribe, namely, Neri descended from Nathan. Shealtiel is called Assir's "son" ( 1 Chronicles 3:17), i.e. grandson.

So "Jechonias (it is said  Matthew 1:12) begat Salathiel," i.e. was his forefather. Jecamiah Assir, as often occurs in genealogies, is skipped in Matthew. (See Jecamiah ); Genealogies.) A party of the captives at Babylon also, through the false prophets, expected restoration with Jehoiachin and Nebuchadnezzar's overthrow. This accounts for the Babylonian king inflicting so terrible a punishment (compare Daniel 3), roasting to death Ahab ( Jeremiah 29:4-9;  Jeremiah 29:21-23;  Jeremiah 29:27-32). Ezekiel dates his prophecies by Jehoiachin's captivity, the latest date being the 27th year ( Ezekiel 1:2;  Ezekiel 29:17;  Ezekiel 40:1). The Apocrypha ( Baruch 1:3, and the History of Susanna) relates dubious stories. about Jehoiachin. Kish, Mordecai's ancestor, was carried away with Jehoiachin ( Esther 2:6).

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The son of Jehoiakim. This is the man whom the prophet had it in commission from the Lord to write childless. ( Jeremiah 22:24-30) His name is also a compound, signifying from the root to prepare, that the Lord would prepare. But how seldom do we find, notwithstanding the striking names given by the Hebrews to their children, that they answered to them. In what sense Jehoiachiu was written childless, I cannot determine; somewhat different from natural things it must have been, for certain it is, that he had several sons. (See  1 Chronicles 3:17-18) But what the sentence referred to besides, I know not. I should have thought it had respect to the promised seed, and that the writing this man childless might have been in other words to say, the Messiah shall not be in his family. For this was the great desire of all the tribes of Israel; and for the accomplishment of which they all earnestly longed for a numerous progeny of children. But this was so far from being the case, that in the generations of the Lord Jesus Christ after the flesh, we find his son Salathiel enumerated. (See  Matthew 1:12) Some have thought, that the expression childless meant in relation to his kingdom, that he should have no successor in his family to sit upon the throne. And if this be the meaning, it was literally fulfilled; for Salathiel was born in Babylon, and so was his son Zorobabel. (See  Matthew 1:13) But here I leave the subject.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Son and successor of Jehoiakim king of Judah. According to  2 Kings 24:8 he began to reign when he was eighteen years of age, but   2 Chronicles 36:9 says 'eight years' (one being apparently an error of the copyist). He reigned but three months, B.C. 599, when Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, and the great captivity of Judah was accomplished. Jehoiachin was carried to Babylon and kept in prison thirty-six years; on the accession of Evil-merodach, B.C. 561, he was released from prison and exalted above the other captive kings, and he ate bread before the king all the days of his life.   2 Kings 24:6-15;  2 Kings 25:27;  2 Chronicles 36:8,9;  Jeremiah 52:31;  Ezekiel 1:2 . He is called Jeconiah in  1 Chronicles 3:16   17;  Esther 2:6;  Jeremiah 24:1;  Jeremiah 27:20;  Jeremiah 28:4 (where his return from Babylon is falsely prophesied of);   Jeremiah 29:2 . He is also called CONIAH in  Jeremiah 22:24,28;  Jeremiah 37:1 , and JECHONIAS in  Matthew 1:11,12 .

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

At the time of Babylon’s attack on Jerusalem in 597 BC, the Judean king Jehoiakim died and was succeeded by his eighteen year old son Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah, or Coniah). After three months resistance, Jehoiachin surrendered ( 2 Kings 24:6;  2 Kings 24:8;  2 Kings 24:12). The Babylonians then plundered Judah’s treasures and took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon, along with the royal family, palace officials and most of Judah’s best people ( 2 Kings 24:8-16;  Esther 2:6;  Jeremiah 22:24-30;  Jeremiah 24:1;  Jeremiah 27:20;  Jeremiah 29:2). One of the captives was Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 1:1-2).

In 561 BC a new Babylonian king released Jehoiachin from prison and treated him with special favour. To the captive Jews this was a sign of hope that one day they would all be released ( 2 Kings 25:27-30). When, after Persia’s conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, the Jews were released and returned to Jerusalem, a grandson of Jehoiachin, Zerubbabel, became their governor ( 1 Chronicles 3:17;  Ezra 3:2;  Haggai 1:1;  Matthew 1:12).

