Text -- 2 Kings 24:1-20 (NET)

24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. 24:2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets. 24:3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins which Manasseh had committed. 24:4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them. 24:5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 24:6 He passed away and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king. 24:7 The king of Egypt did not march out from his land again, for the king of Babylon conquered all the territory that the king of Egypt had formerly controlled between the Brook of Egypt and the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin’s Reign over Judah

24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. 24:9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord as his ancestors had done. 24:10 At that time the generals of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched to Jerusalem and besieged the city. 24:11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his generals were besieging it. 24:12 King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took Jehoiachin prisoner. 24:13 Nebuchadnezzar took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned. 24:14 He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land. 24:15 He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land. 24:16 The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors. 24:17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in Jehoiachin’s place. He renamed him Zedekiah.

Zedekiah’s Reign over Judah

24:18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 24:19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done. 24:20 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger; he finally threw them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 2Ki 24:2

For Nebuchadnezzar's army was made up of several nations, who were willing to fight under the banner of such a puissant and victorious emperor.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:3

Properly and directly for their own sins, and occasionally for the sins of Manasseh, which had never been charged upon them, if they had not made them their own by their repetition of them.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:6

But it is not said, he was buried with them. No doubt the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled, that he should not be lamented as his father was, but buried with the burial of an ass.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:7

In this king's days. He could not now come to protect the king of Judah, being scarce able to defend his own kingdom.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:8

In his eighth year he began to reign with his father, who made him king with him as divers other kings of Israel and Judah had done in times of trouble; and in his eighteenth year he reigned alone.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:12

Yielded up himself and the city into his hands; and this by the counsel of Jeremiah, and to his own good.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:12

Of Nebuchadnezzar's reign; as appears by comparing this with 2Ki 25:8, and because Jehoiachin reigned not half a year. Had he made his peace with God, and taken the method that Hezekiah did in the like case, he needed not to have feared the king of Babylon, but might have held out with courage, honour and success. But wanting the faith and piety of an Israelite, he had not the resolution of a man.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:13

The most and choicest of them, by comparing this with 2Ki 25:14-15.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:13

Though the city and temple had been rifled more than once both by the kings of Egypt and Israel, and by the wicked kings of Judah; yet these golden vessels were preserved from them, either by the case of the priests, who hid them; or by the clemency of the conquerors, or by the special providence of God, disposing their hearts to leave them. Or, if they had been taken away by any of these kings, they might afterwards be recovered good, at the cost of the kings of Judah.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:14

Not simply all, but the best and most considerable part, as the following words explain it.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:14

Which are more particularly reckoned up, 2Ki 24:16, where there are seven thousand mighty men, and a thousand smiths; and those mentioned 2Ki 24:15, make up the other two thousand.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:14

Who might furnish them with new arms, and thereby give him fresh trouble.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:17

That he might admonish him of (what this name signifies) the justice of God, which had so severely punished Jehoiakim for his rebellion; and would no less certainly overtake him, if he should be guilty of the same perfidiousness.

Wesley: 2Ki 24:20

Thus the peoples sins were the true cause why God gave them wicked kings, whom he suffered to do wickedly, that they might bring the long - deserved, and threatened punishments upon themselves and their people.

JFB: 2Ki 24:1-2

The son of Nabopolassar, the founder of the Chaldee monarchy. This invasion took place in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar's reign (Jer 25:1; compare Jer 46:2). The young king of Assyria being probably detained at home on account of his father's demise, despatched, along with the Chaldean troops on his border, an army composed of the tributary nations that were contiguous to Judea, to chastise Jehoiakim's revolt from his yoke. But this hostile band was only an instrument in executing the divine judgment (2Ki 24:2) denounced by the prophets against Judah for the sins of the people; and hence, though marching by the orders of the Assyrian monarch, they are described as sent by the Lord (2Ki 24:3).

JFB: 2Ki 24:4

(see on 2Ki 23:26; Jer 15:1).

JFB: 2Ki 24:6

This phraseology can mean nothing more than that he died; for he was not buried with his royal ancestors; and whether he fell in battle, or his body was subjected to posthumous insults, he was, according to the prediction (Jer 22:19), not honored with the rites of sepulture (Jer 36:30).

JFB: 2Ki 24:6

The very brief reign of this prince, which lasted only three months, during which he was a humble vassal of the Assyrians, is scarcely deserving to be taken into account, and therefore is in no way contradictory to the prophetic menace denounced against his father (Jer 36:30).

JFB: 2Ki 24:7

That is, Pharaoh-nechoh.

JFB: 2Ki 24:8

That is, "God-appointed," contracted into Jeconiah and Coniah (Jer 22:24).

JFB: 2Ki 24:8

At the age of eight his father took him into partnership in the government (2Ch 36:9). He began to reign alone at eighteen.

JFB: 2Ki 24:9

Untaught by experience, and deaf to the prophetic warnings, he pursued the evil courses which had brought so many disasters upon the royal family as well as the people of Judah. This bad character is figuratively but strongly depicted (Eze 19:5-7).

JFB: 2Ki 24:10-13

Within three months after his accession to the throne. It was the spring of the year (2Ch 36:10); so early did he indicate a feeling hostile to the interests of his Assyrian liege lord, by forming a league with Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar sent his generals to besiege Jerusalem, as Jeremiah had foretold (Jer 22:28; Jer 34:20), and soon after he followed in person. Convinced of the hopelessness of making any effectual resistance, Jehoiachin, going to the camp of the besiegers, surrendered (2Ki 24:12), in the expectation, probably, of being allowed to retain his throne as a vassal of the Assyrian empire. But Nebuchadnezzar's clemency towards the kings of Judah was now exhausted, so that Jehoiachin was sent as a captive to Babylon, according to Jeremiah's prediction (Jer 22:24), accompanied by the queen mother (the same who had held that dignity under Jehoahaz) (2Ki 23:31), his generals, and officers. This happened in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, computing from the time when he was associated with his father in the government. Those that were left consisted chiefly of the poorer sort of people and the unskilled workmen. The palace and the temple were ransacked. The smaller golden vessels had been taken on the first capture of Jerusalem and placed by Nebuchadnezzar in the temple of his god as tokens of victory. They were used by Belshazzar at his impious feast [Dan 5:2], for the purpose of rewarding his army with these trophies, among which were probably the golden candlesticks, the ark, &c. (compare 2Ch 36:7; Dan 1:2). Now the gold plating was torn off all the larger temple furniture.

JFB: 2Ki 24:13-16

(compare 2Ki 20:17; Isa 39:6; Jer 15:13; Jer 17:3). The elite of the nation for rank, usefulness, and moral worth, all who might be useful in Babylon or dangerous in Palestine, were carried off to Babylon, to the number of ten thousand (2Ki 24:14). These are specified (2Ki 24:15-16), warriors, seven thousand; craftsmen and smiths, one thousand; king's wives, officers, and princes, also priests and prophets (Jer 29:1; Eze 1:1), two thousand; equal to ten thousand captives in all.

JFB: 2Ki 24:17-19

Adhering to his former policy of maintaining a show of monarchy, Nebuchadnezzar appointed the third and youngest son of Josiah (1Ch 3:15), full brother of Jehoahaz, and uncle of the captive Jehoiachin. But, according to the custom of conquerors, who changed the names of the great men they took captives in war, in token of their supremacy, he gave him the new name of

JFB: 2Ki 24:17-19

That is, "The righteous of God." This being a purely Hebrew name, it seems that he allowed the puppet king to choose his own name, which was confirmed. His heart towards God was the same as that of Jehoiakim, impenitent and heedless of God's word.

JFB: 2Ki 24:20

That is, in the course of God's righteous providence, his policy as king would prove ruinous to his country.

JFB: 2Ki 24:20

Instigated by ambassadors from the neighboring states who came to congratulate him on his ascension to the throne (compare Jer 17:3, with Jer 28:1), and at the same time get him to join them in a common league to throw off the Assyrian yoke. Though warned by Jeremiah against this step, the infatuated and perjured (Eze 17:13) Zedekiah persisted in his revolt.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:1

Nebuchadnezzar - This man, so famous in the writings of the prophets, was son of Nabopolassar. He was sent by his father against the rulers of several provinces that had revolted; and he took Carchemish, and all that belonged to the Egyptians, from the Euphrates to the Nile. Jehoiakim, who was tributary to Nechoh king of Egypt, he attacked and reduced; and obliged to become tributary to Babylon. At the end of three years he revolted; and then a mixed army, of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, was sent against him, who ravaged the country, and took three thousand and twenty-three prisoners, whom they brought to Babylon, Jer 52:28.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:2

According to the word of the Lord - See what Huldah predicted, 2Ki 22:16, and see chap. 14, 15, and 16 of Jeremiah.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:6

Jehoiachin his son - As this man reigned only three months and was a mere vassal to the Babylonians, his reign is scarcely to be reckoned; and therefore Jeremiah says of Jehoiakim, He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David, Jer 36:30, for at that time it belonged to the king of Babylon, and Jehoiachin was a mere viceroy or governor. Jehoiachin is called Jechonias in Mat 1:11.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:7

The king of Egypt came not again - He was so crushed by the Babylonians that he was obliged to confine himself within the limits of his own states, and could no more attempt any conquests. The text tells us how much he had lost by the Babylonians. See on 2Ki 24:1 (note).

Clarke: 2Ki 24:8

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old - He is called Jeconiah, 1Ch 3:16, and Coniah, Jer 22:24. In 2Ch 36:9, be is said to be only eight years of age, but this must be a mistake; for we find that, having reigned only three months, he was carried captive to Babylon, and there he had wives; and it is very improbable that a child between eight and nine years of age could have wives; and of such a tender age, it can scarcely be said that, as a king, he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. The place in Chronicles must be corrupted

That he was a grievous offender against God, we learn from Jer 22:24, which the reader may consult; and in the man’ s punishment, see his crimes.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:12

Jehoiachin - went out - He saw that it was useless to attempt to defend himself any longer; and he therefore surrendered himself, hoping to obtain better terms.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:13

He carried out thence all the treasures - It has been remarked that Nebuchadnezzar spoiled the temple three times. -

1.    He took away the greater part of those treasures when he took Jerusalem under Jehoiakim: and the vessels that he took then he placed in the temple of his god, Dan 1:2. And these were the vessels which Belshazzar profaned, Dan 5:2; and which Cyrus restored to Ezra, when he went up to Jerusalem, Ezr 1:2. It was at this time that he took Daniel and his companions

2.    He took the remaining part of those vessels, and broke them or cut them in pieces, when he came the second tine against Jerusalem under Jeconiah; as is mentioned here, 2Ki 24:13

3.    He pillaged the temple, took away all the brass, the brazen pillars, brazen vessels, and vessels of gold and silver, which he found there when he besieged Jerusalem under Zedekiah, 2Ki 25:13-17.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:14

He carried away all Jerusalem - That is, all the chief men, the nobles, and artificers. Among these there were of mighty men seven thousand; of craftsmen and smiths, one thousand.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:17

Made Mattaniah his father’ s brother king in his stead - He was the son of Josiah, and brother to Jehoiakim

Clarke: 2Ki 24:17

Changed his name to Zedekiah - See the note on 2Ki 23:34.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:19

He did - evil - How astonishing is this! not one of them takes warning by the judgments of God, which fell on their sinful predecessors.

Clarke: 2Ki 24:20

Zedekiah rebelled - This was in the eighth year of his reign: and he is strongly reproved for having violated the oath he took to the king of Babylon: see 2Ch 36:13. This was the filling up of the measure of iniquity; and now the wrath of God descends upon this devoted king, city, and people, to the uttermost. See the catastrophe in the next chapter.

Defender: 2Ki 24:14

The Babylonian captivity fulfilled many prophecies (Isa 39:6; Mic 4:10)."

TSK: 2Ki 24:1

his days : 2Ki 17:5; 2Chr. 36:6-21; Jer 25:1, Jer 25:9, Jer 46:2; Dan 1:1

Nebuchadnezzar : This prince, so famous in the writings of the prophets, was the son of Nabopollasar king of Babylon.

TSK: 2Ki 24:2

the Lord : 2Ki 6:23, 2Ki 13:20, 2Ki 13:21; Deu 28:49, Deu 28:50; 2Ch 33:11; Job 1:17; Isa 7:17, Isa 13:5; Jer 35:11; Eze 19:8

according : 2Ki 20:17, 2Ki 21:12-14, 2Ki 23:27; Isa 6:11, Isa 6:12; Jer 25:9, Jer 26:6, Jer 26:20, Jer 32:28; Mic 3:12

his : Heb. the hand of his

TSK: 2Ki 24:3

Surely : 2Ki 18:25; Gen 50:20; 2Ch 24:24, 2Ch 25:16; Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6, Isa 45:7, Isa 46:10, Isa 46:11; Amo 3:6

remove them : 2Ki 23:26, 2Ki 23:27; Lev 26:33-35; Deu 4:26, Deu 4:27, Deu 28:63, Deu 29:28; Jos 23:15; Jer 15:1-4; Mic 2:10

for the sins : 2Ki 21:2-11; Exo 20:5

TSK: 2Ki 24:4

for the innocent : 2Ki 21:16; Num 35:33; Deu 19:10; Jer 2:34, Jer 19:4

he filled : Psa 106:38

which : Jer 15:1, Jer 15:2; Lam 3:42; Eze 33:25

TSK: 2Ki 24:5

the rest : 2Ch 36:8; Jer 22:13-17, 26:1-36:32

TSK: 2Ki 24:6

am 3405. bc 599.

slept : As Jehoiakim was ""buried with the burial of an ass,""by being ""drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem,""without internment, the expression ""slept with his fathers,""can only mean that the died, or slept the sleep of death. In the East, a body exposed during the night would be a prey to wild animals; if any of it were left till the morning, the carnivorous birds would devour it. 2Ch 36:6, 2Ch 36:8; Jer 22:18, Jer 22:19, Jer 36:30

Jehoiachin : As this man reigned only three months, and was a mere vassal of the king of Babylon, his reign is scarcely reckoned; and therefore Jeremiah (Jer 36:30) says of Jehoiakim, ""he shall have none to sit upon the throne of David.""

TSK: 2Ki 24:7

the king : Jer 37:5-7, Jer 46:2

from the river : Gen 15:18; Num 34:5; Jos 15:4; 1Ki 4:21; Isa 27:12

TSK: 2Ki 24:8

Jehoiachin : 1Ch 3:16; Jer 24:1, Jeconiah, Jer 22:24, Jer 22:28, Jer 37:1, Coniah, Mat 1:11, Mat 1:12, Jechonias

eighteen years : In the parallel place, he is said to be only eight years old; but this must be a mistake, for we find that having reigned only three months, he was carried captive to Babylon, and there had wives; and had he been of such a tender age, it could scarcely have been said that, as a king, ""he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.""2Ch 36:9

TSK: 2Ki 24:9

evil : Young renders, ""the evil thing,""noting, ""that is, idolatry."

according : 2Ki 24:19; 2Ch 36:12

TSK: 2Ki 24:10

At that time : Dan 1:1, Dan 1:2

was besieged : Heb. came into siege, 2Ki 25:2

TSK: 2Ki 24:12

Jehoiachin : 2Ch 36:10; Jer 24:1, Jer 29:1, Jer 29:2, Jer 38:17, Jer 38:18; Eze 17:12

officers : or, eunuchs

took him : 2Ki 25:27; Jer 52:28, Jer 52:31

eighth year : ""Nebuchadnezzar’ s eighth year.""Jer 25:1, Jer 52:28

TSK: 2Ki 24:13

he carried : 2Ki 20:17; Isa 39:6; Jer 20:5

and cut : 2Ki 25:13-15; Ezr 1:7-11; Jer 27:16-21, Jer 28:3, Jer 28:4, Jer 28:6; Dan 5:2, Dan 5:3

which Solomon : 1Ki 7:48-50; 2Chr. 4:7-22

TSK: 2Ki 24:14

all : That is, all the chief men, the nobles, and the artificers. Among these were 7,000 mighty men, and 1,000 craftsmen and smiths.

