Jehoiada

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

1. Father of Benaiah Prince leader of the 3,700 Aaronites, i.e. priests who joined David at Hebron ( 1 Chronicles 27:5;  1 Chronicles 12:27).

2. Benaiah's son, named after his grandfather; succeeded to Ahithophel as one of David's chief counselors ( 1 Chronicles 27:34).

3. Amariah's successor in the high-priesthood. Married, king Jehoram's daughter, sister of king Ahaziah, on whose death by Jehu's hands the queen mother Athaliah slew all the seed royal; but Jehosheba stole Joash the youngest son, and with her husband hid him in the house of God six years. (See Jehosheba ; Athaliah; Joash ) Then when Athaliah's tyranny and foreign idolatries had disgusted the people, he with great prudence and tact made a secret compact in the temple with the five captains of the king's body guard (literally, the executioners and runners), Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah, and Elishaphat.

These summoned the Levites and heads of families throughout Judah, probably under pretext of a festal celebration. Then Jehoiada with the whole assembly "made a covenant with the king in the temple, saying, Behold the king's son shall reign, as Jehovah hath said of the sons of David" ( 2 Chronicles 23:3), or, as  2 Kings 11:4 expresses it, "Jehoiada made a covenant with the rulers over hundreds, the captains, and the guard, taking an oath of them and showing them the king's son." The Levite temple servants entering upon the sabbath service (relieving guard), and those being relieved, Jehoiada directed, under the captains of the royal body "guard" ( 2 Kings 11:11, Halberdiers ) to keep watch, the former in three divisions, the latter in two. The first of the three divisions stood by the gate Sur (2 Kings 11) or Jesod (2 Chronicles 23 "the foundation," a gate in the outer court at the hollow of the Tyropeon or the Kedron).

The second to guard the king's house ( 2 Chronicles 23:5, not the royal palace, but the young king's place of residence in the temple), at the gate behind the guard, i.e. the gate of the guard ( 2 Kings 11:6;  2 Kings 11:19), the gate leading from the temple court to the royal palace on Zion; or else this division had to guard the royal avenue to the temple from the palace outside, they watching from a post in the outer courts what went on in the palace. The third to guard the house (the temple) "that it be not broken down" (Keil, "to ward off" intruders), "to be guards ('porters') of the thresholds" (of the ascent to the temple,  1 Chronicles 9:19 margin,  2 Chronicles 23:4 margin). Jehoiada furnished them with David's weapons stored in the temple. Some of the royal "guard," on whom the captains could rely, were with the Levites ( 2 Chronicles 23:12;  2 Kings 11:13).

Those relieved on the sabbath, whom Jehoiada still retained (for "he dismissed not the courses,"  2 Chronicles 23:8) kept watch of Jehovah's house about (in respect to) the king ( 2 Kings 11:7) in two divisions; these answer to ( 2 Chronicles 23:5) "all the people (the remainder besides the three bodies under the captains) in the courts of the house of Jehovah" ( 2 Kings 11:13;  2 Kings 11:19). The whole royal body guard, probably after Athaliah's slaughter, joined the people in the courts, to lead the king thence to the palace; at all events the relieved Levite guards were with the people in the courts, and probably some of the royal guards who took share in the plot. 2 Kings emphasizes the part performed by the royal body guard; 2 Chronicles that performed by the Levites: there is no irreconcilable discrepancy. The guard and people kept to the courts, none but the priests and consecrated Levites entered the holy place ( 2 Chronicles 23:6).

Any coming within the ranks ("ranges,"  2 Kings 11:8) of the guards so stationed, i.e. within the temple precincts ( 2 Chronicles 23:7), were to be put to death. The captains over hundreds ( 2 Kings 11:9) answer to "all Judah," namely, "chiefs of the fathers" ( 2 Chronicles 23:2;  2 Chronicles 23:8), with "the Levites." He "dismissed not the courses" (who had charge of the temple service, 1 Chronicles 24-26), answering to  2 Kings 11:7, "all you that go forth ... shall keep the watch." Jehoiada, having enthroned Joash, restored the temple worship as David had settled it, it having been neglected under the idolatrous Athaliah. Mattan the Baal priest alone was slain by the people when breaking Baal's images and altars. Jehoiada made a solemn covenant between the king and all the people, "that they should be the Lord's people." Joash repaired the house by his help, "doing that which was right in the sight of Jehovah" all the days "wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him." Joash ordered "the money of the dedicated things" to be applied to the repair of the temple, namely,

(1) "the money of every one that passeth" the census (not "the account), half a shekel,  Exodus 30:13;

(2) "the money that every man is set (valued) at," namely, the valuation in redeeming the firstborn ( Numbers 18:15-16), or in payment for a vow;

(3) "all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of Jehovah," freewill offerings.

