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'''Jehoiakim''' ([[Hebrew]] '''יהוֹיָקִים''', [[YHWH]] has raised up)<ref name=Britannica2>Anonymous, [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Jehoiakim Jehoiakim], ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 1911. Retrieved April 12, 2007, from LoveToKnow 1911.</ref> or '''Eliakim''' ([[Hebrew]], [[God]]has raised up) (635-r. 610-599 BC according to [[James Ussher|Ussher]]<ref name=Ussher>[[James Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World]]'', [[Larry Pierce]], ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003 (ISBN 0890513600), pghh. 761, 794</ref>, or 634-r. 609-597 BC according to [[Edwin R. Thiele|Thiele]]<ref name=Wood>Leon J. Wood, ''A Survey of Israel's History'', rev. ed. David O'Brien, Grand Rapids, MI: Academie Books, 1986 (ISBN 031034770X), p. 315</ref>) was the seventeenth king of the [[Southern Kingdom]] of [[Israel]]. With him began the final decline of the Southern Kingdom and the captivity of the [[Judaism|Jews]] in [[Babylonia]].
== Narrative ==
=== Early Life and Family ===
Jehoiakim was likely the second-born son of King [[Josiah]] and the one named son of Josiah by his wife [[Zebudah]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=36|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=UssherBorn>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 728</ref> His birth name was Eliakim, meaning "[[God]] has raised up," but [[Necho II]] would later have him change his name to Jehoiakim, or "[[YHWH]] has raised up," when installing him as king.<ref name=acc>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=34|version=NASB}}, {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=36|verses=4|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=UssherAcc>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 761</ref>
He had an older brother, [[Johanan]]<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Chronicles|chap=3|verses=15|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=UssherBros>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 732</ref>, who does not come further into the history of the Southern Kingdom, perhaps because he fell in battle at [[Megiddo]] by his father's side in a futile action against [[Pharaoh]] [[Necho II]]. He had two other brothers, or half-brothers: [[Jehoahaz II]]<ref name=UssherBros/> and [[Zedekiah]].<ref name=UssherBros2>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 746</ref>
When Jehoiakim was eighteen, three years after the birth of his youngest brother Zedekiah, Jehoiakim married a woman called [[Nehushta]] and by her had a son named [[Jehoiachin]].<ref name=UssherSon>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 749</ref>
=== Geopolitical situation ===
The twenty-fifth year of Jehoiakim's life saw several major power shifts. [[Babylonia]] had broken free of [[Assyria]] when Jehoiakim was nine years old, and a Babylonian-[[Medea]]n alliance had steadily weakened the power of the once-mighty Assyrian empire.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 740</ref> The [[Egypt]]ians were not willing to accept that state of affairs without a fight, however. And so, in 610 BC (or 609 BC by the Thiele reckoning), Pharaoh [[Necho II]] challenged the might of Babylonia at [[Carchemish]]. In that year, he took that city. He had to march through [[Southern Kingdom]] territory to do it, and so Josiah had joined battle with Necho at Megiddo. In that battle, Josiah had been killed, and very likely Jehoiakim's eldest brother [[Johanan]] was also killed in that same action.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 754-6.</ref><ref name=Britannica1>Anonymous, [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9043491/Jehoiakim Jehoiakim], ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' online. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref><ref name=Columbia>Anonymous, [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0826123.html Jehoiakim], ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 6th ed., Columbia University Press, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from Infoplease.com.</ref>
Thus Egypt appeared to hold sway in the territory classically called "Syria-Palestina" and "the land of Hatti" (where the modern [[Israel]], [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], and [[Jordan]] sit today) when the people of the Southern Kingdom passed Jehoiakim over and acclaimed his brother [[Jehoahaz II]] as their next king.