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

otherwise called Coniah,  Jeremiah 22:24 , and Jeconiah,  1 Chronicles 3:17 , the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and grandson of Josiah. He ascended the throne, and reigned only three months. It seems he was born about the time of the first Babylonish captivity, A.M. 3398, when Jehoiakim, or Eliakim, his father, was carried to Babylon. Jehoiakim returned from Babylon, and reigned till A.M. 3405, when he was killed by the Chaldeans, in the eleventh year of his reign; and was succeeded by this Jehoiachin, who reigned alone three months and ten days; but he reigned about ten years in conjunction with his father. Thus  2 Kings 24:8 , is reconciled with  2 Chronicles 36:9 . In the former of these passages, he is said to have been eighteen when he began to reign, and in Chronicles only eight; that is, he was only eight when he began to reign with his father, and eighteen when he began to reign alone. He was a bad man, and did evil in the sight of the Lord,  Jeremiah 22:24 . The time of his death is uncertain; and the words of the Prophet Jeremiah,  Jeremiah 22:30 , are not to be taken in the strictest sense; since he was the father of Salathiel and others,  1 Chronicles 3:17-18;  Matthew 1:12 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

JEHOIACHIN , king of Judah, ascended the throne when Nebuchadrezzar was on the march to punish the rebellion of Jehoiakim. On the approach of the Chaldæan army, the young king surrendered and was carried away to Babylon (  2 Kings 24:8 ff.). His reign had lasted only three months, but his confinement in Babylon extended until the death of Nebuchadrezzar thirty-seven years. Ezekiel, who seems to have regarded him as the rightful king of Judah even in captivity, pronounced a dirge over him (  2 Kings 19:1 ff.). At the accession of Evil-merodach he was freed from durance, and received a daily allowance from the palace (  2 Kings 25:27 f.). Jeremiah gives his name in   Jeremiah 24:1 ,   Jeremiah 27:20 ,   Jeremiah 28:4 ,   Jeremiah 29:2 as Jeconiah , and in   Jeremiah 22:28  Jeremiah 22:28 ,   Jeremiah 37:1 as Coniah . In 1Es 1:43 he is called Joakim , in Bar 1:3; Bar 1:9 Jechonias , and in   Matthew 1:11-12 Jechoniah .

H. P. Smith.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Son and successor of Jeohiakim, king of Judah, B. C. 509, reigned three months, and was then carried away to Babylon, where he was imprisoned for thirty-six years, and then released and favored by Evil-merodach,  2 Kings 24:6-16   25:27   2 Chronicles 3:9,10 . In this last passage he is said to have been eight years old at the commencement of his reign. If the text has not here been altered from eighteen years, as it stands in the first passage, we may conclude that he reigned ten years conjointly with his father. He is also called Coniah, and Jeconiah,  1 Chronicles 3:16   Jeremiah 27:20   37:1 . The prediction in  Jeremiah 22:30 , signified that no son of his should occupy the throne,  1 Chronicles 3:17,18   Matthew 1:12 .

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Jeho-i'achin. (Whom Jehovah Has Appointed). Son of Jehoiakim, and for three months and ten days, king of Judah. (B.C. 597). At his accession, Jerusalem was quite defenseless, and unable to offer any resistance to the army, which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it.  2 Kings 24:10-11.

In a very short time, Jehoiachin surrendered at discretion; and he, and the queen-mother, and all his servants, captains and officers, came out and gave themselves up to Nebuchadnezzar, who carried them, with the harem and the eunuchs, to Babylon.  Jeremiah 29:2;  Ezekiel 17:12;  Ezekiel 19:9.

There he remained a prisoner, actually in prison and wearing prison garments, for thirty-six years, namely, till the death of Nebuchadnezzar, when Evilmerodach, succeeding to the throne of Babylon, brought him out of prison, and made him sit at this own table. The time of his death is uncertain.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Jehoiachin ( Je-Hoi'A-Kĭn ), Whom Jehovah Has Appointed. Jeconiah,  1 Chronicles 3:17; Coniah,  Jeremiah 22:24; Jeconias, R. V. "Jechoniah."  Matthew 1:12. Son and successor of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, b.c. 598.  2 Kings 24:8. In his brief reign Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and carried the king and royal family, the chief men of the nation, and great treasures, unto Babylon.  2 Kings 24:6-16. Jehoiachin merited this punishment.  Jeremiah 22:24-30. For 37 years he was a captive, but Evil-merodach liberated him and made him share the royal bounty and be head of all the captive kings in Babylon.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 2 Chronicles 36:9 Jeremiah 24:1 27:20 2 Kings 24:12-16 Jeremiah 52:28 Jeremiah 52:31,33

