JEZANIAH, occurring in its shorter form ri')1' *:-: Ger. xlii. 1), and the longer one (xl. S), is the name given by the prophet to the man who, in the history (2 Kings xxv. 23), is described under the longer name of JAAZANIAH orl,i,44) as one of Zedckiah's captains of forces (c.,,nn 47L..), who, when Nebuchadnezzar's army took Jerusalem, fled with their troops to the fiela's (Jer. xl. 7) ; that is, dispersed for fear of the Chaldeans throughout tbe country fastnesses at home, in contradistinction to those who had, at an earlier period, fled to the neighbouring states of Edom, Moab, and Ammon for refuge ( Jer. xl. 1). When the conqueror wisely appointed the prudent and estimable Geda liah to govern Judah as his viceroy, Jezaniah, with many others, gave in their adhesion to the new government. But Gedaliah fell by a treachery which has an illustrative parallel in the massacre of Glencoe, and Jezaniall was one of those who re sented the foul deed and did their utmost to punish the author of it (Jer. xli. Ix-14). Fearful, how ever, that the death of Gedaliah would involve them in fresh troubles from the incensed king of Babylon, the military leaders, including our Jeza niah, with all the people from the least even to the greatest,' consulted the prophet jeremiah as to what course they should pursue. He gave them advice which was not only in accordance with the will of God, but eminently patriotic, to the effect that they should remain in their native country.. We have elsewhere related the insolent rejection of the prophet's counsel, and the migration to Egypt which followed it UERENIIAH ; JOHANA4 Jeza niali's name has often been most prominently con nected with these discreditable events, as if under the name of Azariah (Jer. xliii. 2) he were the very ringleader of the proud men' who dared to defy the counsel of heaven as declared by Jeremiah. To us this opinion seems hardly tenable. It is based on the fact that in Jer. Azariah is described as the son of Hoshaiah, the same description being in xlii. given of Jezaniah. yezaniah,' it bas been suggested, might have been easily corrupted into Azariah' (Hitzig in Jerem., p. 335, and Smith's Diet. of Bible, i. 1°78). Corruption should not be imputed to the text, except in palpable instances. This is not such a case. The name (Azariall) is sufficiently distinct from rl':14 (Jezaniah) to have preserved its independence, and there is no sign of a various reading of Jer. xliii. 2 to be found in Kennicott, De Rossi, or Houbigant. Nor does
the retention of this name, as that of a separate person from Jezaniah, create any difficulty in exe gesis. There is no more difficulty in supposing , that there were two sons of Hoshaiah connected with these events than that theie were two sons of Kareah, as the history expressly affirms (Jer. xl. 8, where indeed another set of brothers besides is mentioned, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite'). We would therefore suppose (with Rosenmiiller, Scholia on Jerem., p. 247) that the impious leader of the seditious opponents of the prophets at the caravanserai of Chimham' (Jer. xli. 17) was a brother of our Jezaniah. The latter was possibly not a participator in the fatal scheme of nugratin,r to Egypt, which seems to have originated witri Azariah, who took the lead even of Johanan in re plying to the prophet. But is it certain that Jezamah was son of Hoshaiah,' and brother of Azariah ? If corruption of the text is to be thought of at all, may not the name Jezaniah have replaced that of Azariah in Jer. xlii. ? The Septuagint. throughout the narrative of this interview with the prophet. omits the name of yezaniah, reading Aza riab, son of Maasiah' C Ag-aplas yids illaacratou, or '120-atm., in one NIS.), both in the xlii. and xliii. chapters (LXX., chaps. xlix. and 1.) It is some confirmation of this, that, in the history (2 Kings xxv. 23) and the parallel passage of the prophet (Jer. xl. 8), Jezaniah, or Jaazaniah, is called the son of a Maachathite' 0113317V17B), and that the Septuagint in both places agrees with the Masoretic text r EPovias ular TOP Ilicoxal in Jerem., and 'I db ?las vias rot; Maxa94 in Kings]. The word ren dered by the gentile phrase a Alaachathiten is treated as a proper name by Gesenius ( Thes. in loc.) and De \Vette ( Translat. of the _Bible). Keil unites 12 with the longer word as together a Nlaachathite ;) as if Jezaniah was himself a native of Maachah. To this Thenius (on Kings, in /0e.) reasonably objects, and translates after our A.V. son of a Maachathite,' making ihe father of J ezaniah, rather than the man himself, to be of foreign birth. This Maachah was on the north frontier of Pales tine on the west slope of Hermon. It is mentioned in Josh. xii. 4 as a province of the old kingdom of Bashan. One of David's mighty men of war was the son of a Maachathite' (2 Sam. xxiii. 34) ; so that there is no difficulty in the fact that the son of a foreigner holds a high commission in the army of Zedekiah.—P. II.