Jerusalem : 2Ch 36:9, 2Ch 36:10; Jer 24:1-5, Jer 52:28; Eze 1:1, Eze 1:2

craftsmen : So, 1Sa 23:19-22

the poorest sort : 2Ki 25:12; Jer 39:10, Jer 40:7, Jer 52:16; Eze 17:14

TSK: 2Ki 24:15

he carried : 2Ki 24:8; 2Ch 36:10; Est 2:6; Jer 22:24-28

officers : or, eunuchs

TSK: 2Ki 24:16

seven thousand : Jer 29:2, Jer 52:28

TSK: 2Ki 24:17

the king : 2Ch 36:10, 2Ch 36:11; Jer 37:1, Jer 52:1

his father’ s brother : He was son of Josiah, brother to Jehoiakim, and uncle of Jehoiachin. 1Ch 3:15, 1Ch 3:16; 2Ch 36:10

changed : The change of name was to shew Nebuchadnezzar’ s supremacy, and that Zedekiah was only his vassal or viceroy. The custom of changing names, we are assured by travellers, still exists in the East. 2Ki 23:34; 2Ch 36:4

TSK: 2Ki 24:18

am 3405-3416, bc 599-588

Zedekiah : 2Ch 36:11; Jer 37:1, Jer 52:1-11

Hamutal : 2Ki 23:31

TSK: 2Ki 24:19

And he did : 2Ki 23:37; 2Ch 36:12; Jer 24:8, 37:1-38:28; Eze 21:25

TSK: 2Ki 24:20

through : 2Ki 22:17; Exo 9:14-17; Deu 2:30; Isa 19:11-14; 1Co 1:20; 2Th 2:9-11

Zedekiah : 2Ch 36:13; Jer 27:12-15, Jer 38:17-21; Eze 17:15-20

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Ki 24:1

In his days - i. e., 605 B.C., which was the third completed Dan 1:1, and fourth commencing Jer 25:1, year of Jehoiakim.

Nebuchadnezzar - or Nebuchadrezzar, which is closer to the original, Nabu-kudurri-uzur. This name, like most Babylonian names, is made up of three elements, Nebo, the well-known god Isa 46:1, kudur, of doubtful signification (perhaps "crown"perhaps "landmark"), and uzur "protects."Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, and second monarch of the Babylonian empire, ascended the throne, 604 B.C., and reigned 43 years, dying 561 B.C. He married Amuhia (or Amyitis), daughter of Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and was the most celebrated of all the Babylonian sovereigns. No other pagan king occupies so much space in Scripture. He was not actual king at this time, but only Crown Prince and leader of the army under his father. As he would be surrounded with all the state and magnficence of a monarch, the Jews would naturally look upon him as actual king.

Came up - Nebuchadnezzar began his campaign by attacking and defeating Neco’ s Egyptians at Carchemish Jer 46:2. He then pressed forward toward the south, overran Syria, Phoenicia, and Judaea, took Jerusalem, and carried off a portion of the inhabitants as prisoners Dan 1:1-4 : after which he proceeded southward, and had reached the borders of Egypt when he was suddenly recalled to Babylon by the death of his father.

Three years - Probably from 605 B.C. to 602 B.C. Jehoiakim rebelled because he knew Nebuchadnezzar to be engaged in important wars in some other part of Asia.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:2

See the marginal references. Instead of coming up in person Nebuchadnezzar sent against Jehoiakim his own troops and those of the neighboring nations.

The ravages of the Moabites and the Ammonites are especially alluded to in the following passages: Jer 48:26-27; Jer 49:1; Eze 25:3-6; Zep 2:8.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:5

Comparing Jer 22:19; Jer 36:6, Jer 36:30; and Eze 19:8-9, it would seem that Nebuchadnezzar must in the fifth or sixth year after Jehoiakim’ s revolt have determined to go in person to Riblah, to direct operations, first against Tyre and then against Jerusalem. Jehoiakim was taken prisoner, and brought in chains to Nebuchadnezzar, who at first designed to convey him to Babylon, but afterward had him taken to Jerusalem, where he was executed. Afterward, when the Babylonians had withdrawn, the remains were collected and interred in the burying-place of Manasseh, so that the king ultimately "slept with his fathers"2Ki 24:6.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:6

Jehoiachin - Also called Jeconiah and Coniah. Jehoiachin and Jeconiah both mean "Yahweh will establish,"Coniah, "Yahweh establishes."Probably his original name was Jehoiachin. When he ascended the throne, and was required to take a new name, anxious not to lose the good men contained in his old one, he simply transposed the two elements. Jeremiah shortened this new name from Jeconiah to Coniah, thus cutting off from it the notion of futurity, to imply that that would not be which the name declared would be. In other words, "Yahweh establishes,"but this prince he will not establish.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:7

Neco, from the year of the battle of Carchemish, confined himself to his own country and made no efforts to recover Syria or Judaea.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:8

His mother’ s name - On the position of the "queen mother"see 1Ki 15:10 note. Nehushta’ s rank and dignity are strongly marked by the distinct and express mention which is made of her in almost every place where her son’ s history is touched (2Ki 24:12; compare Jer 22:26; Jer 29:2).

Barnes: 2Ki 24:10

Came up against Jerusalem - The cause and circumstances of this siege are equally obscure. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar detected Jehoiachin in some attempt to open communications with Egypt.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:12

The eighth year - Jeremiah calls it the seventh year Jer 52:28, a statement which implies only a different manner of counting regnal years.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:13

On the first capture of the city in the fourth (third) year of Jehoiakim Dan 1:2; 2Ch 36:7, the vessels carried off consisted of smaller and lighter articles; while now the heavier articles, as the table of showbread, the altar of incense, the ark of the covenant were stripped of their gold, which was carried away by the conquerors. Little remained more precious than brass at the time of the final capture in the reign of Zedekiah 2Ki 25:13-17.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:14

The entire number of the captives was not more than 11,000. They consisted of three classes:

(1) the "princes"or "mighty of the land,"i. e., courtiers, priests, elders, and all who had any position or dignity - in number 3,000 (compare 2Ki 24:14, 2Ki 24:16).

(2) the "mighty men of valor"or "men of might,"i. e., the soldier class, who were 7,000. And

(3) craftsmen or artisans, who numbered 1,000. The word here translated "craftsmen"denotes artisans in stone, wood, or metal, and thus includes our "masons, carpenters, and smiths."The word translated "smiths"means strictly "lock-smiths."

The object of carrying off these persons was twofold:

(1) it deprived the conquered city of those artisans who were of most service in war; and

(2) it gave the conqueror a number of valuable assistants in the construction of his buildings and other great works.

The Assyrian monarchs frequently record their removal of the skilled artisans from a conquered country. The population of the ancient city has been calculated, from its area, at 15,000. The remnant left was therefore about 5000 or 6,000.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:15

The mighty of the land - Or "the great,""the powerful."The word used is quite distinct from that in 2Ki 24:14, 2Ki 24:16. It refers, not to bodily strength or fitness for war, hut to civil rank or dignity. The term would include all civil and all ecclesiastical functionaries - the nobles, courtiers, and elders of the city on the one hand, the priests, prophets (among them, Ezekiel), and Levites on the other.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:17

Mattaniah, son of Josiah and brother of Jehoahaz, but thirteen years his junior, adopted a name significant of the blessings promised by Jeremiah to the reign of a king whose name should be "Yahweh, our righteousness"Jer 23:5-8.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:19

He did that which was evil - The character of Zedekiah seems to have been weak rather than wicked. Consult Jer. 34; 37: His chief recorded sins were:

(1) his refusal to be guided in his political conduct by Jeremiah’ s counsels, while nevertheless he admitted him to be a true Yahweh-prophet; and

(2) his infraction of the allegiance which he had sworn to Nebuchadnezzar.

Barnes: 2Ki 24:20

It came to pass - Some prefer "came this to pass:"in the sense. "Through the anger of the Lord was it that another had king ruled in Jerusalem and in Judah:"concluding the chapter with the word "presence;"and beginning the next chapter with the words, "And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon."

Rebelled - The Book of Jeremiah explains the causes of rebellion. In Zedekiah’ s early years there was an impression, both at Jerusalem Jer 28:1-11 and at Babylon Jer. 29:5-28, that Nebuchadnezzar was inclined to relent. By embassy to Babylon Jer 29:3, and a personal visit Jer 51:59, Zedekiah strove hard to obtain the restoration of the captives and the holy vessels. But he found Nebuchadnezzar obdurate. Zedekiah returned to his own country greatly angered against his suzerain, and immediately proceeded to plot a rebellion. He sought the alliance of the kings of Tyre, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Edom Jer 27:3, and made overtures to Hophra, in Egypt, which were favorable received Eze 17:15, whereupon he openly revolted, apparently in his ninth year, 588 B.C. Tyre, it must be remembered, was all this time defying the power of Nebuchadnezzar, and thus setting an example of successful revolt very encouraging to the neighboring states. Nebuchadnezzar, while constantly maintaining an army in Syria, and continuing year after year his attempts to reduce Tyre (compare Eze 29:18) was, it would seem, too much occupied with other matters, such, probably, as the reduction of Susiana Jer 49:34-38, to devote more than a small share of his attention to his extreme western frontier. In that same year, however (588 B.C.), the new attitude taken by Egypt induced him to direct to that quarter the main force of the Empire, and to take the field in person.

Poole: 2Ki 24:1

In his days i.e. in Jehoiakim’ s reign, in the end of his third year, Dan 1:1 , or the beginning of his fourth, Jer 25:1 , Nebuchadnezzar the son of Nabopolassar, who quite subdued the Assyrian, first his lord, and then his competitor, and made himself absolute monarch of all those parts of the world. Came up to wit, against Jehoiakim, as the friend and confederate of Pharaoh, whose forces he had lately conquered, Jer 46:2 . He turned and rebelled against him by the instigation of the Egyptian, who threatened him if he did not rebel, and promised him his utmost assistance if he did.

Poole: 2Ki 24:2

Nebuchadnezzar’ s army was made up of several nations, who were willing to fight under the banner of such a puissant and victorious emperor.

Poole: 2Ki 24:3

For the sins of Manasseh properly and directly for their own sins, and occasionally for the sins of Manasseh, which had never been charged upon them, if they had not made them their own by their impenitency for them, and repetition of them.

Poole: 2Ki 24:4

For the innocent blood to wit, of those prophets and saints who either reproved or would not comply with his idolatrous worship.

Poole: 2Ki 24:6

Jehoiachin called also Jeconiah , 1Ch 3:16 , (as Jehoiakim also was, by comparing this with Mat 1:11 ) and, in way of contempt,

Coniah Jer 22:24 .

Poole: 2Ki 24:7

The king of Egypt came not again to wit, in this king’ s days; nor until Zedekiah’ s time, Jer 37:6,7 ; nor to any purpose. He could not now come out to protect the king of Judah, being scarce able to defend his own kingdom.

Poole: 2Ki 24:8

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign

Object. He was then but eight years old, 2Ch 36:9 .

Answ 1. Both are true; in his eighth year he began to reign with his father, who made him king with him, as divers other kings of Israel and Judah had done in the like times of trouble; and in his eighteenth year he reigned alone.

2. He is called a son of eight years when he began to reign , 2Ch 36:9 , because this was the eighth year, not of his age, but of the Babylonish captivity, or bondage; under which both he and his father had been just so long; for it began in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, as it is affirmed Jer 25:1 , and continued all his reign, which lasted eleven years, 2Ki 23:36 ; and so the first year of Jehoiachin was precisely the eighth year of that captivity. And this is certain, that the years of kings mentioned in Scripture are not always accounted from the beginning of their age, but from some other remarkable time or thing: thus Saul, when at man’ s estate, is called the son of one year , 1Sa 13:1 , of which See Poole "1Sa 13:1" and Ahaziah (whose father lived only forty years, 2Ch 21:20 ) is called a son of forty and two years when he began to reign, 2Ch 22:2 , because that was the forty and second year of the reign of Omri’ s family, as most think. And therefore it cannot seem strange if the years of this king be computed, not from his birth but from the beginning of so great and famous a change of the Jewish affairs, as this captivity made; this being the usual way of the Romans and Greeks, and other more ancient and eastern nations, to compute the times from the great changes and revolutions happening among them. And that this was the practice of the Jews in the computation of these very times, is evident from the use of it in the Prophecy of Ezekiel, Eze 1:2 , which was the fifth year of Jehoiachin’ s captivity ; and Eze 33:21 , in the twelfth year of our captivity ; and Eze 40:1 , in the twenty-fifth year of our captivity .

3. To all this might be added, that some here acknowledge an error of the scribe, and affirm, that in the first and best copies, in 2Ch 36:9 , it was not eight , but eighteen ; which they gather from hence, because those two ancient and venerable translators, the Syriac and Arabic, read there, as it is here, was eighteen years old ; which, they say, they would never have presumed to do, if they had not so read it in those Hebrew copies, out of which they drew their translation, or in some of them.

He reigned in Jerusalem three months, and ten days, which are added, 2Ch 36:9 . But such small sums are frequently omitted in great numbers. See Poole "Gen 15:13" ; See Poole "1Ki 16:8" .

Poole: 2Ki 24:10

Either,

1. Because the people had made Jehoiachin king without his consent. Or,

2. Because he had some notice, or at least a suspicion, of his intentions to rebel against him, and to join with Egypt against him, as Zedekiah his successor did. But whatsoever was the second and immediate cause of it, the chief cause was God’ s commandment, or the direction of his providence, as it was said, 2Ki 24:3 .

Poole: 2Ki 24:12

Went out to the king of Babylon i.e. yielded up himself and the city into his hands; and this by the counsel of Jeremiah, and to his own good.

Of his reign i.e. of Nebuchadnezzar’ s reign; as appears by comparing this with Jer 25:8 , and because Jehoiachin reigned not half a year.

Poole: 2Ki 24:13

Cut in pieces or rather, took away, as this word elsewhere signifies; or cut off , to wit, from the temple. For why should they cut in pieces those vessels which might conveniently be carried away? And that they were not cut in pieces, but reserved whole, is manifest front Ezr 1:7 Dan 5:2,3 .

All the vessels of gold i.e. the most and choicest of them, by comparing this with 2Ki 25:14,15 .

Which Solomon king of Israel had made so he expresseth it, either, first, Because these vessels were made by the godly kings of Judah, instead of those which Solomon made, and so they go by his name; as the ship of the Argonauts was still reputed the same ship, though it was from time to time recruited with new materials, until nothing of the old was left. Or, secondly, Because though the city and temple had been rifled more than once, both by the kings of Egypt and Israel, and by the wicked kings of Judah, yet these golden vessels were preserved from them, either by the care of the priests, who hid them out of the way; or by the clemency of the conquerors, and the reverence which they bore to such sacred instruments; or by the special providence of God disposing their hearts to leave them. Or if they had been taken away by any of these kings, they might afterwards be recovered by the entreaty or at the cost of the godly kings of Judah.

Poole: 2Ki 24:14

All Jerusalem i.e. the inhabitants of Jerusalem; not simply all , but the best and most considerable part, as the following words explain and restrain it.

Ten thousand captives which are more particularly reckoned up, 2Ki 24:16 , where there are seven thousand mighty men, and a thousand smiths; and those mentioned 2Ki 24:15 make up the other two thousand.