Holman Bible Dictionary

 2 Kings 24:6 2 Kings 25:27-30IsraelChronology Of The Biblical Period

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Yehoyakin', יְהוֹיָכַין , Jehovah Appointed; Sept. Ι᾿Εχονίας in in  2 Kings 24:6;  2 Kings 24:8;  2 Kings 24:12;  2 Kings 24:15;  2 Kings 25:27; Ι᾿Εχονίας in  2 Chronicles 36:8-9; Ι᾿Ωακείμ in  Jeremiah 52:31; Josephus Ι᾿Ωάχιμος Ant . 10, 6, 3; 7, 1; N. Test. Ι᾿Εχονίας , "Jechonias,"  Matthew 1:11-12; contracted once יוֹיָכַין , Yoyakin ',  Ezekiel 1:2, Sept. Ι᾿Ωακείμ , Auth. Vers. "Jehoiachin"), also in the contracted forms JECONIAH ( יְכָנְיָה , Yekonyah ', Sept. Ι᾿Εχονίας in  Jeremiah 27:20;  Jeremiah 28:4;  Jeremiah 29:2;  1 Chronicles 3:16-17; but omits in  Esther 2:6; likewise paragogic יְכָנְיָהוּ , Yekonya 'Hu ,  Jeremiah 24:1; Sept. Ι᾿Εχονίας ) and CONIAH ( Konyah ', only paragogic כָּנְיָהוּ , Konya 'Hu ,  Jeremiah 22:24;  Jeremiah 22:28;  Jeremiah 37:1, Sept. Ι᾿Εχονίας ), son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, by Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem; he succeeded his father as the nineteenth monarch of that separate kingdom, but only for three months and ten days, B.C. 598. He was then eighteen years of age according to  2 Kings 24:8, but only eight according to  2 Chronicles 36:9. Many attempts have been made to reconcile these dates (see J. D. M Ü ller, De reb. duar. tribuum regni Jud. adersis, Lipsiae, 1745; Oeder, Freie Untersuch. Ü ber einige Alttest. — Bucher, p. 214; Offerhaus, Spicileg. p. 193), the most usual solution being that he had reigned ten years in conjunction with his father, so that he was eight when he began his joint reign, but eighteen when he began to reign alone. There are, however, difficulties in this view which, perhaps, leave it the safest course to conclude that "eight": in  2 Chronicles 26:9, is a corruption of the text, such as might easily occur from the relation of the numbers eight and eighteen. (All the versions read eighteen in Kings and so the Vulg. and many MSS. of the Sept. in Chronicles, as well as at  1 Esdras 1:43. Among recent commentators, Keil, Thenius, and Hitzig favor the reading eighteen, while Bertheau prefers eight. The language in  Jeremiah 22:24-30 is not decisive, for the epithets there applied to Jechoniah do not necessarily imply adult age, although they more naturally agree with it. The same remark applies to the allusion in  Ezekiel 19:5-9. The decided reprobation, however, in  2 Kings 24:9, and in  2 Chronicles 36:9, would hardly be used of a mere child. The mention of his mother in  2 Kings 24:12 does not imply his minority, for the queen dowager was a very important member of the royal family. The number eight, indeed, would bring Jehoiachin's birth in the year of the beginning of the captivity by Nebuchadnezzar's invasion and thus exactly agree with the language in  Matthew 1:11; but the expression "and his brethren" added there, as well as the language of the following verse, agrees better with a less precise correspondence, as likewise the qualifying "about" indicates. The argument drawn from his father's age at death, thirty-six [ 2 Kings 23:36], is favorable to Jehoiachin's maturity at the time, for most of these kings became fathers very early, Josiah, e.g., at fifteen [ 2 Kings 22:1, comp. with 23:36].) He was, therefore, born in B.C. 616.

Jehoiachin followed the evil courses which had already brought so much disaster upon the royal house of David and upon the people under its sway. He seems to have very speedily indicated a political bias adverse to the interests of the Chaldaean empire, for in three months after his accession we find the generals of Nebuchadnezzar again laying siege to Jerusalem, according to the predictions of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 22:24-30). Jehoiachin had come to the throne at a time when Egypt was still prostrate in consequence of the victory at Carchemish and when the Jews had been for three or four years harassed and distressed by the inroads of the armed bands of Chaldaeans, Ammonites, and Moabites, sent against them by Nebuchadnezzar in consequence of Jehoiakim's rebellion. (See Jehoiakim).

