JEHOIACHIN ( ;4;4:IT, appointed by Yekovah ; Sept. 'Icoaxi,a), by contraction JEcomAll and CONIAH, nineteenth king of Judah, and son of Jehoiakim. When his father was slain, B.C. 599, the king of Babylon allowed him, as the rightful heir, to succeed. He was then eighteen years of age according to 2 Kings xxiv. 8 ; but only eight ac cording to 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9. Many attempts have been made to reconcile these dates, the most usual solution being that lie had reigned ten years in conjunction with his father, so that lie was eight when he began his joint reign, but eighteen when he began to reign alone. There are, however, difficulties in this view, which, perhaps, leave it the safest course to conclude that eight' in 2. Chron. xxxvi. 9, is a corruption of the text, such as might easily occur from the relation of the num bers eight and eighteen.
Jehoiachin followed the evil courses which had already brought so much disaster upon the royal house of David, and upon the people under its sway. Ile seems to have very speedily indicated a political bias adverse to the interests of the Chaldan empire ; for in three months after his accession we find the generals of Nebuchadnezzar again laying siege to Jerusalem, according to the predictions of Jeremiah (xxii. 1S-xxiv. 30). Con vinced of the futility of resistance, Jehoiachin went out and surrendered as soon as Nebuchadnezzar an-ived in person before the city. He was sent away as a captive to Babylon, with his mother, his generals, and his troops, together with the artificers and other inhabitants of Jerusalem, to the number of ten thousand. Few were left but the poorer sort of people and the unskilled labourers, few, indeed, whose presence could be useful in Babylon or dangerous in Palestine. Neither did the Baby lonian king neglect to remove the treasures which could yct be gleaned from the palace or the temple ; and he now made spoil of those sacred vessels of gold which had been spared on former occasions.
These were cut up for present use of the metal or for more convenient transport ; whereas those formerly taken had been sent to Babylon entire, and there laid up as trophies of victory. Thus ended an unhappy reig,n of three months and ten days. If the Chaldoean kin,g had then put an end to the show of a monarchy and annexed the country to his own dominions, the event would probably have been less unhappy for the nation. But still adhering to his former policy, he placed on the throne Mattaniah, the only surviving son of Josiah, whose name he chan,ged to Zedekiah (2 Kings xxiv. 1-16 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9, ro ; Jer. xxix. 2 ; =VI 1).
Jelioiachin remained in prison at Babylon during the lifetime of Nebuchadnezzar ; but when that prince died, his son, Evil-merodach, not only re leased him, but gave him an honourable seat at his own table, 1.vith precedence over all the other de throned kings who were kept at Babylon, and an allowance for the support of his rank (2 Kings xxv. 27-3o ; Jer. 31-34). To what he owed this favour we are not told ; but the Jewish commenta tors allege that Evil-merodach had himself been put into prison by his father during the last year of his reign, and had there contracted an intimate friendship with the deposed king of Judah.
The name of Jeconiah re-appears to fix the epoch of several of the prophecies of Ezekiel (Ezek. i. 2), and of the deportation which terminated his reig,n (Esth. ii. 6). In the genealogy of Christ (Matt. i. II) he is named as the 'son of Josias' his grandfather.—J. K.