Zedekiah

March 2, 2018

The kings of Judah up to the Babylonian captivity (Mt 1:8-1:11)

“Joram was

The father of Uzziah.

Uzziah was

The father of Jotham.

Jotham was

The father of Ahaz.

Ahaz was

The father of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah was

The father of Manasseh.

Manasseh was

The father of Amos.

Amos was

The father of Josiah.

Josiah was

The father of Jechoniah

And his brothers,

At the time of the deportation

To Babylon.”

 

Ἰωρὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ὀζείαν, Ὀζείας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωαθάμ, Ἰωαθὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἄχαζ, Ἄχαζ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἐζεκίαν, Ἐζεκίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Μανασσῆ, Μανασσῆς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀμώς, Ἀμὼς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωσείαν, Ἰωσείας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰεχονίαν καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος.

 

The chronology of the Judean kings, as found in 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 Chronicles, chapter 3, picks up with Amaziah’s son, Azariah (Ὀζείαν) or Uzziah who ruled from about 781-740 BCE.  However, here it says that Joram (Ἰωρὰμ) was his father when Joram was the father of Ahaziah.  Uzziah had a son named Jotham (Ἰωαθάμ) who ruled from about 740-736 BCE.  His son Ahaz (Ἄχαζ) ruled from about 736-716 BCE.  His son Hezekiah (Ἐζεκίαν) ruled from about 716-687 BCE.  His son Manasseh (Μανασσῆ) ruled from about 687-642 BCE.  His son Amon or Amos (Ἀμώς) ruled from about 642-640 BCE.  His son Josiah (Ἰωσείαν) ruled from about 640-609 BCE.  Many of Josiah’s sons would rule Judah.  His son Johanan, Jehoahaz or Shallum ruled for just one year about 609 BCE.  His brother (τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς), Josiah’s son Jehoiakim or Eliakim ruled from 609-598 BCE.  His son Jehoiachin, Coniah or Jeconiah (Ἰεχονίαν) ruled for less than a year about 598 BCE.  Zedekiah or Mattaniah, brother of Jehoiakim and son of Josiah, ruled from about 598-587 BCE until the beginning of the Babylonian captivity (ἐπὶ τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος).  The Greek text used the term “begat” (ἐγέννησεν) to represent the relationships between these 8 men.  However, it seems perfectly acceptable to simply call them the father instead of saying “fathered them.”

December 16, 2016

The death of the false prophets (Jer 29:21-29:23)

“Thus says Yahweh of hosts,

The God of Israel,

Concerning Ahab,

The son of Kolaiah,

As well as Zedekiah,

The son of Maaseiah.

‘They were prophesying a lie

To you in my name.

I am going to deliver them

Into the hand

Of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

He shall kill them

Before your eyes.

On account of them,

This curse shall be used

By all the exiles from Judah

In Babylon.

‘Yahweh makes you

Like Zedekiah,

Like Ahab,

Whom the king of Babylon

Roasted in the fire.’

Because they have

Perpetuated outrage

In Israel.

They have committed adultery

With their neighbors’ wives.

They have spoken in my name

Lying words

That I did not command them.

I am the one who knows.

I bear witness.

Says Yahweh.’”

Yahweh talked about two prophets whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon roasted in a fire. These two prophets were Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah. There was a king of northern Israel in the 9th century (874-853 BCE) named King Ahab with his wife Jezebel, who had confrontations with the prophet Elijah, as found in 1 Kings, chapters 16-22. However, this Ahab is only mentioned here. Zedekiah has the same name as the current king of Judah. His father Maaseiah was also the father of the priest Zephaniah, mentioned in chapter 21. This Zedekiah is not mentioned elsewhere either. These two prophets were prophesying lies that Yahweh had not commanded, so that they deserved to be killed by the king of Babylon. We do not know exactly what lies they were telling, but they also were adulterers. They may have tried to rebel against the king. Thus their names would be a curse.

February 13, 2015

The priests who sign the agreement with Nehemiah (Neh 10:1-10:8)

“Upon the sealed document are the names of Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These are the priests.”

Obviously leading this signing of the covenant document is Nehemiah himself. Although he lists these people as priests, he himself was not a priest. He was the governor. Most of these 22 priests appear elsewhere in this book. This Zedekiah is difficult to locate since he obviously was not the last king of Judah, but he does appear elsewhere in this book. Daniel is not from the book of Daniel, but there is no mention of his name in this book. Maaziah and Bilgai only appear here. Meshullam appears over 13 times in this book, while the other 17 are mentioned anywhere from 2 – 5 times in this book.

 

December 28, 2014

The confrontation with the prophet Micaiah (2 Chr 18:23-18:27)

“Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah. He slapped him on the cheek, and said. ‘Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?’ Micaiah replied. ‘You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber.’ The king of Israel then gave an order. ‘Take Micaiah! Return him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son. Say to them. ‘Thus says the king. Put this fellow in prison. Feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’ Micaiah said. ‘If you return in peace, Yahweh has not spoken by me.’ He said. ‘Hear, you people, all of you!’”