All the craftsmen and smiths which might furnish them with new arms, and thereby give him fresh trouble.

Poole: 2Ki 24:17

That he might admonish him of (what this name signifies)

the justice of God which had so severely punished Jehoiakim for his rebellion; and would no less certainly overtake him, if he should be guilty of the same rebellion and perfidiousness of which his predecessor was guilty.

Poole: 2Ki 24:20

Thus the people’ s sins were the true cause why God gave them wicked kings, whom he suffered to do wickedly, that they might bring the long deserved and threatened punishments upon themselves and their people.

Haydock: 2Ki 24:1

Days. At the end of the third year, Daniel i. 1., and Jeremias xxv. 1. Nabuchadonosor, in the first year of his reign, (Jeremias xxv. 1.) being associated in the empire by his aged father Nabopolassar, came up to attack Carchemis, (Jeremias xlvi. 1.) and the other dominions of Egypt, (ver. 7.) and their ally or vassal Joakim. He took the city of Jerusalem, and carried off many of the sacred vessels, and captives, (Daniel i.; Calmet) conducting the king himself to prison, for a short time, when he set him at liberty, on condition that he should pay tribute, 2 Paralipomenon xxxvi. 6. (Tirinus) ---

Joakim obeyed for 3 years. ---

Then again. Hebrew, "he turned and rebelled." This was the first time, as he had before been subject to Egypt, and was attacked no that account. He probably took advantage of the absence of Nabuchodonosor, who was gone with haste to secure all the dominions of his deceased father. In the 7th year of his reign, he sent rovers to punish Joakim. When the latter had reigned near 11 years, they reduced the kingdom, and treated the king's corpse with the utmost indignity, Jeremias xxii. 19. (Tirinus)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:2

The rovers. Latrunculos. Bands or parties of men, who pillaged and plundered wherever they came. (Challoner) See chap. v. 2., and Judges xi. 3. ---

Nabuchodonosor could not come in person. ---

Prophets. Holda, supra chap. xxii. 16., and Isaias xx. 17., and Jeremias xiv., xv., xvi., &c.

Haydock: 2Ki 24:5

Did. Paralipomenon, and his abominations which he wrought, and the things which were found in him. This St. Jerome, (Trad.) explains of certain diabolical marks on his body, shewing him to be devoted to the fiend Codonasar. Suchar are often found on magicians. (Menochius) ---

Thus the priests of Baal cut themselves, 3 Kings xviii. 28. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:6

Joachin, who is styled Jechonias, Matthew i., and Conias [in] Jeremias xxii. 24. The prophet counts his reign as nothing, because it was so limited by the Chaldeans, and continued only three months, Jeremias xxxvi. 30.

Haydock: 2Ki 24:7

Egypt, at least from the eastern mouth of the Nile, at Damietta, to the Euphrates. Nechao had conquered all those countries: but now he was driven into his ancient territories. After some time he attempted to relieve Sedecias, but war repulsed by Nabuchodonosor, who soon after took Jerusalem, Jeremias xxxvii. 6. (Calmet) ---

Again, during the reign of Joachin. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:8

Eighteen. One Hebrew manuscript reads "thirteen," (Haydock) or 3 instead of 8. (Kennicott) ---

The number seems also (Haydock) to be incorrect in Paralipomenon, where we find that Joachin was only eight years old, as the Syriac and Arabic have 18 in both places, and it could not well be said, that he did evil, &c., (ver. 9.) at the age of 8, much less that he had wives so soon, ver. 15. (Calmet) ---

Some attempt to reconcile both places, by saying that the eight years refer to the commencement of his father's reign; (Junius) which is very unusual: (Calmet) or to the servitude of Babylon, when Jerusalem was taken under Joakim. (Hardouin.) ---

Sanctius conjectures that Joachin was associated with his father when he was 10 years old, and after 8 years became sole king. (Kimchi, &c.) (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:9

Done. Ezechiel xix. 5., and Jeremias xxii. 24., speak of this king under the name of (Haydock) Jechonias. (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:10

Came. Hebrew, "servants....he came." But several manuscripts are more accurate and grammatical, "they came." (Kennicott) (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:12

Went out. Josephus (Jewish Wars vi. 8.) insinuates, to save the vessels of the temple. ---

Jeremias had persuaded him to desist from making resistance. (Tirinus) ---

Nabuchodonosor did not comply with his promise, (Menochius) but took the king and all the artificers (ver. 14.) to Babylon, that the former might not attempt to revenge the injuries done to his father, nor the latter contribute to fortify the towns. The Philistines had deprived the Israelites of blacksmiths, with the same design, 1 Kings vii., and xiii. (Angelomus.) (Tirinus) ---

Eighth; commencing, or at the end of the seventh, Jeremias lii. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:13

All, or a great part; for some were still left, 1 Esdras i. ---

Which: or like unto those which Solomon had made. The identical vessels had been perhaps (Du Hamel) plundered. (Menochius) ---

Nabuchodonosor took away the sacred vessels at three different times: 1. under Joakim. These he placed in the temple of his god; and they were afterwards profaned by Baltassar, and restored by Cyrus, Daniel i. 2., and v. 5., and 1 Esdras i. 7. 2. Many he now broke in pieces. 3. Under Sedecias, he took probably what that prince had made, chap. xxv. 13., and Baruch i. 7 ---

Lord, by Isaias (xxxix. 6.; supra chap. xx. 17.) and Jeremias, xv. 13.

Haydock: 2Ki 24:14

All; the chief men, chap. xxv. 18. Ezechiel and Mardocheus were in the number. ---

Engraver. The first term means a workman in wood, stone, &c.; the latter seems to designate a mason, smith, or garrison-soldier; (Calmet) or one expert in making camps; (Sa) an engineer. (Tirinus) ---

St. Jerome explains it of one who enchases jewels in gold. (Menochius) ---

Hecateus and Demetrius (ap. Jos.[Josephus?] and Clement of Alexandria) mention this transportation. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:15

Judges. Hebrew, "the rams." Chaldean, "the grandees." These are not included in the 10,000, (ver. 14.) nor more than (Calmet) the 8,000 who were taken from the country (ver. 16.; Calmet) or 3,000 were taken from Jerusalem, and 7,000 from other places. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:17

Uncle, the third son of Josias, who was placed on the throne. (Haydock) ---

The eldest, (Menochius) called Johanan, seems to have died in his youth. (Calmet) ---

Sedecias means, "the justice of God," (Tirinus) as Nabuchodonosor had adjured him, or made him swear by God; (2 Paralipomenon xxxvi. 15.; Haydock) and thus insinuated, that, if he proved faithless, he should feel the effects of God's justice, as it happened. (Tirinus)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:19

Done. He was not deterred by his punishment, nor by the admonition of Jeremias, xxxvii. 2., and 2 Paralipomenon xxxvi. 12. The prophet informs us, that the priests and people defiled the temple of God. See Ezechiel viii., &c. (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Ki 24:20

Revolted. Literally, "departed;" (Haydock) "broke his covenant;" (Septuagint) acting contrary to his oath, (Paralipomenon) and to the dictates of prudence. God permitted this to take place, in the 8th year of Sedecias. (Calmet)

Gill: 2Ki 24:1

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up,.... Against Jerusalem; this was in the latter end of the third, or the beginning of the fourth of Jehoiakim's reign, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 25:1, when Jehoiakim was taken, but restored upon promise of subjection and obedience, and hostages given, at which time Daniel and his companions were carried captive, with some of the vessels of the temple; See Gill on Dan 1:1, Dan 1:2.

and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: which were the fifth, sixth, and seventh years of his reign:

then he turned and rebelled against him; being encouraged by the king of Egypt, who promised to assist him against the king of Babylon; Nebuchadnezzar is the Nabocolasser in Ptolemy's canon; and Berosus ⁿ testifies, that seventy years before the Persian monarchy he made war against the Phoenicians and Jews, and it is from this time the seventy years' captivity is to be dated.

Gill: 2Ki 24:2

And the Lord sent against him,.... By Nebuchadnezzar, against whom he rebelled:

bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon; who were all subject to the king of Babylon, or were voluntary troops in his service, and bore an hatred to the Jews: according to Eupolemus ^o, this army consisted of Medes and Babylonians, and, besides 10,000 chariots, there were in it 180,000 foot, and 120,000 horse:

and sent them against Judah to destroy it; this was not until the eleventh of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar being diverted by the siege of Tyre, or other important business, from chastising the king of Judah until this time:

according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Huldah the prophetess.

Gill: 2Ki 24:3

Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight,.... It was the sure and certain decree of God they should be carried captive, and therefore he stirred up the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar, and gave him orders to go against it:

for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; which were still continued among the Jews, and committed by them, though repented of by Manasseh, and he returned from them.

Gill: 2Ki 24:4

And also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,.... See 2Ki 21:16 which cruel usage of the prophets, and servants of the Lord, was still continued; see Jer 26:21,

which the Lord would not pardon; he pardoned the sins of Manasseh, who repented, but not the sins of those persons who imitated him, but repented not; or though he personally pardoned the sins of Manasseh, so that he was saved everlastingly, yet the temporal punishment of the nation for those sins, in which they were involved with him, was not averted.

Gill: 2Ki 24:5

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim,.... In 2Ch 36:8, it is added, "his abominations, and that which was found in him": which besides his rebellion against the king of Babylon, and his shedding innocent blood, is interpreted of marks made in his body for superstitious and idolatrous purposes; so Lyra.

Gill: 2Ki 24:6

So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers,.... He died as they did, but was not buried with them, and indeed had no burial at all, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer 22:18 for, falling into the hands of the king of Babylon, he was bound in chains, in order to be carried to Babylon, but died as soon as he came out of Jerusalem, at the gates of which he was cast, and had no burial, 2Ch 36:6. At this time also some of the vessels of the temple were carried away, and put in the idol's temple at Babylon, 2Ch 36:7, and Eupolemus ^p says, that whatever gold, silver, and brass, were in the temple, were carried away:

and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead; called sometimes Jeconiah, and by contempt Coniah, Jer 22:24.

Gill: 2Ki 24:7

And the king of Egypt came not any more out of his land,.... To receive the tribute he imposed on the land of Judah, or to help the kings there of, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin; not till the times of Zedekiah, and then was obliged to retire, without giving any assistance, Jer 37:7 the reason follows:

for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt; all that lay between the river Nile, or the Rhinocolura, and the river Euphrates so that he could not stir out of his dominions, which lay beyond.

Gill: 2Ki 24:8

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign,.... In 2Ch 36:9 he is said to be but eight years old; which may be reconciled by observing, that he might be made and declared king by his father, in the first year of his reign, who reigned eleven years, so that he was eight years old when he began to reign with him, and eighteen when he began to reign alone ^q. Dr. Lightfoot ^r gives another solution of this difficulty, that properly speaking he was eighteen years old when he began to reign, but, in an improper sense, the son of eight years, or the eighth year, as the Hebrew phrase is; that is, he fell in the lot of the eighth year of the captivity of Judah, which was in the latter end of the third, or the beginning of the fourth of his father's reign, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar's, and it was now in the eighth of Nebuchadnezzar that he was king, see 2Ki 24:12, but very probably in 2Ch 36:9 there is a mistake in the copyist of eight for eighteen, since in the Arabic and Syriac versions it is there eighteen, as here:

he reigned in Jerusalem three months; the ten days besides are here omitted for shortness, 2Ch 36:9.

and his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem; a person no doubt well known in those times.

Gill: 2Ki 24:9

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done. Being partner with him in his throne, he was in his sins, and continued therein, see 2Ki 23:37.

Gill: 2Ki 24:10

At that time,.... When Jehoiachin reigned:

when the year was expired; so it is in 2Ch 36:10 or at the revolution of the year; which some take to be autumn, the beginning of the civil year with the Jews; but rather it was the spring, the time when kings went out to battle, 2Sa 11:1.

the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem; that is, his army, under proper generals and officers, and by his orders:

and the city was besieged; in form by the Chaldean army.

Gill: 2Ki 24:11

And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city,.... He came in person, following his army:

and his servants did besiege it; very closely.

Gill: 2Ki 24:12

And Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon,.... Not to fight with him, but to submit to him, and to surrender the city to him, and be at his mercy:

he and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers; the royal family, courtiers, and nobles:

and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign; Of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and which was the eighth of the first captivity, and from whence the seventy years' captivity were reckoned.

Gill: 2Ki 24:13

And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house,.... The gates of the city being thrown open to him, he entered and plundered the temple, and the royal palace, and took from thence all the riches thereof:

and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said; 2Ki 20:17 and so the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled. No more is said of these vessels in 2Ch 36:10 than that they were brought to Babylon; and so Piscator renders the word here, "took", or "carried them away"; and certain it is that they were carried whole to Babylon, Dan 5:2 but as Hezekiah is said to cut off the doors of the temple, that is, strip or scrape off the gold of them, 2Ki 18:16 so Nebuchadnezzar cut off from the temple, or stripped it of the golden vessels in it; of great part of them, the greater part thereof; for that there were some left is plain from Jer 27:18.

Gill: 2Ki 24:14

And he carried away all Jerusalem,.... The inhabitants of it; not every individual of them, but the chief of them, the more honourable, rich, and useful; for the poorer sort were left, as afterwards expressed:

and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives; which was the number of them in the whole; the particulars are after delivered:

and all the craftsmen and smiths; besides the nobles and the soldiers, he took all the artificers that exercised any handicraft trade or business; carpenters and blacksmiths, as some interpret these two words; so that there were none left to make arms for them; the last word may be rendered "enclosers", and are by some interpreted of enclosers of jewels in metals, as gold and silver:

none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land; who were left to till it, and to dress the vines; see 2Ki 25:12.

Gill: 2Ki 24:15

And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon,.... Where he continued at least thirty seven years, 2Ki 25:27.

and the king's mother; whose name was Nehushta, 2Ki 24:8.

and the king's wives; for though he was so young, it seems he had many wives, as was the custom of those times; or his "women", who were either his concubines, or servants in his family:

and his officers; in his court: and the mighty of the land; the princes and nobles thereof; or "the fools of the land", as the word is written; so the people generally were:

those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon; which, according to Bunting ^s, were six hundred and eighty miles distant from each other.

Gill: 2Ki 24:16

And all the men of might, even seven thousand,.... The particulars of the 10,000 carried captive are here given; 7000 of which were the principal men of the land:

and craftsmen and smiths one thousand; which made 8000:

all that were strong, and apt for war; of these consisted the other 2000; so Abarbinel reckons them; but, according to the Jewish chronologer ^t, which Jarchi and other Jewish commentators follow, the 7000 were out of the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of the tribes, and the 3000 out of the tribe of Judah, which are supposed to be those Jeremiah speaks of, Jer 52:28,

even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon; among these were Ezekiel the prophet, and Mordecai, the uncle of Esther.

Gill: 2Ki 24:17

And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead,.... The third son of Josiah, 1Ch 3:15.

and changed his name to Zedekiah; for the same reason the king of Egypt changed the name of Eliakim, 2Ki 23:34 to signify his subjection to him; though some think it was to put him in mind of the justice of God, as the name signifies, that would overtake him, should he be treacherous to him, and rebel against him; so the Jewish Midrash.