When, in the 23rd year of Jonah's reign, the temple was still not repaired, through the Levites' and priests' dilatoriness, he took the money and the repairs out of their hands; "the priests consented to receive no more money of the people (i.e. for repairs), neither to repair." Jehoiada then took a chest, with a hole made in the lid, and set it against the outer wall beside the burnt offering altar on the right, by the S. entrance into Jehovah's house, to receive the people's freewill offerings for the repairs. No golden or silver vessels, basins, knives, etc., were made with the money, until the repairs were first completed ( 2 Kings 12:13, compare the complementary, not contradictory, statement  2 Chronicles 24:14). The trespass money and freewill gifts to the priest, for his trouble in offering the sin offerings, the priests retained; this money did not go to the repairs. Jehoiada died ( 2 Chronicles 24:15-16) at last, 130 years old, "full of days."

But there is perhaps an error; Lord A. C. Hervey would read 83. Otherwise he would be 95 at Joash's accession, supposing him to live 35 of Joash's 40 years of reign, which is improbable; fifteen years before, when Jehoram was 32 (whose daughter he married), he would have been 80 ( 2 Chronicles 21:5;  2 Chronicles 22:1;  2 Chronicles 22:12). Disinterested patriotism, loyalty where loyalty was at immense risks, tact and practical wisdom, power of influencing others, above all deep reverence (e.g. his jealous care, amidst the irregularities of a revolution, that none should "come into Jehovah's house save the priests and ministering Levites," also that Athaliah should be thrust forth outside "the ranges," and not be slain "in the house of Jehovah,"  2 Chronicles 23:6;  2 Chronicles 23:14), and zeal for the Lord's honour and the purity of His worship, were conspicuous in Jehoiada.

His death was the fatal turning point of Joash's declension. The religion that leans on man only will fail when the earthly prop is removed. Jehoiada had saved Joash's life and throne, and had been God's providential instrument in preventing the extinction of David's line, which then hung upon the one seemingly frail thread, but which could not be broken since to it belonged the promises of Messiah; he had stifled the idolatry transplanted into Judah by Joram's marriage into apostate Ahab's house, and restored Jehovah's worship. He therefore was honoured ( 1 Samuel 2:30) with the unique privilege of interment "among the kings in the city of David, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward His (God's) house." The fickle people, princes, and king soon forgot all his benefits, and slew his son Zechariah "in the court of the Lord's house," (the very scene of Jehoiada's reverent care to remove pollution,  2 Chronicles 23:14, in restoring the throne and the temple,) for his faithful reproofs of their idolatry ( 2 Chronicles 24:15-16;  2 Chronicles 24:20-22). (See Zechariah .)

4. Second priest ( Sagan ) to Seraiah, the high priest. Either carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, or deposed by the Jewish rulers as a favorer of Jeremiah. This accords with the false prophet at Babylon, Shemaiah's, accusation by letter against Zephaniah, who was promoted to Jehoiada's place, for ingratitude to God in not apprehending Jeremiah, seeing that (in Shemaiah's view) "the Lord had made him priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest" for this very purpose ( Jeremiah 29:25-29;  2 Kings 25:18). The second priest was "officer in the house of Jehovah." The high priest was "chief governor in the house of Jehovah"; then the second priest; then the 24 "governors of the sanctuary and of the house of God" ( Jeremiah 20:1;  1 Chronicles 24:5).

5.  Nehemiah 3:6.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Jeho-i'ada. (Jehovah Knows).

1. Father of Benaiah, David's well-known warrior.  2 Samuel 8:18. 1 Kings 1 and 1 Kings 2. passim ;  1 Chronicles 18:17; etc. (B.C. before 1046).

