Jeconiah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids King Jeconiah
Jeconiah from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum, 1553
King of Judah
Reign	December 9, 598 – March 15/16, 597 BCE
Coronation	December 9, 598 BCE
Predecessor	Jehoiakim
Successor	Zedekiah
Born	c. 615 or 605 BCE Jerusalem
Died	after c. 562 BCE Babylon
Issue	Assir Shealtiel Malkiram Pedaiah Shenazzar Jekamiah Hoshama Nedabiah
Father	Jehoiakim
Mother	Nehushta

Jeconiah (also known as Coniah or Jehoiachin) was a young king of Judah. He ruled in the 6th century BCE. He was the son of King Jehoiakim and the grandson of King Josiah. King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon removed him from power. Jeconiah was then taken away from his home and held captive.

Most of what we know about Jeconiah comes from the Hebrew Bible. But there are also ancient records found in Iraq. These are called the Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets. They were found near the Ishtar Gate in Babylon. These tablets are from around 592 BCE. They are written in cuneiform writing. They mention Jeconiah and his five sons. They show that they received food from the Babylonian king.

Jeconiah's Time as King

Clay tablet from Babylon. It lists food for Jeconiah, King of Judah, during his captivity.

Jeconiah was king for only three months and ten days. He started his rule on December 9, 598 BCE. He became king after his father, Jehoiakim, was killed. Raiders from nearby lands attacked Jerusalem. It is thought that the King of Babylon was behind this attack. This was because Jehoiakim had rebelled against him.

About three months after Jeconiah became king, the armies of Nebuchadnezzar II attacked Jerusalem. Their goal was to capture important people from Judah. They wanted to make them part of Babylonian society. On March 15 or 16, 597 BCE, Jeconiah, his family, and many other Jews were sent away to Babylon. This event is known as the Babylonian captivity.

The Masoretic Text of 2 Chronicles 36 says Jeconiah became king at age eight. But 2 Kings 24:8 says he was eighteen. Most experts believe one of these numbers is a copying mistake.

Life During Exile

After Jeconiah was no longer king, his uncle Zedekiah took his place. Nebuchadnezzar chose Zedekiah to rule Judah. Zedekiah was also a son of Josiah. Jeconiah later became known as the first of the exilarchs. These were leaders of the Jewish community in exile.

In the Book of Ezekiel, the writer still calls Jeconiah the king. Events are dated by how many years Jeconiah had been in exile. The writer, Ezekiel, lived at the same time as Jeconiah. He never even mentions Zedekiah by name.

Freedom from Prison

According to 2 Kings 25:27–30, Jeconiah was let out of prison. This happened "in the 37th year of the exile." It was also the year that Amel-Marduk became king of Babylon. Jeconiah was given an important position in the king's court.

Jeconiah's release from prison is the last event mentioned in the Books of Kings. Babylonian records show that Amel-Marduk became king in October 562 BCE. Jeconiah was released on the 27th day of the twelfth month. This means his first year of captivity was 598/597 BCE. The 37th year of his captivity would then match the time Amel-Marduk became king.

Jeconiah's Family Tree

Jeconiah was the son of Jehoiakim and Nehushta. Nehushta was the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. Jeconiah had eight children. Their names were Assir, Shealtiel, Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. This is written in 1 Chronicles 3:17–18.

Jeconiah is also mentioned in the first book of Chronicles. It says he was the father of Pedaiah. Pedaiah was the father of Zerubbabel. A list of Jeconiah's family is in 1 Chronicles 3:17–24.

Dating Historical Events

Understanding Jeconiah's reign helps historians figure out when other events happened. This includes the exact date of Jerusalem's fall to Nebuchadnezzar II. According to Jeremiah 52:6, Jerusalem's wall was broken in the summer month of Tammuz. This was in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's rule.

Historians have debated if Jerusalem fell in 587 or 586 BCE. The Babylonian records about Jerusalem's second capture have not been found. So, scholars use the Bible and other Babylonian records. The Bible's information about Jeconiah is very important for this. This is because the time of his rule and captivity is well-known from Babylonian records.

Ezekiel dated his writings by the years of Jeconiah's captivity. He mentions events related to Jerusalem's fall. For example, in Ezekiel 40:1, Ezekiel says his vision was in the 25th year of exile. He also says it was 14 years after Jerusalem fell. This suggests Jerusalem fell in the summer of 587 BCE.

Archaeological Discoveries

Between 1899 and 1917, Robert Koldewey dug up parts of Babylon. He found a royal archive room near the Ishtar Gate. It held clay tablets from 595–570 BCE. A German expert, Ernst Weidner, translated them in the 1930s.

Four of these tablets list food given to different people. This included the captured King Jehoiachin. The food was oil and barley from the royal storerooms. These tablets are dated five years after Jehoiachin was taken captive.

One tablet says: "10 (sila of oil) to the king of Judah, Yaukin; 2 1/2 sila (oil) to the offspring of Judah's king; 4 sila to eight men from Judea."

Another tablet reads: "10 sila to Ia-ku-u-ki-nu, the son of Judah's king; 2 1/2 sila for the five sons of the Judean king."

These tablets are very important. They prove that King Jeconiah really existed. They also show that he was held captive in Babylon, just as the Bible describes. The Babylonian Chronicles are now kept at the Pergamum Museum in Berlin.

Images for kids

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  Lunette in the Sistine Chapel showing Jeconiah with Shealtiel and Josiah.

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  Jeconiah giving up to King Nebuchadnezzar II. Illustration by William Hole.

See also

• Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)
• Kingdom of Judah
• List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources
• Elnathan, Jeconiah's maternal grandfather, who was a high court official