Gill: 2Ki 24:18-20

Zedekiah was twenty years old when he began to reign,.... So that he was but between nine and ten years of age when his father Josiah died; for Jehoahaz reigned three months, Jehoiakim eleven years, and his son three months and ten days:

and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah; by which it appears that he was the brother of Jehoahaz by father and mother's side, 2Ki 23:31. This and the two following verses are expressed in the same words as in Jer 52:1, (see Gill on Jer 52:1, Jer 52:2, Jer 52:3), in 2Ch 36:10, besides what is here said, is written, that he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet of the Lord, that spoke in his name, but opposed him; and rebelling against the king of Babylon, broke his oath, and hardened his neck and heart against the Lord, and was obstinate, stubborn, and self-willed.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:1

¹ tn Heb “In his days.”

² tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.

³ tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:2

¹ tn Heb “he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by the hand of his servants the prophets.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:3

¹ tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the Lord this happened against Judah, to remove [them] from his face because of the sins of Manasseh according to all which he did.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:4

¹ tn Heb “and also the blood of the innocent which he shed, and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:5

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoiakim, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:6

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:8

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

² tn Heb “the name of his mother.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:9

¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:10

¹ tn Heb “servants.”

² tn Heb “went up [to] Jerusalem and the city entered into siege.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:12

¹ tn Heb “came out.”

² sn That is, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 597 b.c.

³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:13

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nebuchadnezzar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:15

¹ tn Heb “and he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the mighty of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:16

¹ tn Heb “the entire [group], mighty men, doers of war.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:17

¹ tn Heb “his.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:18

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

² tn Heb “the name of his mother.”

³ tc Some textual witnesses support the consonantal text (Kethib) in reading “Hamital.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:19

¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

² tn Heb “according to all which Jehoiakim had done.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 24:20

¹ tn Heb “Surely [or, ‘for’] because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until he threw them out from upon his face.”

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 24:1

In his ^{( a )} days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

^{( a )} In the end of the third year of his reign and in the beginning of the fourth, (Dan 1:1).

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 24:3

Surely at the ^{( b )} commandment of the LORD came [this] upon Judah, to remove [them] out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

^{( b )} Though God used these wicked tyrants to execute his just judgments, they are not to be excused, for they proceeded from ambition and malice.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 24:6

So Jehoiakim ^{( c )} slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

^{( c )} Not that he was buried with his fathers, but he died in the way, as they let him prisoner toward Babylon, see (Jer 22:19).

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 24:12

And Jehoiachin the king of Judah ^{( d )} 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 ^{( e )} of his reign.

^{( d )} That is, yielded himself to him by the counsel of Jeremiah.

^{( e )} In the reign of the king of Babylon.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 24:20

For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his ^{( f )} presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

^{( f )} Out of Jerusalem and Judah into Babylon.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Ki 24:1-20

1 Jehoiakim, first subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, then rebelling against him, procures his own ruin.

5 Jehoiachin succeeds him.

7 The king of Egypt is vanquished by the king of Babylon.

8 Jehoiachin's evil reign.

10 Jerusalem is taken and carried captive into Babylon.

17 Zedekiah is made king, and reigns ill, unto the utter destruction of Judah.

MHCC: 2Ki 24:1-7

If Jehoiakim had served the Lord, he had not been servant to Nebuchadnezzar. If he had been content with his servitude, and true to his word, his condition had been no worse; but, rebelling against Babylon, he plunged himself into more trouble. See what need nations have to lament the sins of their fathers, lest they smart for them. Threatenings will be fulfilled as certainly as promises, if the sinner's repentance prevent not.

MHCC: 2Ki 24:8-20

Jehoiachin reigned but three months, yet long enough to show that he justly smarted for his fathers' sins, for he trod in their steps. His uncle was intrusted with the government. This Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Judah. Though the judgments of God upon the three kings before him might have warned him, he did that which was evil, like them. When those intrusted with the counsels of a nation act unwisely, and against their true interest, we ought to notice the displeasure of God in it. It is for the sins of a people that God hides from them the things that belong to the public peace. And in fulfilling the secret purposes of his justice, the Lord needs only leave men to the blindness of their own minds, or to the lusts of their own hearts. The gradual approach of Divine judgments affords sinners space for repentance, and believers leisure to prepare for meeting the calamity, while it shows the obstinacy of those who will not forsake their sins.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 24:1-7

We have here the first mention of a name which makes a great figure both in the histories and in the prophecies of the Old Testament; it is that of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (2Ki 24:1), that head of gold. He was a potent prince, and one that was the terror of the mighty in the land of the living; and yet his name would not have been known in sacred writ if he had not been employed in the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews.

I. He made Jehoiakim his tributary and kept him in subjection three years, 2Ki 24:1. Nebuchadnezzar began his reign in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. In his eighth year he made him his prisoner, but restored him upon his promise of faithfulness to him. That promise he kept about three years, but then rebelled, probably in hopes of assistance from the king of Egypt. If Jehoiakim had served his God as he should have done, he would not have been servant to the king of Babylon; but God would thus make him know the difference between his service and the service of the kings of the countries, 2Ch 12:8. If he had been content with his servitude, and true to his word, his condition would have been no worse; but, rebelling against the king of Babylon, he plunged himself into more trouble.

II. When he rebelled Nebuchadnezzar sent his forces against him to destroy his country, bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites, who were all now in the service and pay of the king of Babylon (2Ki 24:2), and withal retained, and now showed, their ancient enmity to the Israel of God. Yet no mention is here made of their commission from the king of Babylon, but only of that from the King of kings: The Lord sent against him all these bands; and again (2Ki 24:3), Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, else the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar could not have brought it. Many are serving God's purposes who are not aware of it. Two things God intended in suffering Judah to be thus harassed: - 1. The punishment of the sins of Manasseh, which God now visited upon the third and fourth generation. So long he waited before he visited them, to see if the nation would repent; but they continued impenitent, notwithstanding Josiah's endeavours to reform them, and ready to relapse, upon the first turn, into their former idolatries. Now that the old bond was put in suit they were called up upon the former judgment; that was revived which God had laid up in store, and sealed among his treasures (Deu 32:34; Job 14:17), and in remembrance of that he removed Judah out of his sight, and let the world know that time will not wear out the guilt of sin and that reprieves are not pardons. All that Manasseh did was called to mind, but especially the innocent blood that he shed, much of which, we may suppose, was the blood of God's witnesses and worshippers, which the Lord would not pardon. Is there then any unpardonable sin but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? This is meant of the remitting of the temporal punishment. Though Manasseh repented, and we have reason to think even the persecutions and murders he was guilty of were pardoned, so that he was delivered from the wrath to come; yet, as they were national sins, they lay still charged upon the land, crying for national judgments. Perhaps some were now living who were aiding and abetting; and the present king was guilty of innocent blood, as appears Jer 22:17. See what a provoking sin murder is, how loud it cries, and how long. See what need nations have to lament the sins of their fathers, lest they smart for them. God intended hereby the accomplishment of the prophecies; it was according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servants the prophets. Rather shall Judah be removed out of his sight, nay, rather shall heaven and earth pass away, than any word of God fall to the ground. Threatenings will be fulfilled as certainly as promises, if the sinner's repentance prevent not.

III. The king of Egypt was likewise subdued by the king of Babylon, and a great part of his country taken from him, 2Ki 24:7. It was but lately that he had oppressed Israel, 2Ki 23:33. Now he is himself brought down and disabled to attempt any thing for the recovery of his losses or the assistance of his allies. He dares not come any more out of his land. Afterwards he attempted to give Zedekiah some relief, but was obliged to retire, Jer 37:7.

IV. Jehoiakim, seeing his country laid waste and himself ready to fall into the enemy's hand, as it should seem, died of a broken heart, in the midst of his days (2Ki 24:6). So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; but it is not said that he was buried with them, for no doubt the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled, that he should not be lamented, as his father was, but buried with the burial of an ass (Jer 22:18, Jer 22:19), and his dead body cast out, Jer 36:30.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 24:8-20

This should have been the history of king Jehoiachin's reign, but, alas! it is only the history of king Jehoiachin's captivity, as it is called, Eze 1:2. He came to the crown, not to have the honour of wearing it, but the shame of losing it. Ideo tantum venerat, ut exiret - He came in only to go out.

I. His reign was short and inconsiderable. He reigned but three months, and then was removed and carried captive to Babylon, as his father, it is likely, would have been if he had lived but so much longer. What an unhappy young prince was this, that was thrust into a falling house, a sinking throne! What an unnatural father had he, who begat him to suffer for him, and by his own sin and folly had left himself nothing to bequeath to his son but his own miseries! Yet this young prince reigned long enough to show that he justly smarted for his fathers' sins, for he trod in their steps (2Ki 24:9): He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as they had done; he did nothing to cut off the entail of the curse, to discharge the incumbrances of his crown, and therefore ( transit cum onere - the incumbrance descends with the crown ) with his own iniquity that of his fathers shall come into the account.

II. The calamities that came upon him, and his family, and people, in the very beginning of his reign, were very grievous. 1. Jerusalem was besieged by the king of Babylon, 2Ki 24:10, 2Ki 24:11. He had sent his forces to ravage the country, 2Ki 24:2. Now he came himself, and laid siege to the city. Now the word of God was fulfilled (Deu 28:49, etc.), The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, of fierce countenance, that shall first eat of the fruit of thy land and then besiege thee in all thy gates. 2. Jehoiachin immediately surrendered at discretion. As soon as he heard the king of Babylon had come in person against the city, his name having at this time become very formidable, he beat a parley and went out to him, 2Ki 24:12. Had he made his peace with God, and taken the method that Hezekiah did in the like case, he needed not to have feared the king of Babylon, but might have held out with courage, honour, and success (one should have chased a thousand); but, wanting the faith and piety of an Israelite, he had not the resolution of a man, of a soldier, of a prince. He and his royal family, his mother and wives, his servants and princes, delivered themselves up prisoners of war; this was the consequence of their being servants of sin. 3. Nebuchadnezzar rifled the treasuries both of the church and of the state, and carried away the silver and gold of both, 2Ki 24:13. Now the word of God by Isaiah was fulfilled (2Ki 20:17), All that is in thy house shall be carried to Babylon. Even the vessels of the temple which Solomon had made, and laid up in store to be used as the old ones were worn out, he cut off from the temple, and began to cut them in pieces, but, upon second thoughts, reserved them for his own use, for we find Belshazzar drinking wine in them, Dan 5:2, Dan 5:3. 4. He carried away a great part of Jerusalem into captivity, to weaken it, that he might effectually secure to himself the dominion of it and prevent its revolt, and to enrich himself with the wealth or service of those he took away. There had been some carried away eight years before this, in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar and the third of Jehoiakim, among whom were Daniel and his fellows. See Dan 1:1, Dan 1:6. They had approved themselves so well that this politic prince coveted more of them. Now he carried off, (1.) The young king himself and his family (2Ki 24:15), and we find (2Ki 25:27-29) that for thirty-seven years he continued a close prisoner. (2.) All the great men, the princes and officers, whose riches were kept for the owners thereof to their hurt (Ecc 5:13), tempting the enemies to make a prey of them first. (3.) All the military men, the mighty men of valour (2Ki 24:14), the mighty of the land (2Ki 24:15), the men of might, even all that were strong and apt for war, 2Ki 24:16. These could not defend themselves, and the conqueror would not leave them to defend their country, but took them away, to be employed in his service. (4.) All the craftsmen and smiths who made weapons of war; in taking them he did, in effect, disarm the city, according to the Philistines' policy, 1Sa 13:19. In this captivity Ezekiel the prophet was carried away (Eze 1:1, Eze 1:2) and Mordecai, Est 2:6. This Jehoiachin was also called Jeconiah (1Ch 3:16), and in contempt (Jer 22:24, where his captivity is foretold) Coniah.

III. The successor whom the king of Babylon appointed in the room of Jehoiachin. God had written him childless (Jer 22:30) and therefore his uncle was entrusted with the government. The king of Babylon made Mattaniah king, the son of Josiah; and to remind him, and let all the world know, that he was his creature, he changed his name and called him Zedekiah, 2Ki 24:17. God had sometimes charged it upon his people, They have set up kings, but not by me (Hos 8:4), and now, to punish them for that, the king of Babylon shall have the setting up of their kings. Those are justly deprived of their liberty that use it, and insist upon it, against God's authority. This Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Judah. The name which the king of Babylon gave him signifies The justice of the Lord, and was a presage of the glorifying of God's justice in his ruin. 1. See how impious this Zedekiah was. Though the judgments of God upon his three immediate predecessors might have been a warning to him not to tread in their steps, yet he did that which was evil, like all the rest, 2Ki 24:19. 2. See how impolitic he was. As his predecessor lost his courage, so he his wisdom, with his religion, for he rebelled against the king of Babylon (2Ki 24:20), whose tributary he was, and so provoked him whom he was utterly unable to contend with, and who, if he had continued true to him, would have protected him. This was the most foolish thing he could do, and hastened the ruin of his kingdom. This came to pass through the anger of the Lord, that he might cast them out from his presence. Note, When those that are entrusted with the counsels of a nation act unwisely, and against their true interest, we ought to take notice of the displeasure of God in it. It is for the sins of a people that God removes the speech of the trusty and takes away the understanding of the aged, and hides from their eyes the things that belong to the public peace. Whom God will destroy he infatuates.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:1

"In his days Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babel, came up; and Jehoiakim became subject to him three years, then he revolted from him again." נבכדנאצּר , Nebuchadnezzar , or נבוּכדראצּר , Nebuchadrezzar (Jer 21:2, Jer 21:7; Jer 22:25, etc.), Ναβουχοδονόσορ (lxx), Ναβουχοδονόσορος (Beros. in Jos. c. Ap . i. 20, 21), Ναβοκοδρόσορος (Strabo, xv. 1, 6), upon the Persian arrow-headed inscriptions at Bisutun Nabhukudracara (according to Oppert, composed of the name of God, Nabhu (Nebo), the Arabic kadr , power, and zar or sar , prince), and in still other forms (for the different forms of the name see M. v. Niebuhr's Gesch. pp. 41, 42). He was the son of Nabopolassar, the founder of the Chaldaean monarchy, and reigned, according to Berosus (Jos. l.c. ), Alex. Polyh. (Eusebii Chr. arm . i. pp. 44, 45), and the Canon of Ptol., forty-three years, from 605 to 562 b.c. With regard to his first campaign against Jerusalem, it is stated in 2Ch 36:6, that "against him (Jehoiakim) came up Nebuchadnezzar, and bound him with brass chains, to carry him ( להוליכו ) to Babylon;"and in Dan 1:1-2, that "in the year three of the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem and besieged it; and the Lord gave Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, into his hand, and a portion of the holy vessels, and he brought them (the vessels) into the land of Shinar, into the house of his god,"etc. Bertheau ( on Chr. ) admits that all three passages relate to Nebuchadnezzar's first expedition against Jehoiakim and the first taking of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, and rejects the alteration of להוליכו , "to lead him to Babylon"(Chr.), into ἀπήγαγεν αὐτὸν (lxx), for which Thenius decides in his prejudice in favour of the lxx. He has also correctly observed, that the chronicler intentionally selected the infinitive with ל , because he did not intend to speak of the actual transportation of Jehoiakim to Babylon. The words of our text, "Jehoiakim became servant ( עבד ) to him,"i.e., subject to him, simply affirm that he became tributary, not that he was led away. And in the book of Daniel also there is nothing about the leading away of Jehoiakim to Babylon. Whilst, therefore, the three accounts agree in the main with one another, and supply one another's deficiencies, so that we learn that Jehoiakim was taken prisoner at the capture of Jerusalem and put in chains to be led away, but that, inasmuch as he submitted to Nebuchadnezzar and vowed fidelity, he was not taken away, but left upon the throne as vassal of the king of Babylon; the statement in the book of Daniel concerning the time when this event occurred, which is neither contained in our account nor in the Chronicles, presents a difficulty when compared with Jer 25 and Jer 46:2, and different attempts, some of them very constrained, have been made to remove it. According to Jer 46:2, Nebuchadnezzar smote Necho the king of Egypt at Carchemish, on the Euphrates, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. This year is not only called the first year of Nebuchadnezzar in Jer 25:1, but is represented by the prophet as the turning-point of the kingdom of Judah by the announcement that the Lord would bring His servant Nebuchadnezzar upon Judah and its inhabitants, and also upon all the nations dwelling round about, that he would devastate Judah, and that these nations would serve the king of Babylon seventy years (Jer 25:9-11). Consequently not only the defeat of Necho at Carchemish, but also the coming of Nebuchadnezzar to Judah, fell in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and not in the third. To remove this discrepancy, some have proposed that the time mentioned, "in the fourth year of Jehoiakim"(Jer 46:2), should be understood as relating, not to the year of the battle at Carchemish, but to the time of the prophecy of Jeremiah against Egypt contained in Jer 46, and that Jer 25 should also be explained as follows, that in this chapter the prophet is not announcing the first capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, but is proclaiming a year after this the destruction of Jerusalem and the devastation of the whole land, or a total judgment upon Jerusalem and the rest of the nations mentioned there (M. v. Nieb. Gesch. pp. 86, 87, 371). But this explanation is founded upon the erroneous assumption, that Jer 46:3-12 does not contain a prediction of the catastrophe awaiting Egypt, but a picture of what has already taken place there; and it is only in a very forced manner that it can be brought into harmony with the contents of Jer 25.