=== Accession ===
[[Necho II]], returning from his successful action at [[Carchemish]], marched into [[Jerusalem]] and immediately removed Jehoiakim's brother from the throne after a three-month reign and took him prisoner. Necho then selected Jehoiakim as the man most likely to accept his authority.<ref name=acc/><ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/><ref name=Columbia/> Necho also laid a heavy tribute on the Southern Kingdom: one hundred [[talent]]s of [[silver]] and one talent of [[gold]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=33|version=NASB}}, {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=36|verses=3|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/> Jehoiakim paid it by levying a special [[tax]] on the people.<ref name=proptax>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=35|version=NASB}}. Nearly every English-language translation of this verse uses language that indicates that this was a property tax and not a simple capitation tax.</ref>
=== Domestic Policy ===
Almost at once Jehoiakim embarked on several clashes of wills with [[God]]'s [[prophet]]s. The reason: Jehoiakim led his people to commit the same idolatries in which kings like [[Manasseh King of Judah|Manasseh]], [[Jehoahaz I|Ahaz]], [[Jehoram]], and [[Rehoboam]] had similarly led the people in their days.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=37|version=NASB}}, {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=36|verses=5|version=NASB}}</ref>
[[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] spoke first. In the court of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]], during the [[Feast of Tabernacles]] (the major feast on or near the [[autumn]]al [[equinox]]), Jeremiah warned the people to repent or face the destruction of the kingdom. Those who were in the Temple court at the time arrested Jeremiah. He then faced trial for his life, but a jury of the heads-of-families and elders acquitted him.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=26|verses=1-19|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 763-4</ref>
His colleague [[Uriah (prophet)|Uriah]] would not be so blessed.<ref>Some, however, might say that an early trip to "Abraham's bosom," the temporary spiritual destination of believing Jews who died before [[Jesus Christ]], ''would'' be a blessing.</ref> He, too, prophesied against Jehoiakim and earned his wrath. Jehoiakim pronounced a death sentence on Uriah, who then fled to [[Egypt]], perhaps hoping to find political asylum. Jehoiakim sent some enforcers, led by one Elnathan son of Achor, after Uriah. They arrested him and brought him back to Jehoiakim, who had him executed and given a pauper's funeral. But Ahikam, the son of [[Saphan]] ([[Josiah]]'s former scribe), intervened and stopped this from happening to Jeremiah.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=26|verses=20-24|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 765</ref>
[[Habakkuk (prophet)|Habakkuk]] also prophesied against the Southern Kingdom, and specifically warned that the [[Babylonia]]ns would come.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Habakkuk|chap=1|verses=5-6|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 766-767</ref>
Three years later, Jeremiah dictated his many prophecies to one [[Baruch]], who wrote them down and read them aloud in the Temple. Jehoiakim would hear about that scroll over a year later.<ref name=Baruch>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=36|verses=1-28|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 773</ref>
=== The Coming of Babylonia ===
In 607 BC, a new, brilliant general named [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]] marched toward the [[Euphrates]] River at the head of an army. Jeremiah marked this as "in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebucadrezzar."<ref name=synchrony1>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=25|verses=1|version=NASB}}</ref> This has occasioned often vociferous scholarly debate as to the proper dating of the last of the kings of the [[Southern Kingdom]]--about which, see below. [[James Ussher|Ussher]] reconciled the apparent contradictions by presuming that Nebuchadnezzar had at that time become [[viceroy]] of [[Babylonia]]. Wood specifically states that [[Nabopolassar]], still on the throne in [[Babylon]], was ailing at the time.
Nebuchadnezzar's mission was simple: reassert Babylonian dominance against a troublesome Egypt and a rebellious governor of [[Phoenicia]]. Nebuchadnezzar first met [[Necho II]] in battle in a rematch at [[Carchemish]].<ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/> Nebuchadnezzar cut off Necho's forces and routed them.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 769-770</ref>
In essence, Nebuchadnezzar chased Necho II all the way back to Egypt. Along the way, Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem for the first time and asserted Babylonian authority over the [[Southern Kingdom]].
In that year, in the month [[Kislev]], Nebuchadnezzar arrived in Jerusalem.<ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Columbia/> At first he arrested Jehoiakim and put chains on him, to carry him off to Babylon.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=36|verses=6|version=NASB}} Note that this verse says only that Nebuchadnezzar intended, at least initially, to carry Jehoiakim off to Babylon--not that he actually did so at this time.</ref> Jehoiakim pleaded earnestly to Nebuchadnezzar to let him stay on his throne, in return for faithful vassalage. Nebuchadnezzar agreed, but he also asked his overseer of [[eunuch]]s to seek out the best and brightest of the young men in the land for deportation to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar intended to train these men for positions in his administration. Among them were the young prophet [[Daniel]] and his friends [[Hananiah]], [[Mishael]], and [[Azariah]].<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 774-77</ref>
Nebuchadnezzar marched on and captured all the lands from the valley of the [[Nile]] to the [[Euphrates]] over which Egypt had once held sway.