Jerusalem at this time, therefore, was quite defenseless and unable to offer any resistance to the regular army which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it in the eighth year of his reign and which he seems to have joined in person after the siege was commenced ( 2 Kings 24:10-11). In a very short time, apparently, and without any losses from famine or fighting which would indicate a serious resistance, Jehoiachin surrendered at discretion; and he, and the queen mother, and all his servants, captains, and officers, came out and gave themselves up to Nebuchadnezzar, who treated them, with the harem and the eunuchs, as prisoners of war ( Jeremiah 29:2;  Ezekiel 17:12;  Ezekiel 19:9). He was sent away as a captive to Babylon, with his mother, his generals, and his troops, together with the artificers and other inhabitants of Jerusalem, to the number of ten thousand. (This number, found in  2 Kings 24:14, is probably a round number, made up of the 7000 soldiers of  2 Kings 24:16 and the 3023 nobles of  Jeremiah 52:28, exclusive of the 1000 artificers mentioned in  2 Kings 24:16; see Brown's Ordo Soeclorum, p. 186.) Among these was the prophet Ezekiel. Few were left but the poorer sort of people and the unskilled laborers; few indeed, whose presence could be useful in Babylon or dangerous in Palestine. (See Captivity).

Neither did the Babylonian king neglect to remove the treasures which could yet be gleaned from the palace or the Temple and he now made spoil of those sacred vessels of gold which had been spared on former occasions. These were cut up for present use of the metal or for more convenient transport, whereas those formerly taken had been sent to Babylon entire and there laid up as trophies of victory. If the Chaldaean king had then put an end to the show of a monarchy and annexed the country to his own dominions, the event would probably have been less unhappy for the nation; but, still adhering to his former policy, he placed on the throne Mattaniah, the only surviving son of Josiah, whose name he changed to Zedekiah ( 2 Kings 24:11-16;  2 Chronicles 36:9-10;  Jeremiah 37:1). (See Nebuchadnezzar).

Jehoiachin remained a captive at Babylon — actually in prison ( בֵּית כֶּלֶא ) and wearing prison garments ( Jeremiah 52:31;  Jeremiah 52:33) — for thirty-six years, viz. during the lifetime of Nebuchadnezzar; but, when that prince died, his son, Evil-merodach, not only released him, but gave him an honorable seat at his own table, with precedence over all the other dethroned kings who were kept at Babylon and an allowance for the support of his rank ( 2 Kings 25:27-30;  Jeremiah 52:31-34). B.C. 561. To what he owed this favor we are not told, but the Jewish commentators allege that Evil-merodach had himself been put into prison by his father during the last years of his reign and had there contracted an intimate friendship with the deposed king of Judah. We learn from  Jeremiah 28:4 that, four years after Jehoiachin had gone to Babylon, there was a great expectation at Jerusalem of his return, but it does not appear whether Jehoiachin himself shared this hope at Babylon. The tenor of Jeremiah's letter to the elders of the captivity (Jeremiah 29) would, however, indicate that there was a party among the captivity, encouraged by false prophets, who were at this time looking forward to Nebuchadnezzar's overthrow and Jehoiachin's return; and perhaps the fearful death of Ahab, the son of Kolaiah ( Jeremiah 29:22), and the close confinement of Jehoiachin through Nebuchadnezzar's reign, may have been the result of some disposition to conspire against Nebuchadnezzar on the part of a portion of the captivity. But neither Daniel or Ezekiel, who were Jehoiachin's fellow captives, make any further allusion to him, except that Ezekiel dates his prophecies by the year "of king Jehoiachin's captivity" ( Ezekiel 1:2;  Ezekiel 8:1;  Ezekiel 24:1, etc.); the latest date being "the twenty-seventh year" ( Ezekiel 29:17;  Ezekiel 40:1).