(Note: Still less tenable is the view of Hofman, renewed by Zündel ( Krit. Unterss. üb. d. Abfassungszeit des B. Daniel, p. 25), that Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim, and that it was not till the following, or fourth year, that he defeated the Egyptian army at Carchemish, because so long as Pharaoh Necho stood with his army by or in Carchemish, on the Euphrates, Nebuchadnezzar could not possibly attempt to pass it so as to effect a march upon Jerusalem.)

We must rather take "the year three of the reign of Jehoiakim"(Dan 1:1) as the extreme terminus a quo of Nebuchadnezzar's coming, i.e., must understand the statement thus: that in the year referred to Nebuchadnezzar commenced the expedition against Judah, and smote Necho at Carchemish at the commencement of the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Jer 46:2), and then, following up this victory, took Jerusalem in the same year, and made Jehoiakim tributary, and at the same time carried off to Babylon a portion of the sacred vessels, and some young men of royal blood as hostages, one of whom was Daniel (2Ch 36:7; Dan 1:2.). The fast mentioned in Jer 36:9, which took place in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, cannot be adduced in disproof of this; for extraordinary fast-days were not only appointed for the purpose of averting great threatening dangers, but also after severe calamities which had fallen upon the land or people, to expiate His wrath by humiliation before God, and to invoke the divine compassion to remove the judgment that had fallen upon them. The objection, that the godless king would hardly have thought of renewing the remembrance of a divine judgment by a day of repentance and prayer, but would rather have desired to avoid everything that could make the people despair, falls to the ground, with the erroneous assumption upon which it is founded, that by the fast-day Jehoiakim simply intended to renew the remembrance of the judgment which had burst upon Jerusalem, whereas he rather desired by outward humiliation before God to secure the help of God to enable him to throw off the Chaldaean yoke, and arouse in the people a religious enthusiasm for war against their oppressors. - Further information concerning this first expedition of Nebuchadnezzar is supplied by the account of Berosus, which Josephus ( Ant. x. 11, and c. Ap. i. 19) has preserved from the third book of his Chaldaean history, namely, that when Nabopolassar received intelligence of the revolt of the satrap whom he had placed over Egypt, Coele-Syria, and Phoenicia, because he was no longer able on account of age to bear the hardships of war, he placed a portion of his army in the hands of his youthful son Nebuchadnezzar and sent him against the satrap. Nebuchadnezzar defeated him in battle, and established his power over that country again. In the meantime Nabopolassar fell sick and died in Babylon; and as soon as the tidings reached Nebuchadnezzar, he hastened through the desert to Babylon with a small number of attendants, and directed his army to follow slowly after regulating the affairs of Egypt and the rest of the country, and to bring with it the prisoners from the Jews, Syrians, Phoenicians, and Egyptian tribes, and with the heavily-armed troops. So much, at any rate, is evident from this account, after deducting the motive assigned for the war, which is given from a Chaldaean point of view, and may be taken as a historical fact, that even before his father's death Nebuchadnezzar had not only smitten the Egyptians, but had also conquered Judah and penetrated to the borders of Egypt. And there is no discrepancy between the statement of Berosus, that Nebuchadnezzar was not yet king, and the fact that in the biblical books he is called king proleptically, because he marched against Judah with kingly authority.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:2-7

To punish Jehoiakim's rebellion, Jehovah sent hosts of Chaldaeans, Aramaeans, Moabites, and Ammonites against him and against Judah to destroy it ( להאבידו ). Nebuchadnezzar was probably too much occupied with other matters relating to his kingdom, during the earliest years of his reign after his father's death, to be able to proceed at once against Jehoiakim and punish him for his revolt.

(Note: Compare the remarks of M. v. Niebuhr on this point ( Gesch . pp. 208,209) and his summary at p. 209: "Nebuchadnezzar had enough to do in Babylon and the eastern half of his kingdom, to complete the organization of the new kingdom, to make the military roads to the western half of the kingdom along the narrow valley of the Euphrates and through the desert, and also to fortify them and provide them with watering stations and every other requisite, to repair the damages of the Scythian hordes and the long contest with Nineveh, to restore the shattered authority, and to bring Arabs and mountain-tribes to order. All this was more important than a somewhat more rapid termination of the Egyptian war and the pacification of Syria.")

He may also have thought it a matter of too little importance for him to go himself, as there was not much reason to be afraid of Egypt since its first defeat (cf. M. v. Niebuhr, p. 375). He therefore merely sent such troops against him as were in the neighbourhood of Judah at the time. The tribes mentioned along with the Chaldaeans were probably all subject to Nebuchadnezzar, so that they attacked Judah at his command in combination with the Chaldaean tribes left upon the frontier. How much they effected is not distinctly stated; but it is evident that they were not able to take Jerusalem, from the fact that after the death of Jehoiakim his son was able to ascend the throne (2Ki 24:6). - The sending of these troops is ascribed to Jehovah, who, as the supreme controller of the fate of the covenant-nation, punished Jehoiakim for his rebellion. For, after the Lord had given Judah into the hands of the Chaldaeans as a punishment for its apostasy from Him, all revolt from them was rebellion against the Lord. "According to the word of Jehovah, which He spake by His servants the prophets,"viz., Isaiah, Micah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and others.

2Ki 24:3-5

יי על־פּי אך : "only according to the mouth (command) of Jehovah did this take place against Judah,"i.e., for no other reason than because the Lord had determined to put away Judah from before His face because of Manasseh's sins (cf. 2Ki 21:12-16, and 2Ki 23:27). "And Jehovah would not forgive,"even if the greatest intercessors, Moses and Samuel, had come before Him (Jer 15:1.), because the measure of the sins was full, so that God was obliged to punish according to His holy righteousness. We must repeat בּ from the preceding words before הנּקי דּם .

2Ki 24:6-7

"Jehoiakim lay down to (fell asleep with) his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his stead."That this statement is not in contradiction to the prophecies of Jer 22:19 : "Jehoiakim shall be buried like an ass, carried away and cast out far away from the gates of Jerusalem,"and Jer 36:30 : "no son of his shall sit upon the throne of David, and his body shall lie exposed to the heat by day and to the cold by night,"is now generally admitted, as it has already been by J. D. Michaelis and Winer. But the solution proposed by Michaelis, Winer, and M. v. Niebuhr ( Gesch. p. 376) is not sufficient, namely, that at the conquest of Jerusalem, which took place three months after the death of Jehoiakim, his bones were taken out of the grave, either by the victors out of revenge for his rebellion, or by the fury of the people, and cast out before the city gate; for Jeremiah expressly predicts that he shall have no funeral and no burial whatever. We must therefore assume that he was slain in a battle fought with the troops sent against him, and was not buried at all; an assumption which is not at variance with the words, "he laid himself down to his fathers,"' since this formula does not necessarily indicate a peaceful death by sickness, but is also applied to king Ahab, who was slain in battle (1Ki 22:40, cf. 2Ki 22:20).

(Note: The supposition of Ewald ( Gesch . iii. p. 733), that Jehoiakim was enticed out of the capital by a stratagem of the enemy, and taken prisoner, and because he made a furious resistance was hurried off in a scuffle and mercilessly slaughtered, is at variance with the fact that, according to v. 10, it was not till after his death that the army of the enemy advanced to the front of Jerusalem and commenced the siege.)

- And even though his son Jehoiachin ascended the throne after his father's death and maintained his position for three months against the Chaldaeans, until at length he fell into their hands and was carried away alive to Babylon, the prophet might very truly describe this short reign as not sitting upon the throne of David (cf. Graf on Jer 22:19). - To the death of Jehoiakim there is appended the notice in 2Ki 24:7, that the king of Egypt did not go out of his own land any more, because the king of Babylon had taken away everything that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates. The purpose of this notice is to indicate, on the one hand, what attitude Necho, whose march to the Euphrates was previously mentioned, had assumed on the conquest of Judah by the Chaldaeans, and on the other hand, that under these circumstances a successful resistance to the Chaldaeans on the part of Judah was not for a moment to be thought of.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:8-9

(cf. 2Ch 36:9 and 2Ch 36:10). Jehoiachin, יהויכין or יויכין (Eze 1:2), i.e., he whom Jehovah fortifies, called יכניהוּ in 1Ch 3:16-17, and Jer 27:20; Jer 28:4, etc., and כּניהוּ in Jer 22:24, Jer 22:28; Jer 37:1, probably according to the popular twisting and contraction of the name Jehoiachin, was eighteen years old when he ascended the throne (the eight years of the Chronicles are a slip of the pen), and reigned three months, or, according to the more precise statement of the Chronicles, three months and ten days, in the spirit of his father. Ezekiel (Eze 19:5-7) describes him not only as a young lion, who learned to prey and devoured men, like Jehoahaz, but also affirms of him that he knew their (the deceased men's) widows, i.e., ravished them, and destroyed their cities-that is to say, he did not confine his deeds of violence to individuals, but extended them to all that was left behind by those whom he had murdered, viz., to their families and possessions; and nothing is affirmed in Jer 22:24 and Jer 22:28 respecting his character at variance with this. His mother Nehushta was a daughter of Elnathan, a ruler of the people, or prince, from Jerusalem (Jer 26:22; Jer 36:12, Jer 36:25).

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:10

"At that time,"i.e., when Jehoiachin had come to the throne, or, according to 2Ch 36:10, "at the turn of the year,"i.e., in the spring (see at 1Ki 20:22), the servants (generals) of Nebuchadnezzar marched against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. The Keri עלוּ is substantially correct, but is an unnecessary alteration of the Chethîb עלה , since the verb when it precedes the subject is not unfrequently used in the singular, though before a plural subject (cf. Ewald, §316, a.). The נב עבדי are different from the גדוּדים of 2Ki 24:2. As the troops sent against Jehoiakim had not been able to conquer Judah, especially Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar sent his generals with an army against Jerusalem, to besiege the city and take it.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:11

During the siege he came himself to punish Jehoiakim's revolt in the person of his successor.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:12

Then Jehoiachin went out to the king of Babylon to yield himself up to him, because he perceived the impossibility of holding the city any longer against the besiegers, and probably hoped to secure the favour of Nebuchadnezzar, and perhaps to retain the throne as his vassal by a voluntary submission. Nebuchadnezzar, however, did not show favour any more, as he had done to Jehoiakim at the first taking of Jerusalem, but treated Jehoiachin as a rebel, made him prisoner, and led him away to Babylon, along with his mother, his wives (2Ki 24:15), his princes and his chamberlains, as Jeremiah had prophesied (Jer 22:24.), in the eighth year of his (Nebuchadnezzar's) reign. The reference to the king's mother in 2Ki 24:12 and 2Ki 24:15 is not to be explained on the ground that she still acted as guardian over the king, who was not yet of age (J. D. Mich.), but from the influential position which she occupied in the kingdom as הגּבירה (Jer 29:2 : see at 1Ki 14:21). The eighth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar is reckoned from the time when his father had transferred to him the chief command over the army to make war upon Necho, according to which his first year coincides with the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Jer 25:1). As Nebuchadnezzar acted as king, so far as the Jews were concerned, from that time forward, although he conducted the war by command of his father, this is always reckoned as the point of time at which his reign commenced, both in our books and also in Jeremiah (cf. 2Ki 25:8; Jer 32:1). According to this calculation, his reign lasted forty-four years, viz., the eight years of Jehoiakim and the thirty-six years of Jehoiachin's imprisonment, as is evident from 2Ki 25:27.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:13

Nebuchadnezzar thereupon, that is to say, when he had forced his way into the city, plundered the treasures of the temple and palace, and broke the gold off the vessels which Solomon had made in the temple of Jehovah. קצּץ , to cut off, break off, as in 2Ki 16:17, i.e., to bear off the gold plates. Nebuchadnezzar had already taken a portion of the golden vessels of the temple away with him at the first taking of Jerusalem in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and had placed them in the temple of his god at Babylon (2Ch 36:7; Dan 1:2). They were no doubt the smaller vessels of solid gold-basins, scoops, goblets, knives, tongs, etc., - which Cyrus delivered up again to the Jews on their return to their native land ( Ezr 1:7.). This time he took the gold off the larger vessels, which were simply plated with that metal, such as the altar of burnt-offering, the table of shew-bread and ark of the covenant, and carried it away as booty, so that on the third conquest of Jerusalem, in the time of Zedekiah, beside a few gold and silver basins and scoops (2Ki 25:15) there were only the large brazen vessels of the court remaining (2Ki 25:13-17; Jer 27:18.). The words, "as Jehovah had spoken,"refer to 2Ki 20:17 and Isa 39:6, and to the sayings of other prophets, such as Jer 15:13; Jer 17:3, etc.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:14-16

Beside these treasures, he carried away captive to Babylon the cream of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, not only the most affluent, but, as is evident from Jer 24:1-10, the best portion in a moral respect. In 2Ki 24:14 the number of those who were carried off is simply given in a general form, according to its sum-total, as 10,000; and then in 2Ki 24:15, 2Ki 24:16 the details are more minutely specified. "All Jerusalem"is the whole of the population of Jerusalem, which is first of all divided into two leading classes, and then more precisely defined by the clause, "nothing was left except the common people,"and reduced to the cream of the citizens. The king, queen-mother, and king's wives being passed over and mentioned for the first time in the special list in 2Ki 24:15, there are noticed here כּל־השּׂרים and החיל גּבּורי כּל , who form the first of the leading classes. By the שׂרים are meant, according to 2Ki 24:15, the סריסים , chamberlains, i.e., the officials of the king's court in general, and by הארץ אוּלי ("the mighty of the land") all the heads of the tribes and families of the nation that were found in Jerusalem; and under the last the priests and prophets, who were also carried away according to Jer 29:1, with Ezekiel among them (Eze 1:1), are included as the spiritual heads of the people. The החיל גּבּורי are called החיל אנשׁי in 2Ki 24:16; their number was 7000. The persons intended are not warriors, but men of property, as in 2Ki 15:20. The second class of those who ere carried away consisted of כּל־החרשׁ , all the workers in stone, metal, and wood, that is to say, masons, smiths, and carpenters; and המּסגּר , the locksmiths, including probably not actual locksmiths only, but makers of weapons also. There is no need for any serious refutation of the marvellous explanation given of מסגּר by Hitzig (on Jer 24:1), who derives it from מס and גּר , and supposes it to be an epithet applied to the remnant of the Canaanites, who had been made into tributary labourers, although it has been adopted by Thenius and Graf, who make them into artisans of the foreign socagers. עם־הארץ דּלּת = דלּת־הארץ (2Ki 25:12), the poor people of the land, i.e., the lower portion of the population of Jerusalem, from whom Nebuchadnezzar did not fear any rebellion, because they possessed nothing (Jer 39:10), i.e., neither property (money nor other possessions), nor strength and ability to organize a revolt. The antithesis to these formed by the מלחמה עשׂי מ גּבּורים , the strong or powerful men, who were in a condition to originate and carry on a war; for this category includes all who were carried away, not merely the thousand workmen, but also the seven thousand החיל אנשׁי , and the king's officers and the chiefs of the nation, whose number amounted to two thousand, since the total number of the exiles was then thousand. There is no special allusion to warriors or military, because in the struggle for the rescue of the capital and the kingdom from destruction every man who could bear arms performed military service, so that the distinction between warriors and non-warriors was swept away, and the actual warriors are swallowed up in the ten thousand. Babel is the country of Babylonia, or rather the Babylonian empire.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:17

