Who
The last king of Judah, a son of Josiah first called Mattaniah: Nebuchadnezzar made him king in place of his nephew Jehoiachin and “changed his name to Zedekiah” (2 Kings 24:17). He rebelled against Babylon and would not heed Jeremiah, who told him, “If you will go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire” (Jeremiah 38:17). In 587 BC Jerusalem fell; “They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon” (2 Kings 25:7). With him the throne of David fell, until the Son of David.
Key verses
- 2 Kings 24:17
The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
- 2 Kings 24:18
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
- 2 Kings 25:7
They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
- 1 Chronicles 3:15
The sons of Josiah: the firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, and the fourth Shallum.
- Jeremiah 38:17
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “The LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you will go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire. You will live, along with your house.
Where the Bible names him
Family
Discussed by
Comments on the verses that name him.
- Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures Lecture 3
On Repentance and Remission of Sins, and Concerning the Adversary. Ezekiel xviii. 20–23 The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will…