We also learn from  Esther 2:6 that Kish, the ancestor of Mordecai, was Jehoiachin's fellow captive. But the apocryphal books are more communicative. Thus the author of the book of Baruch ( Baruch 1:3) introduces "Jechonias, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah," into his narrative and represents Baruch as reading his prophecy in his ears and in the ears of the king's sons, and the nobles and elders and people, at Babylon. At the hearing of Baruch's words, it is added, they wept and fasted and prayed, and sent a collection of silver to Jerusalem, to Joiakim, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum, the high priest, with which to purchase burnt offerings, and sacrifices and incense, bidding them pray for the prosperity of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar his son. The history of Susanna and the elders also apparently makes Jehoiachin an important personage, for, according to the author, the husband of Susanna was Joiakim, a man of great wealth, and the chief person among the captives, to whose house all the people resorted for judgment — a description which suits Jehoiachin. Africanus (Ep. ad Orig.; Routh, Rel. Sac. 2:113) expressly calls Susanna's husband king and says that the king of Babylon had made him his royal companion ( Σύνθρονος ). He is also mentioned in  1 Esdras 5:5, but the text seems to be corrupt. That Zedekiah, who in  1 Chronicles 3:16 is called "his son," is the same as Zedekiah his uncle (called "his brother" in  2 Chronicles 36:10), who was his successor on the throne, seems certain. But it is probable that "Assir" ( אִסַּר = captive), who is reckoned amongst the family of Jeconiah in  1 Chronicles 3:17, may really have been only an appellative of Jeconiah himself (see Bertheau on  1 Chronicles 3:16). (See Assir).

In the genealogy of Christ ( Matthew 1:11) he is named in the received text as the "son of Josias" his grandfather, the name of Jehoiakim having probably been omitted by erroneous transcription. (See Genealogy).

In the dark portrait of his early character by the prophet ( Jeremiah 22:30), the expression "Write ye this man childless" refers to his having no successor on the throne, for he had children (see Meth. Quar. Review , Oct. 1852, p. 602-4). (See Salathiel).

Josephus, however ( Ant. 10, 7,1), gives him a fair character (see Keil, Commentary On Kings p. 602). The compiler of 1 Esd. gives the name of Jechonias to Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, who reigned three months after Josiah's death and was deposed and carried to Egypt by Pharaoh-necho ( 1 Esdras 1:34,  2 Kings 23:30). He is followed in this blunder by Epiphanius (1:21), who says "Josiah begat Jechoniah, who is also called Shallum. This Jechoniah begat Jechoniah who is called Zedekiah and Joakim." It has its origin, doubtless, in the confusion of the names when written in Greek by writers ignorant of Hebrew. (See Kingdom Of Judah).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

je - hoi´a - kin ( יהויכין , yehōyākhı̄n , "Yahweh will uphold"; called also "Jeconiah" in   1 Chronicles 3:16;  Jeremiah 24:1; יכניה , yekhonyāh , "Yahweh will be steadfast," and "Coniah" in  Jeremiah 22:24 ,  Jeremiah 22:28; כּניהוּ , konyāhū , "Yahweh has upheld him"; Ἰωακείμ , Iōakeı́m ): A king of Judah; son and successor of Jehoiakim; reigned three months and surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar; was carried to Babylon, where, after being there 37 years a prisoner, he died.

1. Sources

The story of his reign is told in  2 Kings 24:8-16 , and more briefly in  2 Chronicles 36:9-10 . Then, after the reign of his successor Zedekiah and the final deportation are narrated, the account of his release from prison 37 years afterward and the honor done him is given as the final paragraph of 2 Ki ( 2 Chronicles 25:27 -30). The same thing is told at the end of the Book of Jer (  Jeremiah 52:31-34 ). Neither for this reign nor for the succeeding is there the usual reference to state annals; these seem to have been discontinued after Jehoiakim. In  Jeremiah 22:24-30 there is a final pronouncement on this king, not so much upon the man as upon his inevitable fate, and a prediction that no descendant of his shall ever have prosperous rule in Judah.

2. His Reign

Of the brief reign of Jehoiachin there is little to tell. It was rather a historic landmark than a reign; but its year, 597 bc, was important as the date of the first deportation of Jewish captives to Babylon (unless we except the company of hostages carried away in Jehoiakim's 3rd (4th) year,  Daniel 1:1-7 ). His coming to the throne was just at or near the time when Nebuchadnezzar's servants were besieging Jerusalem; and when the Chaldean king's arrival in person to superintend the siege made apparent the futility of resistance, Jehoiachin surrendered to him, with all the royal household and the court. He was carried prisoner to Babylon, and with him ten thousand captives, comprising all the better and sturdier element of the people from prince to craftsman, leaving only the poorer sort to constitute the body of the nation under his successor Zedekiah. With the prisoners were carried away also the most valuable treasures of the temple and the royal palace.