2. Leader of the 3,700 Aaronites, that is, the priests; who joined David at Hebron.  1 Chronicles 12:27. (B.C. 1053-46).

3. According to  1 Chronicles 27:34, son of Benaiah; but in all probability, Benaiah, the sons of Jehoiada, is meant. Probably an error in copying.  1 Chronicles 18:17;  2 Samuel 8:18.

4. High priest, at the time of Athaliah's usurpation, of the throne of Judah, B.C. 884-878, and during the greater portion, of the forty-years reign of Joash. He married Jehosheba; and when Athaliah slew all the seed royal to Judah, after Ahaziah had been put to death by Jehu, he and his wife stole Joash, from among the king's sons, and hid him for six years in the Temple, and eventually replaced him on the throne of his ancestors. See Athaliah . The destruction of Baal-worship, and the restoration of the Temple were among the great works effected by Jehoiada. He died B.C. 834.

5. Second priest, or sagan , to Seraiah the high priest.  Jeremiah 29:25-29;  2 Kings 25:18.

6. Son of Paseach, who assisted to repair the old gate of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah 3:6.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Jehoiada ( Je-Hoi'A-Dah ), Whom, Jehovah Knows. 1. The father of Benaiah, which see.  2 Samuel 8:18;  1 Kings 1:32 ff.;  1 Chronicles 18:17. This Jehoiada was the chief priest,  1 Chronicles 27:5, and therefore he was the leader of the priests who came to David at Hebron.  1 Chronicles 12:27. By a copyist's error, Benaiah is said to have been the father of Jehoiada instead of the son.  1 Chronicles 27:34. 2. A high priest of the Jews, and husband of Jehosheba.  2 Kings 11:4. See Athaliah and Joash. His administration was so auspicious to the civil and religious interests of the nation,  2 Kings 12:2;  2 Chronicles 23:16, that when he died, at an advanced age, he was buried in the royal sepulchres at Jerusalem.  2 Chronicles 24:16. Many do not accept the age of 132 years assigned to him, for the reason that if he lived so long, then, when he married the daughter of Jehoram, he must have been 80, while Jehoram was only 32. It has been proposed to read "83" instead. 3. The second priest in the reign of Zedekiah.  Jeremiah 29:25 to  Jeremiah 29:4. One who helped repair the wall.  Nehemiah 3:6. R. V. "Joiada."

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. Father of Benaiah one of David's officers.  2 Samuel 8:18;  1 Kings 1:8-44 , etc. In  1 Chronicles 27:5 he is called 'a chief priest,' which makes it possible that he is the same person as No. 3; but in the margin he is called 'principal officer.'

2. High priest during the usurpation of Athaliah. He preserved the life of Joash, the infant son of Ahaziah, and succeeded, with wisdom and energy, in placing him on the throne, and then caused the death of Athaliah. It is recorded that Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada; but on the death of the priest, the king forgot his kindness and slew Zechariah his son.  2 Kings 11:4-17;  2 Kings 12:2,7,9;  2 Chronicles 22:11;  2 Chronicles 23:1-18;  2 Chronicles 24:2-25 .

3. Leader of the Aaronites (or 'prince of Aaron') who resorted to David at Hebron.  1 Chronicles 12:27 .

4. Son of Benaiah and one of David's counsellors.  1 Chronicles 27:34 .

5. Son of Paseah: he repaired the 'old gate ' of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah 3:6 .

6. Priest mentioned by the false prophet Shemaiah in his letters against Jeremiah.  Jeremiah 29:26 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The high priest at the time of Athaliah's usurpation of the throne of Judah. He married Jehosheba, or Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram ( 2 Chronicles 22:11 ), and took an active part along with his wife in the preservation and training of Jehoash when Athaliah slew all the royal family of Judah.