=== The Scroll-Burning Incident ===
About one year after Nebuchadnezzar's first march to Jerusalem, Baruch read his scroll (see above) aloud again in the Temple gate. The heads-of-families heard of this, summoned Baruch, and listened to another reading--whereupon they strongly advised Baruch and Jeremiah to hide. Instead, they boldly read their scroll before Jehoiakim himself.
What Jehoiakim did next is remembered today in a special fast on the seventh day of Kislev. He cut the scroll through with a pen-knife (that is, a knife used for sharpening pens in those days) and burned the cuttings in the hearth. He then ordered the arrest of Baruch and Jeremiah, but God frustrated this arrest. Baruch later reconstructed his scroll with many additional words.<ref name=Baruch/><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 779-81</ref><ref>Anonymous, [http://www.ucg.org/bsc/02/kingjehoiakim.htm King Jehoiakim: A Lesson from Biblical History], ''Good News Magazine'', 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref><ref>David J. Riggs, [http://mywebpages.comcast.net/davidriggs01/jehoiaki.htm Jehoiakim Cuts and Burns the Word]. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from Mr. Riggs' personal Web pages.</ref><ref>Anonymous, [http://www.becomingcloser.org/Profiles/on_the_scripture.htm On the Scripture: Jehoiakim], Eastside Christian Church, Fullerton, [[California]]. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref>
Also on that day, God gave this command to Jeremiah concerning Jehoiakim: "He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David." God further decreed that Jehoiakim's body would lie exposed to the elements after his death.<ref name=exposed>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=36|verses=29-31|version=NASB}}</ref>
=== Rebellion ===
In 605 BC, [[Nabopolassar]] died. [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]] immediately marched back to [[Babylon]] to make his throne secure. With him he carried the bulk of the captives he had earlier taken, along with various Temple vessels and furnishings.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 782-83</ref> Nebuchadnezzar subsequently returned westward and attacked and captured the [[Philistia|Philistine]] city of [[Ashkelon]].<ref name=Wood2>Wood, ''op. cit.'', p. 317</ref>
[[James Ussher|Ussher]] says that this was the time in history where Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 785</ref> [[Edwin R. Thiele|Thiele]], of course, says that the rebellion took place two years later. In any case, the Bible says that Jehoiakim rebelled three years after he agreed to serve Nebuchadnezzar<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=24|verses=1|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/><ref name=Columbia/>
The reckoning from that rebellion happened in the last year of Jehoiakim's reign. Nebuchadnezzar assembled a coalition of [[Syria]]ns ("Arameans"), [[Chaldea]]ns, [[Moab]]ites and [[Ammon]]ites and sent them against the Southern Kingdom. They attacked Jehoiakim's forces and pillaged virtually the entire kingdom.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=24|verses=2|version=NASB}}</ref> While this was happening, Nebuchadnezzar was apparently leading his main force against Egypt once again, in a battle that he nearly lost.<ref name=Wood2/><ref name=Pratt>A.K. Grayson, ''Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles , vol. 5 of Texts from Cuneiform Sources'', eds. A.L. Oppenheim, et al. (New York: Augustun, 1975) p. 100. Quoted by [http://www.johnpratt.com/jpp.html John P. Pratt] in "[http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2000/lehi6apr.html Lehi's 600-year Prophecy of the Birth of Christ]," ''[http://www.meridianmagazine.com/articles/000331sixhundred.html Meridian Magazine]'', March 31, 2000. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref>
=== Death and Succession ===
Jehoiakim died after an eleven-year reign, and his son [[Jehoiachin]] succeeded him.<ref name=Columbia/> The highly controversial circumstances of his death are discussed below.