Over the lower classes of the people who had been left behind Nebuchadnezzar placed the paternal uncle of the king, who had been led away, viz., Mattaniah, and made him king under the name of Zedekiah. He was the youngest son of Josiah (Jer 1:3; Jer 37:1); was only ten years old when his father died, and twenty-one years old when he ascended the throne; and as the uncle of Jehoiachin, who being only a youth of eighteen could not have a son capable of reigning, had the first claim to the throne. Instead of דּדו , his uncle, we have in 2Ch 36:10 אהיו , his brother, i.e., his nearest relation. On the change in the name see at 2Ki 23:34. The name צדקיּהוּ , i.e., he who has Jehovah's righteousness, was probably chosen by Mattaniah in the hope that through him or in his reign the Lord would create the righteousness promised to His people.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 24:18-20

(Note: To this section the historical appendix to the book of Jeremiah (Jer 52) furnishes a parallel, which agrees with it for the most part word for word, omitting only the short account of the murder of Gedaliah and of the flight of the people to Egypt (2Ki 25:22-26), and adding instead a computation of the number of the people who were led away to Babel by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 52:28-30). Apart from the less important variations, which have arisen in part simply from copyists'errors, we have in Jer 52:18, and especially in Jer 52:21 and Jer 52:22, by no means unimportant notices concerning the vessels of the temple, especially concerning the ornaments of the brazen pillars, which do not occur anywhere in our books. It is evident from this that our text was not derived from Jer (Hävernick), and that Jer was not borrowed from our books of Kings and appended to the book of Jeremiah's prophecies (Ros., Maur., Ew., Graf). On the contrary, the two accounts are simply brief extracts from one common and more elaborate history of the later times of the kingdom of Judah, possibly composed by Jeremiah or Baruch, analogous to the two extracts from the history of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18-20 and Isa 36-39.- More minute accounts of this space of time are given in the historical portions of the prophecies of Jeremiah (Jer 39-44), which form an explanatory commentary to the section before us.)

2Ki 24:18-19

Length and spirit of Zedekiah's reign (cf. Jer 52:1-3, and 2Ch 36:11-13). - Zedekiah's mother Hamital, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, was also the mother of Jehoahaz (2Ki 23:31); consequently he was his own brother and the half-brother of Jehoiakim, whose mother was named Zebidah (2Ki 23:36). His reign lasted eleven years, and in its attitude towards the Lord exactly resembled that of his brother Jehoiakim, except that Zedekiah does not appear to have possessed so much energy for that which was evil. According to Jer 38:5 and Jer 38:24., he was weak in character, and completely governed by the great men of his kingdom, having no power or courage whatever to offer resistance. but, like them, he did not hearken to the words of the Lord through Jeremiah (Jer 37:2), or, as it is expressed in 2Ch 36:12, "he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spake to him out of the mouth of the Lord."

2Ki 24:20

"For because of the wrath of the Lord it happened concerning Judah and Jerusalem."The subject to היתה is to be taken from what precedes, viz., Zedekiah's doing evil, or that such a God-resisting man as Zedekiah became king. "Not that it was of God that Zedekiah was wicked, but that Zedekiah, a man (if we believe Brentius, in loc. ) simple, dependent upon counsellors, yet at the same time despising the word of God and impenitent (2Ch 36:12-13), became king, so as to be the cause of Jerusalem's destruction"(Seb. Schm.). On וגו השׁליכו עד cf. 2Ki 24:3, and 2Ki 17:18, 2Ki 17:23. "And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babel,"who, according to 2Ch 36:13, had made him swear by God, to whom he was bound by oath to render fealty. This breach of covenant and frivolous violation of his oath Ezekiel also condemns in sharp words (Eze 17:13.), as a grievous sin against the Lord. Zedekiah also appears from the very first to have had no intention of keeping the oath of fealty which he took to the king of Babel with very great uprightness. For only a short time after he was installed as king he despatched an embassy to Babel (Jer 29:3), which, judging from the contents of the letter to the exiles that Jeremiah gave to the ambassadors to take with them, can hardly have been sent with any other object that to obtain from the king of Babel the return of those who had been carried away. Then in the fourth year of his reign he himself made a journey to Babel (Jer 51:59), evidently to investigate the circumstances upon the spot, and to ensure the king of Babel of his fidelity. And in the fifth month of the same year, probably after his return from Babel, ambassadors of the Moabites, Ammonites, Tyrians, and Sidonians came to Jerusalem to make an alliance with him for throwing off the Chaldaean yoke (Jer 27:3). Zedekiah also had recourse to Egypt, where the enterprising Pharaoh Hophra ( Apries ) had ascended the throne; and then, in spite of the warnings of Jeremiah, trusting to the help of Egypt, revolted from the king of Babel, probably at a time when Nebuchadnezzar (according to the combinations of M. v. Nieb., which are open to question however) was engaged in a war with Media.

Constable: 2Ki 18:1--25:30

III. THE SURVIVING KINGDOM chs. 18--25

In this third major section of 1 and 2 Kings the writer showed that the captivity of Judah was also a natural consequence of not following the covenantal relationship with Yahweh. The remaining kings in 2 Kings all ruled over the Southern Kingdom. This part of the book concludes with events that happened in Judah immediately following the Babylonian Captivity in 586 B.C.

Constable: 2Ki 23:36--24:8

F. Jehoiakim's Evil Reign 23:36-24:7

Jehoiakim reigned as a puppet king for 11 years (609-598 B.C.). He was a weak ruler who did not stand up for Judah's interests against her hostile enemies.

In 605 B.C. Prince Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian army of his father Nabopolassar against the allied forces of Assyria and Egypt and defeated them at Carchemish. This victory, as previously explained, gave Babylon supremacy in the ancient Near East. With Babylon's victory Egypt's vassals, including Judah, came under Babylon's control. Shortly after that same year Nabopolassar died, and Nebuchadnezzar succeeded him. Nebuchadnezzar then moved south and invaded Judah (605 B.C.). He took some captives to Babylon including Daniel (Dan. 1:1-3). This was the first of Judah's three deportations in which the Babylonians took groups of Judahites to Babylon.

Jehoiakim submitted to Nebuchadnezzar for three years but then rebelled. He appealed to Egypt for help unsuccessfully (24:1, 7). Foreign raiders who sought to take advantage of her weakened condition besieged Judah (24:2). The Babylonians then took Jehoiakim to Babylon (2 Chron. 36:6). Later they allowed him to return to Jerusalem where he died (Jer. 22:19).

Jehoiakim did little to postpone God's judgment on Judah for her previous sins. The prophet Jeremiah despised him for his wickedness (Jer. 22:18-19; 26:20-23; 36).

Constable: 2Ki 24:8-17

G. Jehoiachin's Evil Reign 24:8-17

Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin, whose other names were Jeconiah and Coniah, succeeded him on the throne but only reigned for three months (598-597 B.C.). When Nebuchadnezzar's troops were besieging Jerusalem the Babylonian king personally visited Judah's capital, and Jehoiachin surrendered to him (v. 12). The invasion fulfilled the Lord's warning to Solomon about apostasy in 1 Kings 9:6-9. A large deportation of Judah's population followed in 597 B.C. None of Jehoiachin's sons ruled Judah, as Jeremiah had prophesied (Jer. 22:30). Rather Nebuchadnezzar set up Jehoiakim's younger brother, Zedekiah, on the throne as his puppet and exercised his sovereign prerogative by changing his name (v. 17). The Jewish people, however, seem to have continued to regard Jehoiachin as the rightful heir to David's throne until his death.¹⁴¹

Constable: 2Ki 24:18--25:8

H. Zedekiah's Evil Reign 24:18-25:7

Zedekiah (Mattaniah) was Josiah's third son to rule over Judah. He rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (v. 20) by making a treaty with Pharaoh Hophra (589-570 B.C.) under pressure from nationalists in Judah (cf. Jer. 37-38).

"Clearly, he lacks the moral fiber to be more than what he is, a man who gauges each situation by how long its results can keep him in power."¹⁴²

Jerusalem was under siege for about eighteen months (588-586 B.C.; 25:1-2). The resulting famine that the residents experienced (v. 3) was only one of many that the Israelites underwent for their rebellion against God. Yahweh again withheld fertility as a punishment for apostasy. Jerusalem finally fell in 586 B.C. The Babylonians captured King Zedekiah while he was trying to escape and took him to Riblah (cf. 23:33) where Nebuchadnezzar passed judgment on him. Nebuchadnezzar killed Zedekiah's heirs to the throne ending his fertility, blinded him (cf. Rev. 3:17), and bound him with bronze shackles (v. 7). All of these measures also represented the fate of the nation the king led. The Israelites were now without royal leadership, spiritually blind, and physically bound. The blinding of prisoners was a common practice in the ancient East.¹⁴³

"The lesson of Samaria's fall and exile should have been learned."¹⁴⁴

Guzik: 2Ki 24:1-20

2 Kings 24 - Judah Subjected Under Babylon

A. The reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah.

1. (1) Nebuchadnezzar makes Judah a vassal kingdom.

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.

a. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up: Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonian Empire, was concerned with Judah because of its strategic position in relation to the empires of Egypt and Assyria. Therefore it was important to him to conquer Judah and make it a subject kingdom (his vassal), securely loyal to Babylon.

i. Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem because the Pharaoh of Egypt invaded Babylon. In response the young prince Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at Charchemish, and then he pursued their fleeing army all the way down to the Sinai. Along the way (or on the way back), he subdued Jerusalem, who had been loyal to the Pharaoh of Egypt.

ii. This happened in 605 B.C. and it was the first (but not the last) encounter between Nebuchadnezzar and Jehoiakim. There would be two later invasions (597 and 587 B.C.).

iii. This specific attack is documented by the Babylonian Chronicles, a collection of tablets discovered as early as 1887, held in the British Museum. In them, Nebuchadnezzar's 605 B.C. presence in Judah is documented and clarified. When the Babylonian chronicles were finally published in 1956, they gave us first-rate, detailed political and military information about the first 10 years of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. L.W. King prepared these tablets in 1919; he then died, and they were neglected for four decades.

iv. Excavations also document the victory of Nebuchadnezzar over the Egyptians at Carchemish in May or June of 605 B.C. Archaeologists found evidences of battle, vast quantities of arrowheads, layers of ash, and a shield of a Greek mercenary fighting for the Egyptians.

v. This campaign of Nebuchadnezzar was interrupted suddenly when he heard of his father's death and raced back to Babylon to secure his succession to the throne. He traveled about 500 miles in two weeks - remarkable speed for travel in that day. Nebuchadnezzar only had the time to take a few choice captives (such as Daniel), a few treasures and a promise of submission from Jehoiakim.

b. Then he turned and rebelled against him: When Nebuchadnezzar had to make a hurried return to Babylon, Jehoiakim took advantage of his absence and rebelled against him.

2. (2-4) The troubled reign of Jehoiakim.

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. 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, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon.

a. The LORD sent against him: We might think that God would honor the Judean Independence movement of Jehoiakim, but He did not bless it. God sent against him many adversaries because Jehoiakim was a patriot of the kingdom of Judah, but not a man submitted to God.

i. Bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon: "Nebuchadnezzar's army was made up of several nations, who were willing to fight under the banner of such a puissant and victorious emperor." (Poole)

b. Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah: Many in the days of Jehoiakim believed that God's will was to deliver them from their enemies and to preserve an independent Judah. Yet that was not God's will; it was His will to bring Judah into judgment (knowing they had not genuinely repented and would not). The best thing for Judah to do was to submit to this will of God, as Jeremiah told them to do - despite great opposition.

c. Also because of the innocent blood that he had shed: This tells us that one of the great sins of Manasseh was that he persecuted the godly in his day and he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood.

i. "His name, like that of his brother, is omitted from the royal genealogy of Matthew 1." (Knapp)

3. (5-7) The passing of Jehoiakim.

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

a. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim: 2 Chronicles 36:6 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar intended to take Jehoiakim to Babylon, bound in bronze fetters. Yet Jeremiah 22:19 tells us that he would be disgracefully buried outside of Jerusalem.

i. "The closing formulae make no reference to the burial of Jehoiakim, whose death occurred about December 598 before the first capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Chronicles 36:7 implies that he was taken to Babylon, but Jeremiah 22:19 tells how he was thrown unmourned outside Jerusalem, perhaps by a pro-Babylonian group who gave him the unceremonial burial of 'an ass'." (Wiseman)

ii. "2 Chronicles 36:6 states that Nebuchadnezzar 'bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.' It does not say he was taken there. He may have been released after promising subjection to his conqueror." (Knapp)

b. The king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore: In the geopolitical struggle between Egypt and Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt. They were then the dominant power in that part of the world.

i. "About three years later, in 601 B.C., Egypt tried one more time to return to power by attacking Babylon's army. . . . It was after this brief Egyptian victory that Jehoiakim, hoping to renew his alliance with the Pharaoh against Babylon, rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:3), an action Jeremiah sharply condemned." (Dilday)

B. The reign of Jehoiachin.

1. (8-9) Jehoiachin, another evil king over Judah.

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

a. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king: 2 Chronicles 36:9 says that Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king. The difference between these two accounts is probably due to the error of a copyist in Chronicles.

i. "2 Chronicles 36:9 makes him eight years old at the beginning of his reign . . . But some Hebrew MSS., Syriac, and Arabic, read 'eighteen' in Chronicles' so 'eight' must be an error of transcription." (Knapp)

ii. Jehoiachin "Was probably the throne-name of Jeconiah, abbreviated also to Coniah." (Wiseman)

b. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD: He carried on in the tradition of the wicked kings of Judah.

i. "Jeremiah said of Jehoiakim, (Jehoiachin's father) 'He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David' (Jeremiah 26:30). The word 'sit' here means to 'firmly sit,' or 'dwell'; and Jehoiachin's short three months' reign was not that surely. And Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's successor, was Jehoiakim's brother, not his son." (Knapp)

ii. "That he was a grievous offender against God, we learn from Jeremiah 22:24, which the reader may consult; and in the man's punishment, see his crimes." (Clarke)

2. (10-12) Jehoiachin surrenders to Nebuchadnezzar.