The plans he adopted in replacing Jehoash on the throne of his ancestors are described in  2 Kings 11:2;  12:2;  2 Chronicles 22:11;  23:24 . He was among the foremost of the benefactors of the kingdom, and at his death was buried in the city of David among the kings of Judah ( 2 Chronicles 24:15,16 ). He is said to have been one hundred and thirty years old.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Jehoiada'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/j/jehoiada.html. 1897.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

JEHOIADA. 1. Father of Benaiah, the successor of Joab,   2 Samuel 8:18;   2 Samuel 20:23 etc. It is probably the same man that is referred to in   1 Chronicles 12:27;   1 Chronicles 27:34 , where we should probably read ‘Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.’ 2. The chief priest of the Temple at the time of Ahaziah’s death (  2 Kings 11:4 etc.). The Book of Chronicles makes him the husband of the princess Jehosheba (or Jehoshabeath,   2 Chronicles 22:11 ), by whose presence of mind the infant prince Jehoash escaped the massacre by which Athaliah secured the throne for herself. Jehoiada must have been privy to the concealment of the prince, and it was he who arranged the coup d’état which placed the rightful heir on the throne. In this he may have been moved by a desire to save Judah from vassalage to Israel, as much as by zeal for the legitimate worship.

H. P. Smith.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 2 Kings 11:4 2 Chronicles 22-24 2 Chronicles 22-24 2 Chronicles 22-24 2 Chronicles 22-24 2 2 Samuel 8:18 2 Samuel 23:20 2 Chronicles 12:27 3 Jeremiah 29:25-26

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

The Bible mentions a number of people named Jehoiada. The only one concerning whom it speaks in any detail is the chief priest in Jerusalem who was the main influence for good in the life of the Judean king Jehoash (or Joash) ( 2 Chronicles 22:10-12; 2 Chronicles 23;  2 Chronicles 24:1-25; for details see Jehoash ).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A high priest, who preserved the life and throne of the young Josiah against the usurping Athaliah. His wisdom and piety continued to bless the kingdom until he dies, B. C. 834, aged 130, and was buried

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

jē̇ - hoi´a - da ( יהוידע , yehōyādhā‛ , "Yahweh knows"; Ἰωδᾶε , Iōdáe ):

(1) Father of Benaiah, the captain of David's body-guard ( 2 Samuel 8:18;  2 Samuel 20:23;  2 Samuel 23:20 ,  2 Samuel 23:22;  1 Kings 1:8 , etc.). Jehoiada was "the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel" ( 2 Samuel 23:20 ), but commentators read with Septuagint and Ewald, "Benaiah (the son of Jehoiada) a man of valor." Kabzeel was a town belonging to Judah on the border of Edom in the South ( Joshua 15:21 ). In  1 Chronicles 27:5 , we read "Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, chief," the Revised Version (British and American), but the Revised Version margin has "chief minister" wrongly. Yet Jehoiada is nowhere else called a priest or even a Levite, though in  1 Chronicles 12:27 (Hebrew,   1 Chronicles 12:28 ) a Jehoiada is mentioned as a military "leader of the house of Aaron," who came to David to Hebron with other members of the house of Levi. In  1 Chronicles 27:34 there is named among David's counselors, "Jehoiada the son. of Benaiah," where some commentators would read with two manuscripts, "Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada" though Curtis, Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Books of Chronicles , 295, keeps the Massoretic Text.

(2) Priest in the reigns of Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah, and Jehoash (Joash) of Judah ( 2 Kings 11:4-12:16 (Hebrew 17) =   2 Chronicles 23:1 through 24:14;   2 Chronicles 22:11;  2 Chronicles 24:14-16 ,  2 Chronicles 24:17-20 ,  2 Chronicles 24:22 ,  2 Chronicles 24:25 ). In  2 Kings 12:10 (Hebrew,   2 Kings 12:11 ) he is called "high priest," and is the first to be given that title, but as the priest lived in the temple, there is no meaning in saying that he "came up," so commentators omit the words, "and the chief priest." According to  2 Chronicles 22:11 , he had married Jehoshabeath (= Jehosheba), the daughter of the king, i.e. Jehoram.

1. Jehoiada and the Revolt Against Athaliah

( a ) The account in   2 Chronicles 23:1-21 differs in many respects from that in   2 Kings 11:4-20 , but even the latter has its problems, and Stade ( Zatw , 1885,280ff) pointed out two sources in it. This view is accepted by many. A reader is struck at once by the double reference to the death of Athaliah ( 2 Kings 11:16 ,  2 Kings 11:20 ), and the construction of the Hebrew for "making a covenant" is different in  2 Kings 11:4 from that in   2 Kings 11:17 . Stade holds that there is one narrative in  2 Kings 11:4-12 ,  2 Kings 11:18-20 and another in  2 Kings 11:13-18 .