== Controversies ==
=== Chronological Synchrony ===
The synchrony of Jehoiakim with [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] is well-attested in the [[Bible]]. Multiple points of synchrony exist, but many authorities consider these to be in conflict:
# [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] specifically stated<ref name=synchrony1/> that the third year of Jehoiakim was also the first year of Nebuchadnezzar.
# [[Daniel]], furthermore, says that Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to [[Jerusalem]] in the third year of King Jehoiakim.<ref name=synchrony2>{{Bible ref|book=Daniel|chap=1|verses=1|version=NASB}}</ref>
# [[Jehoiachin]]'s three-month-and-ten-day reign ended in the same year that it began, and this is described as the ''eighth'' year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign.<ref name=synchrony3>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=24|verses=12|version=NASB}}</ref>
# Jehoiachin won release from prison in the thirty-seventh year of his captivity, in the year that [[Evil-Merodach]], Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, began to reign.<ref name=synchrony4>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=25|verses=27|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=pytlik2>George Pytlik, [http://www.pytlik.com/observe/daniel/setting/setting-03.html The Setting], ''Daniel: Messenger to the Future'', 2003. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref>
# Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC.<ref>Anonymous, "[http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/goto?id=ENC111105 Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon (605-562 BC)]", ''The British Museum Compass'', 2000. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref><ref>Anonymous, [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/middle_east/nebuchadnezzar.html The Chaldeans], E-Museum at [[Minnesota]] State University, Mankato, Minnesota. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref><ref>Anonymous, [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Nebuchad.html Nebuchadnezzar], The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from the HighBeam Encyclopedia.</ref>
The conflict is that Jehoiachin's captivity must have ''begun'' on 599 BC (562 + 37). That would mean that the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign was in 607 BC. Yet Nabopolassar did not die until two years later. [[John Calvin]] noticed this problem as well.<ref name=Calvin>[[John Calvin]], ''Commentaries on the Book of Daniel'', vol. 1, Thomas Meyers, MA, trans. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from the [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom24.txt Christian Classics Ethereal Library] at Calvin University. See also this [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom24.xiii.i.html?bcb=0 dissertation] (retrieved from the same host) on the chronological problem and the efforts of Calvin's contemporaries to resolve it.</ref>
Calvin's resolution was simple: Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem while his father was still alive. But [[James Ussher]] appears to be the first person to suggest the obvious: that Nebuchadnezzar became ''[[viceroy]]'' of [[Babylonia]] in the same year that he led his expedition against Necho, and then onward to Jerusalem. Regnal years of executive viceroys who continue to reign alone are reckoned from the date of the viceroyalty and ''not'' the date of the lone reign. [[Edwin R. Thiele|Thiele]] appears to have taken no notice of this solution--and as a result he never presented a satisfactory solution to the length of Jehoiachin's captivity. This captivity, if Thiele were correct, would have lasted thirty-five years, not thirty-seven.
Other authorities have tried to reconcile the conflicts by citing differences between Judaic reckoning and Babylonian reckoning of years of reign.<ref name=Pytlik>George Pytlik, [http://www.pytlik.com/observe/daniel/timeline.html Historical Timeline of Daniel], ''Daniel: God's Messenger to the Future'', 2003. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref> Konig,<ref name=Konig>George Konig, [http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/q33.htm Was Daniel wrong when he referred to the "third" year of Jehoiakim?], AboutBibleProphecy.com, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref> for example, suggests that Daniel might have reckoned the first siege of Jerusalem in the "third" year of Jehoiakim by using Babylonian, not Judaic, reckoning. This, however, ignores Jeremiah, who reckoned Jehoiakim's years the same way and even specifically synchronized Jehoiakim with Nebuchadnezzar.