3. The Two Elements

Ever since Isaiah fostered the birth and education of a spiritually-minded remnant, for him the vital hope of Israel, the growth and influence of this element in the nation has been discernible, as well in the persecution it has roused (see under Manasseh ), as in its fiber of sound progress. It is as if a sober sanity of reflection were curing the people of their empty idolatries. The feeling is well expressed in such a passage as  Habakkuk 2:18-20 . Hitherto, however, the power of this spiritual Israel has been latent, or at best mingled and pervasive among the various occupations and interests of the people. The surrender of Jehoiachin brings about a segmentation of Israel on an unheard-of principle: not the high and low in wealth or social position, but the weight and worth of all classes on the one side, who are marked for deportation, and the refuse element of all classes on the other, who are left at home. With which element of this strange sifting Jeremiah's prophetic hopes are identified appears in his parable of the Good and Bad Figs ( Jeremiah 24:1-10 ), in which he predicts spiritual integrity and upbuilding to the captives, and to the home-staying remainder, shame and calamity. Later on, he writes to the exiles in Babylon, advising them to make themselves at home and be good citizens ( Jeremiah 29:1-10 ). As for the hapless king, "this man Coniah," who is to be their captive chief in a strange land, Jeremiah speaks of him in a strain in which the stern sense of Yahweh's inexorable purpose is mingled with tender sympathy as he predicts that this man shall never have a descendant on David's throne ( Jeremiah 22:24-30 ). It is as if he said, All as Yahweh has ordained, but - the pity of it!

4. Thirty-Seven Years Later

In the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's successor, perhaps by testamentary edict of Nebuchadnezzar himself, a strange thing occurred. Jehoiachin, who seems to have been a kind of hostage prisoner for his people, was released from prison, honored above all the other kings in similar case, and thenceforth to the end of his life had his portion at the royal table ( 2 Kings 25:27-30;  Jeremiah 52:31-34 ). This act of clemency may have been due to some such good influence at court as is described in the Book of Daniel; but also it was a tribute to the good conduct of that better element of the people of which he was hostage and representative. It was the last event of Judean royalty; and suggestive for the glimpse it seems to afford of a people whom the Second Isaiah could address as redeemed and forgiven, and of a king taken from durance and judgment (compare  Isaiah 53:8 ), whose career makes strangely vivid the things that are said of the mysterious "Servant of Yahweh."

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Jehoi´achin (God-appointed), by contraction Jeconiah and Coniah, nineteenth king of Judah, and son of Jehoiakim. When his father was slain, B.C. 599, the king of Babylon allowed him, as the rightful heir, to succeed. He was then eighteen years of age, according to; but only eight according to . Many attempts have been made to reconcile these dates, the most usual solution being that he had reigned ten years in conjunction with his father, so that he was eight when he began his joint reign, but eighteen when he began to reign alone. There are, however, difficulties in this view, which, perhaps, leave it the safest course to conclude that 'eight' in , is a corruption of the text, such as might easily occur from the relation of the numbers eight and eighteen.

Jehoiachin followed the evil courses which had already brought so much disaster upon the royal house of David, and upon the people under its sway. He seems to have very speedily indicated a political bias adverse to the interests of the Chaldean empire; for in three months after his accession we find the generals of Nebuchadnezzar again laying siege to Jerusalem, according to the predictions of Jeremiah . Convinced of the futility of resistance, Jehoiachin went out and surrendered as soon as Nebuchadnezzar arrived in person before the city. He was sent away as a captive to Babylon, with his mother, his generals, and his troops, together with the artificers and other inhabitants of Jerusalem, to the number of ten thousand. Thus ended an unhappy reign of three months and ten days. If the Chaldean king had then put an end to the show of a monarchy, and annexed the country to his own dominions, the event would probably have been less unhappy for the nation. But still adhering to his former policy, he placed on the throne Mattaniah, the only surviving son of Josiah, whose name he changed to Zedekiah .

Jehoiachin remained in prison at Babylon during the lifetime of Nebuchadnezzar: but when that prince died, his son, Evil-merodach, not only released him, but gave him an honorable seat at his own table, with precedence over all the other dethroned kings who were kept at Babylon, and an allowance for the support of his rank . To what he owed this favor we are not told; but the Jewish commentators allege that Evil-merodach had himself been put into prison by his father during the last year of his reign, and had there contracted an intimate friendship with the deposed king of Judah.

The name of Jehoiachin reappears to fix the epoch of several of the prophecies of Ezekiel , and of the deportation which terminated his reign . In the genealogy of Christ he is named as the 'son of Josias' his uncle.