In the first, Jehoiada makes an agreement with the captains of the foreign body-guard, and arranges that both the incoming and outgoing temple-guard shall be kept in the temple at the time when the guard should be changed on the Sabbath, and also that th e young prince, Jehoash, who had been kept in hiding, shall be proclaimed. The captains do this, and the prince is crowned and proclaimed ( 2 Kings 11:4-12 ). Then officers are set up in the temple, and Jehoash is taken to the royal palace and enthroned. The revolt proves popular with the people of Jerusalem and those of the district, and Athaliah is slain in the palace.

But there are difficulties in this narrative, though the above gives the trend of events;  2 Kings 11:5 refers to a third of the guard who "came in on the sabbath," and   2 Kings 11:7 to two companies who "go forth on the sabbath"; the Hebrew is, "they that enter the sabbath" and "they that go out of the sabbath."   2 Kings 11:9 makes clear the connection between   2 Kings 11:5 and   2 Kings 11:7 . But  2 Kings 11:6 introduces a difficulty: it seems to denote a division of those who "enter" into three divisions, i.e. the two in   2 Kings 11:6 and one in   2 Kings 11:5 . If  2 Kings 11:6 be omitted, as is proposed by many, this difficulty vanishes. But there still remains the question of the change of guards. Commentators say that "they who enter the sabbath" are those who leave the temple and enter their quarters at the beginning of the Sabbath, presumably, while "those who go out" are those who leave their quarters to mount guard. This is not impossible as an explanation of the Hebrew. It is further believed that the guard at the temple on the Sabbath was double that on other days. The other explanation, held by older commentators is that on the Sabbath the guard was only half its usual size; this gives another meaning to the Hebrew phrases. On the other hand, it may be held that the revolt took place at the close of the Sabbath, and that the double-sized guard was kept by Jehoiada even after the usual-sized one had come to take their place. It should be added that Wellhausen proposed to read ( צעדות , ce‛ādhōth ), "armlets" (compare  Isaiah 3:19 ), for (עדוּת , ‛ēdhūth ), "testimony," in  2 Kings 11:12; and in  2 Kings 11:19 the words "and all the people of the land" are held to be an addition.

( b ) The 2nd narrative (   2 Kings 11:13-18 ) begins suddenly. Presumably, its earlier part was identical with the earlier part of the 1st narrative, unless  2 Kings 11:6 was a part originally of this 2nd account. Athaliah hears the noise of the people (  2 Kings 11:13 , where "the guard" is a gloss and so to be omitted), and comes to the temple, where she witnesses the revolt and cries, "Treason! treason!" Jehoiada orders her to be put forth (omit "between the ranks" in  2 Kings 11:15 ), so that she should not be slain in the temple, and she is murdered at one of the palace entrances ( 2 Kings 11:16 , where the Revised Version (British and American), following Septuagint of  2 Chronicles 23:15 , translates the first sentence wrongly: it should be "So they laid hands on her"). Jehoiada then makes the king and the people enter into a solemn covenant to be Yahweh's people, and the result is the destruction of the temple of Baal, and the death of Mattan, its priest ( 1 Kings 11:17 ,  1 Kings 11:18 ). This 2nd narrative gives a religious significance to the revolt, but it is incomplete. The other narrative presents a very natural course of events, for it was absolutely necessary for Jehoiada to secure the allegiance of the royal foreign body-guard.

( 100 ) The account in   2 Chronicles 23:1-21 , though following that of 2 Ki in the main, differs from it considerably. The guard is here composed of Levites; it does not mention the foreign body-guard, and relates how the revolt was planned with the Levites of the cities of Judah - a method which would have become known to Athaliah and for which she would have made preparations, no doubt. Ch makes it a wholly religious movement, while 2 Kings gives two points of view. The value of the Chronicler's account depends largely on one's estimate of the Books of Chronicles and one's views as to the development of the Jewish priestly system. A. Van Hoonacker, Le sacerdoce lévitique dans la loi et dans l'histoire des Hébreux , 93-100, defends the account in 2 Chronicles.

