The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 426

in Pight of his own oity, he wo.s made short reign of Jehoiaohin is now described. pri!OOner. He offered a frnntic resistance It lasted but three months. For eome reason and was dragged e.way in a scuffle, and miserably cut down; while even an honour- which is unrecorded, Nebuohe.dnezz11r, who able burial for his oorpee, which hie family had plaoed him on the throne, took offence certainly eolioited, was refused." at hie conduct, and sent an army against Ver. 6.-So J'ehoiakim slept with hil him to effect his deposition. Jeholaohin fathel'II. It is not certain that the writer offered scarcely any resistnnce. He " went means anything more by this than that out" of the city (ver. 12), with the qneen- "Jehoialdm died.'" His body may however possibly have been found by the jews e.f~ mother, the officers of the oourt, and tho the Babylonians had withdrawn from be- princes, and submitted himself to the will fore Jerusalem, and have been entombed of the great king. But he gained nothing with those of Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah. by bis pnsille.nimity. The Babylonians And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. entered Jerusalem, plundered the temple Josephus says (l. s. o.) that Nebuchadnezzar placed him upon the throne, which is likely and the royal palaoe, made prisoners of the enough, since be would certainly not have king, his mother, the princes and nobles, quitted Jerusalem without setting up some the armed garrison, and all the more skilled king or other. Jeboiachin bas in Scripture artissne, to the number altogether of ten the two other names of J econiah (1 Chron. thousand souls (Josephus says 10,832, • Ant. iii. 16, 17; Jer. :u:vii. 20; xxviii. 4; x:rdx. 2) and Coniab (Jer. xxii. 24, 28: xxxvii. 1). Jud.,' x. 7. § 1), and csrried them captive Jehoi8.('.hin and Jeconiab differ only, as to Babylon. Zedekia.h, the king's uncle, Jeboabaz and Ahaziah, by a reversal of the was made mone.roh in hie room. order of the two elements. Both mean "Jehovah will establish (him)." "Coniah" Ver. 8.-Jehoiaohin was eighteen ye&I'II cnt.s oft' from "Jeconieh "• the sign of old when he began to reign. In 2 Chron. futurity, and means "Jehovah establishes." xxxvi. 9 he is ea.id to have been only eight It is used only by Jeremiah, and seems used yea.re old, but this is probably an accidental by him to signify that though "Jehovah corruption, the yod, which is the Hebrew establishes," J econiab be would not este.b- sign for ten, easily slipping out. As he bad lish. "wives" (ver. 15) and "seed" (Jer. xxii. Ver. 7.-A.nd the Xing of Egypt ea.me not 28), he could not well be less than eighteen. again any more out of his land. Necboh'e And he reigned in Jerusalem three months, two expeditions were enough for him. In " Three months and ten days,'' according to the first he was completely BUccessful, 2 Chron. (l. a. c.) and Josephus(' Ant. Jud.,' defeated Josiah (eh. xx:iii. 29), overran l.a. c.). And his mother's name was Nehushta, Syria as far as Carchemish, and made the daughter of Elnathan of J'ernealem. Phcenicia, Judma, and probably the ad- Elna.than we.a one of the chief of the jacent countries tributary to him. In fue Jerusalem princes under Jehoie.kim (Jer. second (Jer. xlvi. 2-12) be suffered a xxvi. 22; xxxvi. 12, 25). His daughter, calamitons reverse, we.s himself defeated Nehushta-the Noste of Josephus (' Ant. with great sle.ughter, forced to fly hastily, Jnd.,' x. 6. § S)-was probably the ruling and to relinquish all his conquests. After spirit of the time durmg her son's short this, he "came not any more out of hie reign. We find mention of her in Jer. xxii. land." Wbe.tever hopes he held out to 26; xxix. 2; and in Josephus,' Ant. Jud.,' J ndrea or to Tyre, he was not bold enongh x. 6. § 3, and x. 7. § 1. Ewald suggests that to challenge the Babylonians to a third she "energetically supported" her son in trial of strength, but remained peaceably the policy whereby he offended Nebuchad- within his own bordera. For the Xing of nezzar. Jlabylon had taken from the river of Egypt. Ver. 9.-And he did that which was evil in The ~ 'ml is not the Nile, but the the sight of the Lord, aocording to all that his father had done (see eh. xxiii. 37; nnd Wady ei Ari.sh, the generally dry wa.ter- comp. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9), Josephus says courae, which was the ordinarily accepted that Jehoie.chin we.a tf>vrr .. XPT/rTTbs 1t11l lil- bounde.ry between Egypt and t;yria (see "'"os (' Ant. Jud.,' x. 7. § l); but Jereminh 1 Kings viii 65; lea. xxviL 12). The Nile calls him "a despised broken idol," and " e. is the c:,~.o ici~- Un~ the river Enphrate1 vessel wherein is no pleasure" (Jer. xxii. all that pertained to the King of Egypt ; i.e. 28). The present pa.sse.ge probably does ell that he had conq nered and ma.de his own not mean more • th1m thu.t he me.de no in hiB first expedition in the year B.0. 608. attempt at e. religious reformation, but allowed the idolatries and superstitions Ver.. 8-16.-JlEIGN OW JEB0IA0BIN. The which had prevailed under Jehoahaz and OH. xxiv. 1-20.] THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 1i7