Discovery Box2 Chronicles 36:1-13
Context36:1 The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. 1 36:2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 36:3 The king of Egypt prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem and imposed on the land a special tax 2 of one hundred talents 3 of silver and a talent of gold. 36:4 The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s 4 brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Necho seized his brother Jehoahaz and took him to Egypt.
36:5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. 5 He did evil in the sight of 6 the Lord his God. 36:6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, 7 bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away 8 to Babylon. 36:7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the items in the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his palace 9 there. 10
36:8 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, including the horrible sins he committed and his shortcomings, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 11 His son Jehoiachin replaced him as king.
36:9 Jehoiachin was eighteen 12 years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. 13 He did evil in the sight of 14 the Lord. 36:10 At the beginning of the year King Nebuchadnezzar ordered him to be brought 15 to Babylon, along with the valuable items in the Lord’s temple. In his place he made his relative 16 Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
36:11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. 17 36:12 He did evil in the sight of 18 the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman. 36:13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance 19 in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return 20 to the Lord God of Israel.
[36:1] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[36:3] 3 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).
[36:4] 4 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoahaz) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[36:5] 5 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[36:5] 6 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[36:6] 7 tn Heb “came up against him.”
[36:6] 8 tn Heb “to carry him away.”
[36:7] 10 tn Heb “in Babylon.” Repeating the proper name “Babylon” here would be redundant in contemporary English, so “there” has been used in the translation.
[36:8] 11 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoiakim, and his horrible deeds which he did and that which was found against him, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah.”
[36:9] 12 tc The Hebrew text reads “eight,” but some ancient textual witnesses, as well as the parallel text in 2 Kgs 24:8, have “eighteen.”
[36:9] 13 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[36:9] 14 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[36:10] 15 tn Heb “sent and brought him.”
[36:10] 16 tn Heb “and he made Zedekiah his brother king.” According to the parallel text in 2 Kgs 24:17, Zedekiah was Jehoiachin’s uncle, not his brother. Therefore many interpreters understand אח here in its less specific sense of “relative” (NEB “made his father’s brother Zedekiah king”; NASB “made his kinsman Zedekiah king”; NIV “made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, king”; NRSV “made his brother Zedekiah king”).
[36:11] 17 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[36:12] 18 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[36:13] 19 tn Or “made him swear an oath.”
[36:13] 20 tn Heb “and he stiffened his neck and strengthened his heart from returning.”