2. Jehoiada and the Restoration of the Temple

The part which Jehoiada played in the restoration of the temple buildings is described in  2 Kings 11:21 through 12:16 (  Hebrews 12:1-17 ) parallel  2 Chronicles 24:1-14 . Here again the narratives of 2 Ki and 2 Ch differ to a large extent.

( a ) According to 2 Kings, (i) The priests are commanded by Jehoash to devote the dues or free-will offerings of the people to repairing the breaches in the temple. They fail to do so, and (ii) Jehoiada is summoned by the king and rebuked. Then (iii) a new regulation is put into force: the offerings, except the guilt offerings and sin offerings, are no longer to be given to the priests, but to be put into a chest provided in the temple for the purpose. (iv) The money got in this way is devoted to repairing the temple, but (v) none of it is used to provide temple vessels.

( b ) Chronicles, on the other hand, (i) relates that the priests and Levites are commanded to go through Judah to collect the necessary money. They "hastened it not." Then (ii) Jehoiada is summoned to account for this disobedience, and (iii) a chest is put outside the temple to receive the tax commanded by Moses. (iv) This the people pay willingly, and the temple is repaired. There is such a surplus that (v) There is money also to provide vessels for the temple.

It is at least questionable whether the additions in 2 Chronicles are trustworthy; the contradictions against 2 Kings are clear, and the latter gives the more likely narrative, although Van Hoonackcr (op. cit., 101-14) defends the former.

According to  2 Chronicles 24:15 , Jehoiada lived to be 130 years old, and was buried among the kings - a unique distinction.

(3) The King James Version in  Nehemiah 3:6 = Joiada (which see).

(4) There is a Jehoiada, the priest mentioned in  Jeremiah 29:26 , in whose stead Zephaniah was declared priest by Shemaiah in a letter.

Giesebrext takes him to be the same as the priest of Athaliah's time (see (2) above), but Duhm says that nothing is known of him. In any case, Zephaniah could not have been the direct successor of the well-known Jehoiada, and so the reference can scarcely be to him if it is to have any meaning.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Hebrew Yeh Ô yada', יְהוֹיָדָע Jehovah Known; Sept. Ι᾿Ωιαδά , Ι᾿Ωιαδέ , Ι᾿Ωδαέ ), the name of two or more priests.

1. The father of Benaiah, which latter was one of David's chief warriors ( 2 Samuel 8:18;  2 Samuel 20:23;  2 Samuel 23:20;  2 Samuel 23:22;  1 Kings 1:8;  1 Kings 1:26;  1 Kings 1:32;  1 Kings 1:36;  1 Kings 1:38;  1 Kings 1:44;  1 Kings 2:25;  1 Kings 2:29;  1 Kings 2:34-35;  1 Kings 2:16;  1 Kings 4:4;  1 Chronicles 11:22;  1 Chronicles 11:24;  1 Chronicles 18:17;  1 Chronicles 27:5). B.C. ante 1046. He is probably the same mentioned as assisting David at Hebron as leader ( נָגַיד ) of 3700 armed Aaronites ( 1 Chronicles 12:27); Josephus, who calls him Ι᾿Ώδαμος , says 4700 Levites ( Ant. 7, 2, 3). In  1 Chronicles 27:34, his name seems to have been erroneously transposed with that of his son.

2. The high priest at the time of Athaliah's usurpation of the throne of Judah (B.C. 883-877) and during the most of the reign of Jehoash. It does not appear when he first became high priest, but it may have been as early as the latter part of Jehoshaphat's reign. He married Jehosheba or Jehoshabeath, daughter of king Jehoram and sister of king Ahaziah ( 2 Chronicles 22:11); and when Athaliah slew all the royal family of Judah after Ahaziah had been put to death by Jehul, he and his wife stole Jehoash from amongst the king's sons and hid him for six years in the Temple and eventually replaced him on the throne of his ancestors. (See Athaliah).