Once again, this is word for word from 1 Kings, chapter 22. The leader of the 400 King Ahab prophets, Zedekiah slapped the prophet Micaiah. He then asked him to tell him which way the Spirit of Yahweh had passed from one to the other. Micaiah told him that he would find out on the day that he had to hide in the inner chamber. Then the king stepped in and ordered Micaiah to go to jail with limited bread and water until he had returned in peace after the victory. Micaiah’s response was that if King Ahab returned in peace, then Yahweh had not spoken to him. He cried out with the ‘hear, all you people.’ So Micaiah ended up in prison, while they went out to fight at Ramoth-gilead.

December 27, 2014

The prophecy of success (2 Chr 18:9-18:11)

“Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. They were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying before them. Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron. He said. ‘Thus says Yahweh. ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’ All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying. ‘Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.’”

Once again, this is word for word from 1 Kings, chapter 22. Most of the great discussions took place at the gate to the town. The 2 kings sat on their thrones listening to the prophets of Queen Jezebel of Israel proclaim that Yahweh would guarantee success for this battle. This prophet Zedekiah is not to be confused with the later King Zedekiah. He made horns of iron that showed how the Arameans would be destroyed. These horns symbolized the victory of the 2 kings. These were common war instruments worn on the head to show how fierce you were. The 400 prophets saw nothing but success.

 

October 26, 2014

The kings of Judah (1 Chr 3:10-3:16)

“The descendants of Solomon were Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, Amon his son, Josiah his son. The sons of Josiah were Johanan the first-born, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. The descendants of Jehoiakim were his sons Jeconiah and Zedekiah.”

Here we have the list of the kings of Judah starting with Solomon that can be found at the end of 1 Kings and 2 Kings. Based on those 2 books there was no disruption in the lineage of David via Solomon to all the kings of Judah before the Exile. Unlike the northern kingdom of Israel, there were no revolutions in the southern kingdom of Judah until the end with the Babylonian Captivity. However, there was also a consideration of the kings of Israel in the books of Kings, which is not here at all. The whole emphasis is on Judah and Jerusalem alone. The son of Solomon (1) Rehoboam ruled from about 931-913 BCE. His son (2) Abijah or Abijam ruled from about 913-911 BCE. His son (3) Asa ruled from about 911-870 BCE. His son (4) Jehoshaphat ruled from about 870-848 BCE. His son (5) Joram or Jehoram ruled from about 848-841 BCE. His son (6) Ahaziah, Azariah, or Jehoahaz ruled for less than a year about 841 BCE. There is no mention that Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother ruled for about 4 years until her grandson (7) Joash or Jehoash ruled from about 835-796 BCE. His son, (8) Amaziah ruled from about 796-781 BCE. His son, (9) Azariah or Uzziah ruled from about 781-740 BCE. His son (10) Jotham ruled from about 740-736 BCE. His son (11) Ahaz ruled from about 736-716 BCE. His son (12) Hezekiah ruled from about 716-687 BCE. His son (13) Manasseh ruled from about 687-642 BCE. His son (14) Amon ruled from about 642-640 BCE. His son (15) Josiah ruled from about 640-609 BCE. Many of Josiah’s sons will rule Judah. His son (16) Johanan, Jehoahaz or Shallum ruled for just one year about 609 BCE. His brother, (17) Josiah’s son Jehoiakim or Eliakim ruled from 609-598 BCE. His son (18) Jehoiachin, Coniah or Jeconiah ruled for less than a year about 598 BCE. (19) Zedekiah or Mattaniah, brother of Jehoiakim and son of Josiah, ruled from about 598-587 BCE until the beginning of the Babylonian captivity.

 

September 5, 2014

The confrontation with Micaiah (1 Kings 22:24-22:28)

“Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah. He slapped him on the cheek, and said. ‘Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?’ Micaiah replied. ‘You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in the inner chamber.’ The king of Israel then ordered. ‘Take Micaiah, and return him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son. Say to them. ‘Thus says the king. ‘Put this fellow in prison. Feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I come in peace.’ Micaiah said. ‘If you return in peace, Yahweh has not spoken by me.’ He said. ‘Hear, you people, all of you!’”

The leader of the 400 Ahab prophets, Zedekiah slapped Micaiah. He then asked him to tell him which way the Spirit of Yahweh had passed from one to the other. Micaiah told him that he would find out on the day that he has to hide the in the inner chamber. Then the king stepped in and ordered Micaiah to go to jail with limited bread and water until he had returned in peace after the victory. Micaiah’s response was that if Ahab returned in peace, then Yahweh had not spoken to him. He cried out with the ‘hear, all you people.’ So Micaiah ended up in prison, while they went out to fight at Ramoth-gilead.