At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.

a. Then Jehoiachin . . . went out to the king of Babylon: The previous king of Judah (Jehoiakim) led a rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. Now the king of Babylon came with his armies against Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin hoped to appease Nebuchadnezzar by submitting himself, his family, and his leaders to the Babylonian king.

b. Took him prisoner: Like his rebellious father, God allowed Jehoiachin to be taken as a bound captive back to Babylon.

i. "His presence in Babylon is attested by tablets listing oil and barley supplies to him, his family and five sons in 592-569 B.C. and naming him as 'Yaukin king of the Judeans.'" (Wiseman)

3. (13-16) Jerusalem is impoverished and taken captive.

And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. 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. All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

a. And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house: On this second attack against Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar took whatever valuables remained in the temple or in the royal palaces of Jerusalem.

i. "The fall of Jerusalem didn't come about in one cataclysmic battle; it occurred in stages." (Dilday)

· Nebuchadnezzar's initial subjugation of the city about 605 B.C.

· Destruction from Nebuchadnezzar's marauding bands, 601 to 598 B.C.

· The siege and fall of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar's main army on 16 March, 597 B.C.

· Nebuchadnezzar returns to completely destroy and depopulate Jerusalem in the summer of 586 B.C.

b. He cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made: This tells us what happened to the furniture and precious things of Solomon's temple. Some ancient traditions tell us that Jeremiah hid the ark of the covenant before this, so that it was not among the things that were cut up and carried back to Babylon.

c. None remained except the poorest people of the land: Nebuchadnezzar not only took the material treasures of Judah, but also the human treasures. Anyone with any skills or abilities was taken captive to Babylon.

i. "The like craft useth the devil, when he endeavoureth to take out of the way such as are zealous and active, valiant for God's truth, and violent for his kingdom." (Trapp)

ii. Among these captives was the Prophet Ezekiel, who compiled his book of prophecies while in captivity in Babylon.

iii. "With only the poor and unskilled people of the land remaining, it might be assumed that Jerusalem would cause no further trouble." (Patterson and Austel)

C. The reign of Zedekiah.

1. (17) Nebuchadnezzar makes Zedekiah king of Judah.

Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

a. Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place: Since Nebuchadnezzar had completely humbled Judah, he put a king on the throne whom he thought would submit to Babylon. He chose an uncle of Jehoiachin, a brother to Jehoiakim.

i. "This king (597-587 B.C.) inherited a much reduced Judah, for the Negeb was lost (Jeremiah 13:18-19) and the land weakened by the loss of its experienced personnel. There were both a pro-Egyptian element and false prophets among the survivors (Jeremiah 28-29; 38:5)." (Wiseman)

b. Changed his name to Zedekiah: The name Zedekiah means, The Lord is Righteous. The righteous judgment of God would soon be seen against Judah.

2. (18-20) The evil reign and rebellion of Zedekiah.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

a. He also did evil in the sight of the LORD: 2 Chronicles 36:11-20 tells us more of the evil of Zedekiah, specifically that he did not listen to Jeremiah or other messengers of God. Instead, they mocked and disregarded the message.

i. "Zedekiah's evil (v. 19) is fully explained in 2 Chronicles 36:12-14. (i) He was not willing to listen to God's word through Jeremiah; (ii) he broke an oath made in Yahweh's name as a vassal of Babylon; (iii) he was unrepentant and failed to restrain leaders and priests from defiling the temple with the reintroduction of idolatrous practices." (Wiseman)

b. He finally cast them out from His presence: God's patience and longsuffering had finally run its course and He allowed - even instigated - the conquering of the Kingdom of Judah.

i. Ultimately, there were many reasons for the exile. One mentioned by 2 Chronicles 36:21 is that Judah was depopulated in exile to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

c. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon: Jeremiah tells us that there were many false prophets in those days who preached a message of victory and triumph to Zedekiah, and he believed them instead of Jeremiah and other godly prophets like him. Therefore, he rebelled against the king of Babylon.

i. For example, Jeremiah 32:1-5 tells us that Jeremiah clearly told Zedekiah that he would not succeed in his rebellion against Babylon. Zedekiah arrested Jeremiah and imprisoned him for this, but the prophet steadfastly stayed faithful to the message God gave him.

ii. "He had no real faith in Jehovah, Israel's covenant-keeping God, and therefore did not scruple to break his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar. But how dearly he paid for this violation of his oath!" (Knapp)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Contradiction: 2Ki 24:8

6. Was Jehoiachin 18 years old (2 Kings 24:8) or 8 years old (2 Chronicles 36:9) when he became king of Jerusalem?

(Category: copyist error)

Once again there is enough information in the context of these two passages to tell us that 8 is wrong and 18 right. The age of 8 is unusually young to assume governmental leadership. However, there are certain commentators who contend that this can be entirely possible. They maintain that when Jehoiachin was eight years old, his father made him co-regent, so that he could be trained in the responsibilities of leading a kingdom. Jehoiachin then became officially a king at the age of eighteen, upon his father's death.

A more likely scenario, however, is that this is yet another case of scribal error, evidenced commonly with numbers. It may be helpful to interject here that there were three known ways of writing numbers in Hebrew. The earliest, a series of notations used by the Jewish settlers in the 5th century BC Elephantine Papyri (described in more detail below) was followed by a system whereby alphabetical letters were used for numbers. A further system was introduced whereby the spelling out of the numbers in full was prescribed by the guild of so-perim. Fortunately we have a large file of documents in papyrus from these three sources to which we can refer.

As with many of these numerical discrepancies, it is the decade number that varies. It is instructive to observe that the number notations used by the Jewish settlers in the 5th century BC Elephantine Papyri, during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, from which this passage comes, evidences the earlier form of numerical notation. This consisted of a horizontal stroke ending in a downward hook at its right end to represent the numbers in tens (thus two horizontal strokes one above the other would be 20). Vertical strokes were used to represent anything less than ten. Thus eight would be /III IIII, but eighteen would be /III IIII with the addition of a horizontal line and downward hook above it. Similarly twenty-two would be /I followed by two horizontal hooks, and forty-two would be /I followed by two sets of horizontal hooks (please forgive the deficiencies of my computer; it is not the scholar Dr. Archer is).

If, then, the primary manuscript from which a copy was being carried out was blurred or smudged, one or more of the decadal notations could be missed by the copyist. It is far less likely that the copyist would have mistakenly seen an extra ten stroke that was not present in his original then that he would have failed to observe one that had been smudged.

In the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, the corrections have been included in the texts. However, for clarity, footnotes at the bottom of the page mention that earlier Hebrew MSS include the scribal error, while the Septuagint MSS and Syriac as well as one Hebrew MSS include the correct numerals. It only makes sense to correct the numerals once the scribal error has been noted. This, however, in no way negates the authenticity nor the authority of the scriptures which we have.

Confirmation of this type of copyist error is found in various pagan writers as well. For example in the Behistun rock inscription set up by Darius 1, we find that number 38 gives the figure for the slain of the army of Frada as 55,243, with 6,572 prisoners, according to the Babylonian column. Copies of this inscription found in Babylon itself, records the number of prisoners as 6,973. However in the Aramaic translation of this inscription discovered at the Elephantine in Egypt, the number of prisoners was only 6,972.

Similarly in number 31 of the same inscription, the Babylonian column gives 2,045 as the number of slain in the rebellious army of Frawartish, along with 1,558 prisoners, whereas the Aramaic copy has over 1,575 as the prisoner count.

(Archer 1982:206-207, 214-215, 222, 230; Nehls pg.17-18; Light of Life II 1992:204-205)

7. Did king Jehoiachin rule over Jerusalem for three months (2 Kings 24:8), or for three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9)?

(Category: misunderstood the author's intent)

Here again, as we found in challenge number 2 and 4, the author of the Chronicles has been more specific with his numbering, whereas the author of Kings is simply rounding off the number of months, assuming that the additional ten days is not significant enough to mention.

Critics Ask: 2Ki 24:6

2 KINGS 24:6 —Did Jehoiakim die in Jerusalem, as this passage suggests, or did he die in Babylon, as 2 Chronicles 36:6 implies?

PROBLEM: The statement in 2 Kings 24:6 indicates that Jehoiakim died a peaceful death at home. However, 2 Chronicles 36:6 describes Jehoiakim’s capture and deportation to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, which indicates that Jehoiakim died a terrible death in a foreign land. Which is correct?

SOLUTION: The fact is that neither passage actually identifies where Jehoiakim died. The deportation described in 2 Kings 24:10-16 is not the same event as that described in 2 Chronicles 36:5-8 . There is a difference in the severity of the action of Nebuchadnezzar. Whereas 2 Chronicles 36:7 indicates that Nebuchadnezzar took only Jehoiakim andsome of the articles of the temple, 2 Kings 24:13 points out that Nebuchadnezzar took all of the treasures of the house of the Lord, that he carried all of Jerusalem into captivity (v. 14 ), and that only the poorest were left in the land (v. 14 ). The two accounts clearly report two different events. Consequently, it is quite possible that after the first captivity—when Jehoiakim was taken to Babylon, according to the report in 2 Chronicles 36 —Jehoiakim was allowed to return to Jerusalem at a later time and died there. However, it is also possible that Jehoiakim died in captivity. The Scriptures are simply silent on this point.   

Critics Ask: 2Ki 24:8

2 KINGS 24:8 —How old was Jehoiachin when he became king?

PROBLEM: The record in 2 Kings 24:8 states that Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king. However, in 2 Chronicles 36:9 we find the claim that Jehoiachin was age 8 when he became king. Which is correct?

SOLUTION: This is probably a copyist error. Most likely, Jehoiachin was 18 when he became king. The observation that he “did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done” ( 2 Kings 24:9 ), is a description of an older man rather than a young boy. Additionally, the fact that the Chaldeans condemned him to prison in 597 B.C . , indicates that they considered him to be a responsible adult.   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 2 Kings (Outline)

• MOAB REBELS. (2Ki 1:1)
• AHAZIAH'S JUDGMENT BY ELIJAH. (2Ki 1:2-8)
• ELIJAH BRINGS FIRE FROM HEAVEN ON AHAZIAH'S MESSENGERS. (2Ki 1:9-16)
• AHAZIAH DIES, AND IS SUCCEEDED BY JEHORAM. (2Ki 1:17-18)
• ELIJAH DIVINES JORDAN. (2Ki 2:1-10)
• HE IS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE. (2Ki 2:11-18)
• ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS. (2Ki 2:19-25)
• JEHORAM'S EVIL REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 3:1-3)
• MESHA, KING OF MOAB, REBELS. (2Ki 3:4-5)
• ELISHA PROMISES WATER AND VICTORY OVER MOAB. (2Ki. 3:6-24)
• ELISHA AUGMENTS THE WIDOW'S OIL. (2Ki 4:1-7)
• PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE. (2Ki 4:8-17)
• RAISES HER DEAD SON. (2Ki. 4:18-37)
• PURIFIES DEADLY POTTAGE. (2Ki 4:38-41)
• SATISFIES A HUNDRED MEN WITH TWENTY LOAVES. (2Ki 4:42-44)
• NAAMAN'S LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:1-7)
• ELISHA SENDS HIM TO JORDAN, AND HE IS HEALED. (2Ki 5:8-15)
• ELISHA REFUSES NAAMAN'S GIFTS. (2Ki 5:15-19)
• GEHAZI, BY A LIE, OBTAINS A PRESENT, BUT IS SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:20-27)
• ELISHA CAUSES IRON TO SWIM. (2Ki 6:1-7)
• DISCLOSES THE KING OF SYRIA'S COUNSEL. (2Ki 6:8-17)
• HIS ARMY SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS. (2Ki 6:18-23)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (2Ki 6:24-33)
• ELISHA PROPHESIES INCREDIBLE PLENTY IN SAMARIA. (2Ki. 7:1-16)
• THE UNBELIEVING LORD TRODDEN TO DEATH. (2Ki 7:17-20)
• THE SHUNAMMITE'S LAND RESTORED. (2Ki 8:1-6)
• HAZAEL KILLS HIS MASTER, AND SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:7-15)
• JEHORAM'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 8:16-23)
• AHAZIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:24)
• JEHU IS ANOINTED. (2Ki. 9:1-23)
• AHAZIAH IS SLAIN. (2Ki 9:27-35)
• JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS. (2Ki 9:36-37)
• JEHU CAUSES SEVENTY OF AHAB'S CHILDREN TO BE BEHEADED. (2Ki. 10:1-17)
• HE DESTROYS THE WORSHIPPERS OF BAAL. (2Ki 10:18-29)
• JEHOASH SAVED FROM ATHALIAH'S MASSACRE. (2Ki 11:1-3)
• HE IS MADE KING. (2Ki 11:4-12)
• ATHALIAH SLAIN. (2Ki 11:13-16)
• JEHOIADA RESTORES GOD'S WORSHIP. (2Ki 11:17-20)
• JEHOASH REIGNS WELL WHILE JEHOIADA LIVED. (2Ki. 12:1-18)
• HE IS SLAIN. (2Ki 12:19-21)
• JEHOAHAZ'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 13:1-7)
• JOASH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki. 13:8-25)
• AMAZIAH'S GOOD REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 14:1-6)
• HE SMITES EDOM. (2Ki 14:7)
• JOASH DEFEATS HIM. (2Ki 14:8-16)
• HE IS SLAIN BY A CONSPIRACY. (2Ki 14:17-20)
• AZARIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 14:21-22)
• JEROBOAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 14:23-29)
• AZARIAH'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:1-7)
• ZECHARIAH'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 15:8-16)
• MENAHEM'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:17-21)
• PEKAHIAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:22-24)
• PEKAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:27-31)
• JOTHAM'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:32-38)
• AHAZ' WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki. 16:1-16)
• HE SPOILS THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 16:17-19)
• HOSHEA'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 17:1-6)
• SAMARIA TAKEN, AND ISRAEL FOR THEIR SINS CARRIED CAPTIVE. (2Ki. 17:7-41)
• HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 18:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 18:4-37)
• SENNACHERIB BESIEGES JERUSALEM. (2Ki. 18:17-37)
• HEZEKIAH IN DEEP AFFLICTION. (2Ki 19:1-5)
• COMFORTED BY ISAIAH. (2Ki 19:6-7)
• SENNACHERIB SENDS A BLASPHEMOUS LETTER TO HEZEKIAH. (2Ki 19:8-13)
• HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER. (2Ki. 19:14-34)
• AN ANGEL DESTROYS THE ASSYRIANS. (2Ki 19:35-36)
• SENNACHERIB SLAIN. (2Ki 19:37)
• HEZEKIAH'S LIFE LENGTHENED. (2Ki 20:1-7)
• THE SUN GOES TEN DEGREES BACKWARD. (2Ki 20:8-20)
• MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN, AND GREAT IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 21:1-18)
• AMON'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 21:19-26)
• JOSIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 22:1-2)
• HE PROVIDES FOR THE REPAIR OF THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 22:3-7)
• HILKIAH FINDS THE BOOK OF THE LAW. (2Ki 22:8-15)
• JOSIAH CAUSES THE LAW TO BE READ. (2Ki 23:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 23:4-28)
• JEHOIAKIM PROCURES HIS OWN RUIN. (2Ki 24:1-7)
• JEHOIACHIN SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 24:8-9)
• JERUSALEM TAKEN. (2Ki 24:10-16)
• ZEDEKIAH'S EVIL REIGN. (2Ki 24:17-20)
• JERUSALEM AGAIN BESIEGED. (2Ki 25:1-3)
• ZEDEKIAH TAKEN. (2Ki. 25:4-30)

TSK: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

The events detailed in these books (Kings) are highly interesting and important. The account of the wisdom, magnificence, and extended commerce of Solomon; the rash and impolitic conduct of Rehoboam; the disobedient prophet; the widow of Zarephath; Elijah and the prophets of Baal; Ben-hadad’s pride and defeat; Elijah’s assumption into heaven; Elisha’s succession to his ministry, and the series of illustrious miracles he performed; the panic flight of the Syrians; the history of Ben-hadad and Hazael; and the predicted death of Ahab and Jezebel, and their children, are all pregnant with instruction, and have furnished themes for frequent dissertation. We perceive in these impressive histories the characters and qualities of men painted with the utmost fidelity, and the attributes of God displayed with great effect. we contemplate the exact accomplishment of God’s promises and threatenings, the wisdom of his dispensations, and the mingled justice and mercy of his government. The particulars and circumstances are sketched out with a brief and lively description, and the imagination lingers with pleasure in filling up the striking outlines presented to our view. The authenticity of these books is attested by the prophecies they contain, which were subsequently fulfilled; by the citation of our Saviour and his Apostles; by their universal reception by the Jewish and Christian churches; and by the corresponding testimonies of profane authors and ancient sculptures.