In effecting this happy revolution, by which both the throne of David and the worship of the true God according to the law of Moses were rescued from imminent danger of destruction, Jehoiada displayed great ability and prudence. Waiting patiently till the tyranny of Athaliah and, we may presume, her foreign practices and preferences had produced disgust in the land, he at length, in the 7th year of her reign, entered into secret alliance with all the chief partisans of the house of David and of the true religion. He also collected at Jerusalem the Levites from the different cities of Judah and Israel, probably under cover of providing for the Temple services, and then concentrated a large and concealed force in the Temple by the expedient of not dismissing the old courses of priests and Levites when their successors came to relieve them on the Sabbath. By means of the consecrated shields and spears which David had taken in his wars, and which were preserved in the treasury of the Temple (comp.  1 Chronicles 18:7-11;  1 Chronicles 26:20-28;  1 Kings 14:26-27), he supplied the captains of hundreds with arms for their men. Having then divided the priests and Levites into three bands, which were posted at the principal entrances, and filled the courts with people favorable to the cause, he produced the young king before the whole assembly, and crowned and anointed him, and presented to him a copy of the Law according to  Deuteronomy 17:18-20. (See Hilkiah).

The excitement of the moment did not make him forget the sanctity of God's house. None but the priests and ministering Levites were permitted by him to enter the Temple and he gave strict orders that Athaliah should be carried without its precincts before she was put to death. In the same spirit he inaugurated the new reign by a solemn covenant between himself as high priest, and the people and the king, to renounce the Baal worship which had been introduced by the house of Ahab and to serve Jehovah. This was followed up by the immediate destruction of the altar and temple of Baal and the death of Mattan, his priest. He then gave orders for the due celebration of the Temple service, and, at the same time, for the perfect reestablishment of the monarchy, all which seems to have been effected with great vigor and success, and without any cruelty or violence. The young king himself, under this wise and virtuous counsellor, ruled his kingdom well and prosperously and was forward in works of piety during the lifetime of Jehoiada. The reparation of the Temple, in the 23d year of his reign, of which a full and interesting account is given in 2 Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 24 was one of the most important works at this period. At length, however, Jehoiada died and for his signal services to his God, his king, and his country, which have earned him a place amongst the very foremost well doers in Israel, he had the unique honor of burial amongst the kings of Judah in the city of David. — Smith. His decease, though at an advanced age, yet occurred too soon for the welfare of the nation and of Jehoash, who thereupon immediately fell into idolatry, and was even guilty of the most cruel ingratitude towards the family of Jehoiada. (See Jehoash), 1.

His age at his death is stated ( 2 Chronicles 24:15) to have been 130 years, which Hervey (Genealogy of our Lord, p. 304) proposes to change to 103, in order to lessen the presumed disparity between Jehoiada's age and that of his wife, as well as on the ground that a man of 90 could hardly have exhibited such energy as he displayed in displacing Athaliah; but the change is wholly arbitrary and unnecessary. Josephus, in his history (Ant. 9, 7, 1, where he Graecizes the name, Ι᾿Ώδαος ), follows the Bible account; but in his list of the high priests ( Ant. 10, 8, 6), the corresponding name seems to be Axioramus ( Ἀξεώραμος , perhaps by corruption for "Joram"). In the Jewish chronicle (Seder Olam), however, it correctly appears as Jehoiadah and with a date tolerably answering to the scriptural requirements. In both authorities, many of the adjoining names are additional to those mentioned in the O.T. (See High Priest).

It is probably this Jehoiada who is alluded to in  Jeremiah 29:26 as a preeminent incumbent of the office (see Rosenm Ü ller and Hitzig, ad loc.), and he is doubtless the same with the Berechiah ( Βαραχίας ) of  Matthew 23:25. (See Zedekiah).

3. ( Nehemiah 3:6). (See Joiada).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Jehoi´ada (God-known), high-priest in the times of Ahaziah and Athaliah. He is only known from the part which he took in recovering the throne of Judah for the young Joash, who had been saved by his wife Jehoshebah from the massacre by which Athaliah sought to exterminate the royal line of David. The particulars of this transaction are related under other heads [[[Athaliah; Joash]]] Jehoiada manifested much decision and forecast on this occasion; and He used for good the great power which devolved upon him during the minority of the young king, and the influence which he continued to enjoy as long as he lived. The value of this influence is shown by the misconduct and the disorders of the kingdom after his death. He died in B.C. 834, at the age of 130, and his remains were honored with a place in the sepulcher of the kings at Jerusalem (; 2 Chronicles 23; 2 Chronicles 24).