So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
The verse stands in the closing history of the books of Kings, which trace the monarchy through the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to the account of Judah's remaining kingdom after the ten tribes had been swept away, marked by the wicked and weak reigns of its last kings. This succession belongs to Judah's rapid decline toward Babylonian captivity as the kingdom fell before Nebuchadnezzar after Josiah's death. It is part of the account of Jerusalem's fall and the exile of many of God's people under Nebuchadnezzar.
The chapter belongs with Daniel 1:1-2 and 2 Chronicles 36 as the record that in Jehoiakim's reign Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem, took it, and carried away some of its chief men to Babylon, among them Daniel and his three companions. The verse records that Jehoiakim died and his son Jehoiachin, also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, reigned in his stead at the end of Jehoiakim's revolt against Babylon. He was eighteen years old at his accession. Jehoiakim had renounced allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar in reliance on promised help from Egypt, so in Nebuchadnezzar's seventh year, B.C. 598, he came into Palestine with a vast army partly made up of Medes, leaving part of his force to continue the siege of Tyre while pressing toward Jerusalem. When the promised Egyptian aid failed to come, Jehoiakim submitted on his near approach.
On one account, Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem after the rebellion, carried Jehoiakim to Babylon in fetters, and made Jehoiachin king in his place. On another account, Jehoiakim's body was left without burial; he was probably killed in battle, though the details are not given. On a further account, Jehoiakim was put to death for his rebellion and his dead body was treated with indignity, contrary to common Oriental practice. Jehoiachin held the throne only three months before Babylon's king deposed him, suspecting his loyalty, and installed Jehoiakim's brother, his uncle Zedekiah, instead. His rule was nominal because Nebuchadnezzar's army occupied the land and Jerusalem was under siege, and Jehoiakim's royal line was to end with him.
The fuller account in chapters 24 and 25 ends with the downfall of Zedekiah, the last king, whom Nebuchadnezzar blinded and carried to Babylon where he died captive. With him independent kingship ended, so that whatever self-government Judah afterward had was only as a province subservient to the great kingdoms ruling the world. The chapter is identified with the third captivity, when Jerusalem was completely destroyed in 586 B.C.
The verse stands in the closing history of the books of Kings, which trace the monarchy through the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to the account of Judah's remaining kingdom after the ten tribes had been swept away, marked by the wicked and weak reigns of its last kings. This succession belongs to Judah's rapid decline toward Babylonian captivity as the kingdom fell before Nebuchadnezzar after Josiah's death. It is part of the account of Jerusalem's fall and the exile of many of God's people under Nebuchadnezzar.
The chapter belongs with Daniel 1:1-2 and 2 Chronicles 36 as the record that in Jehoiakim's reign Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem, took it, and carried away some of its chief men to Babylon, among them Daniel and his three companions. The verse records that Jehoiakim died and his son Jehoiachin, also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, reigned in his stead at the end of Jehoiakim's revolt against Babylon. He was eighteen years old at his accession. Jehoiakim had renounced allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar in reliance on promised help from Egypt, so in Nebuchadnezzar's seventh year, B.C. 598, he came into Palestine with a vast army partly made up of Medes, leaving part of his force to continue the siege of Tyre while pressing toward Jerusalem. When the promised Egyptian aid failed to come, Jehoiakim submitted on his near approach.
On one account, Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem after the rebellion, carried Jehoiakim to Babylon in fetters, and made Jehoiachin king in his place. On another account, Jehoiakim's body was left without burial; he was probably killed in battle, though the details are not given. On a further account, Jehoiakim was put to death for his rebellion and his dead body was treated with indignity, contrary to common Oriental practice. Jehoiachin held the throne only three months before Babylon's king deposed him, suspecting his loyalty, and installed Jehoiakim's brother, his uncle Zedekiah, instead. His rule was nominal because Nebuchadnezzar's army occupied the land and Jerusalem was under siege, and Jehoiakim's royal line was to end with him.
The fuller account in chapters 24 and 25 ends with the downfall of Zedekiah, the last king, whom Nebuchadnezzar blinded and carried to Babylon where he died captive. With him independent kingship ended, so that whatever self-government Judah afterward had was only as a province subservient to the great kingdoms ruling the world. The chapter is identified with the third captivity, when Jerusalem was completely destroyed in 586 B.C.