TSK: 2 Kings 24 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Ki 24:1, Jehoiakim, first subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, then rebelling against him, procures his own ruin; 2Ki 24:5, Jehoiachin succeeds him; 2Ki 24:7, The king of Egypt is vanquished by the king of Babylon; 2Ki 24:8, Jehoiachin’s evil reign; 2Ki 24:10, Jerusalem is taken and carried captive into Babylon; 2Ki 24:17, Zedekiah is made king, and reigns ill, unto the utter destruction of Judah.

Poole: 2 Kings 24 (Chapter Introduction)

KINGS CHAPTER 24

Jehoiakim, first subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, rebelleth against him to his own ruin: Jehoiachin his son is king in his stead, 2Ki 24:1-6 . His evil reign: Jerusalem spoiled and made captive by the king of Babylon, 2Ki 24:8-16 . He maketh Zedekiah king: he reigneth ill, unto the utter destruction of Judah, 2Ki 24:17-20 .

MHCC: 2 Kings 24 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Ki 24:1-7) Jehoiakim subdued by Nebuchadnezzar.

(2Ki 24:8-20) Jehoiachin captive in Babylon.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Kings

This second book of the Kings (which the Septuagint, numbering from Samuel, called the fourth ) is a continuation of the former book; and, some think, might better have been made to begin with the fifty-first verse of the foregoing chapter, where the reign of Ahaziah begins. The former book had an illustrious beginning, in the glories of the kingdom of Israel, when it was entire; this has a melancholy conclusion, in the desolations of the kingdoms of Israel first, and then of Judah, after they had been long broken into two: for a kingdom divided against itself cometh to destruction. But, as Elijah's mighty works were very much the glory of the former book, towards the latter end of it, so were Elisha's the glory of this, towards the beginning of it. These prophets out-shone their princes; and therefore, as far as they go, the history shall be accounted for in them. Here is, I. Elijah fetching fire from heaven and ascending in fire to heaven, ch. 1 and 2. II. Elisha working many miracles, both for prince and people, Israelites and foreigners, ch. 3-7. III. Hazael and Jehu anointed, the former for the correction of Israel, the latter for the destruction of the house of Ahab and the worship of Baal, ch. 8-10. IV. The reign of several of the kings, both of Judah and Israel, ch. 11-16. V. The captivity of the ten tribes, ch. 17. VI. The good and glorious reign of Hezekiah, ch. 18-20. VII. Manassah's wicked reign, and Josiah's good one, ch. 21-23. VIII. The destruction of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, ch. 24 and 25. This history, in the several passages of it, confirms that observation of Solomon, That righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is the reproach of any people.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings 24 (Chapter Introduction)

Things are here ripening for, and hastening towards, the utter destruction of Jerusalem. We left Jehoiakim on the throne, placed there by the king of Egypt: now here we have, I. The troubles of his reign, how he was brought into subjection by the king of Babylon, and severely chastised for attempting to shake off the yoke (2Ki 24:1-6), and how Egypt also was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar (2Ki 24:7). II. The desolations of his son's reign, which continued but three months; and then he and all his great men, being forced to surrender at discretion, were carried captives to Babylon (2Ki 24:8-16). III. The preparatives of the next reign (which was the last of all) for the utter ruin of Jerusalem, which the next chapter will give us an account of (2Ki 24:17-20).

Constable: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Second Kings continues the narrative begun in 1 Kings. It opens with the translation of godly Elijah to heaven and closes with the transportation of the ungodly Jews to Babylon. For discussion of title, writer, date, and scope of 2 Kings, see the introductory section in my notes on 1 Kings.

Message¹

Second Kings is a sequel to 1 Kings. First Kings covers about one and a half centuries and 2 Kings about three centuries. In both books the two thrones are in view: the earthly and the heavenly.

First Kings emphasizes the facts of these thrones. The earthly throne consistently failed, but the heavenly throne consistently prevailed. Second Kings emphasizes the consequences that result from each of these situations. Its major value is its revelation of the failure of man and the victory of God.

The failure of man comes through the content of this book, but the victory of God comes through the pre-exilic prophets who wrote during the three centuries covered in 2 Kings. These prophets were Hosea, Amos, and Jonah in Israel. In Judah they were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Notice first the revelation of this book concerning human failure.

The reason the nations failed was the people lost their vision of Yahweh. We can see this quite clearly in the attitudes and actions of the kings. Most of the kings were evil because they had no vision of the throne in heaven. They did not appreciate their position under God. A few of them were good, but even these fell short of the standard of devotion to God that David had set. Some of them conducted reforms, but none of them removed the places of pagan worship in the land (the "high places"). Essentially they conducted state business with little concern for God. Idolatry and foreign alliances are the evidence that the people lacked a vision of God. Another evidence of this is the people's inability to perceive their national setbacks as divine discipline. The prophets were constantly trying to help the people see this.

The method by which the nations failed was the people forgot their national vocation. They developed, on the one hand, an improper exclusiveness. They did not believe God could have any pity or mercy on any other people but themselves. Jonah demonstrated this attitude. On the other hand, they failed to be exclusive as God meant them to be. They formed alliances with other nations contrary to God's will. God intended His people to be a blessing to all other people and to trust in Him alone. The people not only lost their vision of God, they also lost their vision of their own vocation as a unique nation in the world (Exod. 19:5).

The evidence that the nations failed was the people lost their spiritual sensitivity. It is amazing but true that the ministry of the writing prophets that occupies so much space in the Old Testament was very ineffective in their own day (e.g., Isa. 53:1). The religious reformations that did take place were fairly superficial (cf. 2 Kings 22:8-20). When Hezekiah began his reform it took 16 days simply to carry the accumulated rubbish out of the temple (2 Chron. 29:17). In Josiah's day not even one copy of the Law was available until someone discovered one among the debris in the temple. When the people heard it read they were completely unfamiliar with it (2 Chron. 34:14-21).

Notice too in this book the revelation concerning the victory of God. There is much evidence of this as well.

The reason for God's victory is traceable to His promise, with an oath, to bless Abraham's descendants (Gen. 22:16-18). He will allow nothing to keep Him from fulfilling that promise. His covenant with Abraham underlies all of His dealings with the Israelites that this book documents. Remember that the Davidic Covenant grew out of the Abrahamic Covenant. God's covenants rested on His love.

The method by which God accomplished victory was by using the prophets as His messengers to communicate with His people and by using direct intervention to control their history.

The evidence of God's victory is the continued existence of the physical seed of Abraham. The Jews still exist today. Arnold Toynbe, the historian, called the Jews a fossil race. God has preserved them to fulfill His purposes on the earth. So even though they failed Him, He has not failed them.

I would summarize the message of 2 Kings, therefore, as follows. Though people fail God, God will not fail people. This is foundational to the doctrine of eternal security that the New Testament expounds more fully.

The main reason the Israelites failed God was they lost sight of Him. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision (of God) the people cast off restraint." When people lose sight of God their ideals deteriorate. They turn to idolatry to fill the vacuum left by God's absence. Also, their purposes suffer defeat. They do not achieve fulfillment or realize their destiny. Furthermore their consciences become dead. They become unresponsive to the Word of God. You have a high calling. Point people to God.

On the other hand, God will never fail humanity (Isa. 42:1, 4). The man who said this, Isaiah, could do so because He did not lose sight of God. His vision of God was clear and great (Isa. 1:1; 6:1). It enabled him to maintain confidence in the throne in heaven when the throne on earth was failing terribly (Isa. 40:27-31). Is your confidence in God? Many evangelicals are wringing their hand in distress because the Christian cause seems to be suffering in America. God is still on His throne.

If we are to serve our generation faithfully, we must see God. When we do, we will find inspiration in the certainty of His ultimate victory. How can we keep God in our view? Read the Word daily. Pray. Bring Him into all your decisions, your worries, your fears. Do not lose sight of Him for one day. Do not forget your vocation in life (Matt. 28:19-20). Ask God to keep you spiritually sensitive.

Constable: 2 Kings (Outline)

Outline

(Continued from notes on 1 Kings)

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

4. Jehoram's evil reign in Israel 2:1-8:15

5. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-24

6. Ahaziah's evil reign in Judah 8:25-9:29

C. The second period of antagonism 9:30-17:41

1. Jehu's evil reign in Israel 9:30-10:36

2. Athaliah's evil reign in Judah 11:1-20

3. Jehoash's good reign in Judah 11:21-12:21

4. Jehoahaz's evil reign in Israel 13:1-9

5. Jehoash's evil reign in Israel 13:10-25

6. Amaziah's good reign in Judah 14:1-22

7. Jeroboam II's evil reign in Israel 14:23-29

8. Azariah's good reign in Judah 15:1-7

9. Zechariah's evil reign in Israel 15:8-12

10. Shallum's evil reign in Israel 15:13-16

11. Menahem's evil reign in Israel 15:17-22

12. Pekahiah's evil reign in Israel 15:23-26

13. Pekah's evil reign in Israel 15:27-31

14. Jotham's good reign in Judah 15:32-38

15. Ahaz's evil reign in Judah ch. 16

16. Hoshea's evil reign in Israel 17:1-6

17. The captivity of the Northern Kingdom 17:7-41

III. The surviving kingdom chs. 18-25

A. Hezekiah's good reign chs. 18-20

1. Hezekiah's goodness 18:1-12

2. Sennacherib's challenge to Hezekiah 18:13-37

3. Yahweh's immediate encouragement 19:1-13

4. Hezekiah's prayer 19:14-19

5. Yahweh's answer 19:20-37

6. Hezekiah's illness and recovery 20:1-11

7. The prophecy of Babylonian captivity 20:12-19

8. Hezekiah's death 20:20-21

B. Manasseh's evil reign 21:1-18

C. Amon's evil reign 21:19-26

D. Josiah's good reign 22:1-23:30

1. Josiah's goodness 22:1-2

2. Josiah's reforms 22:3-23:27

3. Josiah's death 23:28-30

E. Jehoahaz's evil reign 23:31-35

F. Jehoiakim's evil reign 23:36-24:7

G. Jehoiachin's evil reign 24:8-17

H. Zedekiah's evil reign 24:18-25:7

I. The captivity of the Southern Kingdom 25:8-30

Constable: 2 Kings

2 Kings

Bibliography

Ackroyd, Peter R. "An Interpretation of the Babylonian Exile: A Study of 2 Kings 20, Isaiah 38-39." Scottish Journal of Theology 27:3:(August 1974):329-52.

Albright, William F. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeology series. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, Eng.: Penguin Books, 1956.

_____. "Seal of Eliakim." Journal of Biblical Literature 51 (1932):77-106.

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_____. "The Old Testament in its Context: 4 The Twin Kingdoms, Judah and Assyria (c. 930-640 BC)." Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 62 (1972):2-10.

_____. "The Old Testament in its Context: 5 Judah, Exile and Return." Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 63 (1972):1-5.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FOURTH BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book brings us to the conclusion of the kingdom of Israel, (chap. xvii.) and to the captivity of Juda, at Babylon, chap. xxv. We behold some virtuous princes reigning over the two tribes [of Juda and Benjamin], while the ten were uniformly governed by men of perverse morals. (Worthington) --- Yet there were some who adhered to the Lord in both kingdoms. David and his descendants (Haydock) occupy the throne near 480 years; and, after the captivity, continue in some degree of honour till the coming of Christ. (Worthington) --- But various families rule over Israel; some by usurpation, (Haydock) others by God's appointment: who thus chooses to chastise the wicked. He still watches over his Church, and sends his prophets for the instruction of all. (Worthington) --- We have enquired in the preface of the former Book, who composed this. (Haydock) --- The kingdom of Israel subsists about 250, (Worthignton) or 254 years. This Book contains the transactions of 308 years. (Calmet) --- But the chronology is extremely perplexed. To the sixth year of Ezechias, when Israel was led away captive, the kingdom of Juda seems to have lasted 260, and that of Israel only 241 years, though they both commenced at the same period. The errors regard the kings of Isreal, according to Houbigant, who would assign the following years to the respective kings of Juda and Israel. 1. Of Juda: Solomon, 40; Roboam, 17; Abiam, 3; Asa, 41, Josaphat, 25; Joram, 8; Ochozias, 1; (the same is said to have begun to reign in the preceding year, the 11th of Joram, 4 Kings ix. 29, incorrectly) Athalia, 6; Joas, 40; Amasias, 29p; (he reigns 15 after the death of Joas, king of Isreal) Azarias, 52; Joatham, 16; Achaz, 16; Ezechias, 6; in which year, the three hundredth from the commencement of Solomon's reign, and the two hundred and sixtieth of the kingdom of Juda, Samaria was taken. 2. The kings of Israel: Jeroboam, 22; Nadab, 2; Baasa, 24; Ela, 2; Zambri, 7 days; Amri, 12; Achab, 22; Ochozias, 2; Joram, 12; Jehu, 28; Joachaz, 17; Joas, 16; Jeroboam, 41; Zacharias, 10½; (in the text 10 is omitted.; Haydock) Sellum, 1 month; Manahem, 10; Phaceia, 2; Phacee, 30; (in the text, 20.; Haydock) Osee, 9; in all, 261½ years, (Houbigant, Chron. Sac.) or 261 years and 7 months. The variation of 19 months, which still appears, may be owing to some of the years being incomplete. (Haydock) --- 3. After a reign of 28 years over Juda, Ezechias is succeeded by Manasses, who reigns 55: Amon, 2; Josias, 31; Joachaz, a few months; Eliacim, or Joakim, 11; Joachin, Conias, or Jechonias, had reigned ten years with his father. After three months and ten days reigning alone, he is led away to Babylon with part of the people. Matthanias, or Sedecias, is appointed in his stead; but proving refractory, is also, after nine years, deprived of his sight, and conducted with 832 of his subjects to Babylon. Nabuchodonosor had already led away 3023, under Joachin. After the death of Godolias, who was left to govern the miserable remains of the people, the year of the world 3417, he made 745 more captives, and thus an end was put to the kingdom of Juda. The scourge had been retarded for some time, by the repentance of Manasses, and the prayers of the prophets. (Calmet)

Gill: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS

This, and the preceding book, are properly but one book divided into two parts, because of the size of it, as the book of Samuel; it is a continuation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah; and for a further account of it the reader is referred to the title of the preceding book.

Gill: 2 Kings 24 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 24

This chapter relates the rebellion of Jehoiakim against the king of Babylon, which prepared the way for the ruin of the kingdom of Judah, according to the decree of God, and also the death of Jehoiakim, and the conquest the king of Babylon made of part of the land of the king of Egypt, 2Ki 24:1 and the short and wicked reign of Jehoiachin his son, when he and the royal family, with great numbers of the inhabitants of the land, were carried captive to Babylon, 2Ki 24:8, and his uncle was made king in his room, 2Ki 24:17.