And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.
The verse stands in the third great section of Kings covering the remaining kingdom of Judah after the ten tribes were swept away, as part of the continuous history from the accession of Solomon to the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to the record of Judah's fall and Babylonian captivity, which follows the earlier breakup of the northern kingdom of Samaria. The closing chapters of Kings in which it stands cover the wicked and weak reigns of the kings of Judah.
It stands in the closing account of the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the carrying of many into captivity, the rebellion of Zedekiah and the final capture of the Jewish nation, after which a little company was left in the land under Gedaliah. In that place it closes the history of the kingdom of Judah. It records that Evil-Merodach freed Jehoiachin from prison, changed his prison clothes, and gave him regular meals at the king's table with kind treatment and royal favor for the rest of his life.
The release came after Jehoiachin had spent thirty-seven years imprisoned in Babylon. It came in the first year of Evil-Merodach as king. Jehoiachin was given an honored place among the captive kings.
The verse shows Nebuchadnezzar kept Jehoiachin in prison a long time before changing his prison garments and letting him eat bread before him all the days of his life. Jehoiachin had only contemplated rebellion, so the prolonged imprisonment was unusual and unnecessary and cannot be excused by the general practice of the age. It shows Nebuchadnezzar was not content with the severity needed to secure his own interests but took pleasure in the wanton infliction of suffering on those who provoked his resentment, proving a real cruelty of disposition such as is seen in Sargon and Asshur-banipal.
The verse stands in the third great section of Kings covering the remaining kingdom of Judah after the ten tribes were swept away, as part of the continuous history from the accession of Solomon to the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to the record of Judah's fall and Babylonian captivity, which follows the earlier breakup of the northern kingdom of Samaria. The closing chapters of Kings in which it stands cover the wicked and weak reigns of the kings of Judah.
It stands in the closing account of the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the carrying of many into captivity, the rebellion of Zedekiah and the final capture of the Jewish nation, after which a little company was left in the land under Gedaliah. In that place it closes the history of the kingdom of Judah. It records that Evil-Merodach freed Jehoiachin from prison, changed his prison clothes, and gave him regular meals at the king's table with kind treatment and royal favor for the rest of his life.
The release came after Jehoiachin had spent thirty-seven years imprisoned in Babylon. It came in the first year of Evil-Merodach as king. Jehoiachin was given an honored place among the captive kings.
The verse shows Nebuchadnezzar kept Jehoiachin in prison a long time before changing his prison garments and letting him eat bread before him all the days of his life. Jehoiachin had only contemplated rebellion, so the prolonged imprisonment was unusual and unnecessary and cannot be excused by the general practice of the age. It shows Nebuchadnezzar was not content with the severity needed to secure his own interests but took pleasure in the wanton infliction of suffering on those who provoked his resentment, proving a real cruelty of disposition such as is seen in Sargon and Asshur-banipal.