=== The Manner of Jehoiakim's Death ===
The manner and even the venue of the death of Jehoiakim is the subject of more controversy than is involved in the life of any other king of the Divided Kingdoms Northern and Southern.<ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/> Some authorities suggest that when the Bible says that Jehoiakim "slept with his fathers,"<ref name=slept>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=24|verses=6|version=NASB}}</ref> it means that Jehoiakim died peacefully. But [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] mentions many baleful prophecies<ref name=exposed/><ref name=exposed2>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=22|verses=18-19|version=NASB}}</ref> that, taken together, suggest that Jehoiakim's body was exposed to the elements and that he did not have a proper burial. Some authorities suggest that Jehoiakim's own people threw him over the wall of Jerusalem to convince the besieging Chaldeans that he was dead.<ref name=WebBible>Anonymous, [http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/jehoiakim.html Jehoiakim], WebBible Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from ChristianAnswers.net.</ref><ref name=HSI>Anonymous, [http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/biblediscovery/jehoiakim.asp Jehoiakim], Holy Spirit Interactive, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref>
Oded Lipschits, of [[Tel-Aviv]] University ([[Israel]]),<ref name=Lipschits>Oded Lipschits, [http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/Articles/article_23.htm Jehoiakim Slept With His Fathers: Did He?], Department of Jewish History, Tel-Aviv University. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref> presents an elaborate argument to the effect that Jehoiakim did indeed die peacefully. Yet his analysis dismisses Jeremiah's prophecy as, in essence, false. Prophets of God have never foretold anything that has been shown not to have come to pass when those prophets said it would (although some, including [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]], [[Ezekiel (prophet)|Ezekiel]], [[Daniel]], and, of course, [[Revelation|John the Revelator]], have foretold events that, some say, are ''yet'' to come to pass). [[James Ussher|Ussher]],<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 794</ref> indeed, saw no conflict between Jeremiah's baleful prophecies and the expression "he slept with his fathers." The Bible nowhere says that he was ''buried'' with his fathers. Ussher gives perhaps the simplest resolution that fits all the Bible texts that bear on this issue: that Jehoiakim was dragged out of the city gate by a chariot and left exposed on the ground. Whether his own people killed him and tossed him over the wall, or whether Nebuchadnezzar captured him and executed him first, remains an open question.
=== The Genealogy of Christ ===
Jehoiakim appears in [[Matthew]]'s listing of the ancestors of [[Jesus Christ]]. Yet [[God]] had pronounced a curse on Jehoiakim<ref name=exposed/>, as he would later curse his son, saying that he would be "childless." <ref name=childless>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=22|verses=30|version=NASB}}</ref> The solution is that [[Joseph of Nazareth]] was a direct lineal descendant of [[David]] through both these kings, but [[Mary]] was a descendant of David through another of David's sons, named Nathan.<ref name=pytlik2/><ref name=genes>Ken Palmer, "[http://www.lifeofchrist.com/life/genealogy/curse.asp The Curse of Jehoiakim]", The Life of Christ, 2007. Retrieved Apriil 12, 2007.</ref>
== References and Notes ==
<references/>
== See Also ==
* [[Josiah]]
* [[Jehoahaz II]]
* [[Necho II]]
* [[Nebuchadnezzar]]
* [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]]
* [[Daniel]]
* [[Habakkuk (prophet)|Habakkuk]]
* [[Zedekiah]]
* [[House of David]]
* [[Southern Kingdom]]
* [[Biblical chronology dispute]]
[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Bible character]]
[[Category:Biography]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:History]]
== Narrative ==
=== Early Life and Family ===
Jehoiakim was likely the second-born son of King [[Josiah]] and the one named son of Josiah by his wife [[Zebudah]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=36|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=UssherBorn>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 728</ref> His birth name was Eliakim, meaning "[[God]] has raised up," but [[Necho II]] would later have him change his name to Jehoiakim, or "[[YHWH]] has raised up," when installing him as king.<ref name=acc>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=34|version=NASB}}, {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=36|verses=4|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=UssherAcc>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 761</ref>
He had an older brother, [[Johanan]]<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Chronicles|chap=3|verses=15|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=UssherBros>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 732</ref>, who does not come further into the history of the Southern Kingdom, perhaps because he fell in battle at [[Megiddo]] by his father's side in a futile action against [[Pharaoh]] [[Necho II]]. He had two other brothers, or half-brothers: [[Jehoahaz II]]<ref name=UssherBros/> and [[Zedekiah]].<ref name=UssherBros2>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 746</ref>
When Jehoiakim was eighteen, three years after the birth of his youngest brother Zedekiah, Jehoiakim married a woman called [[Nehushta]] and by her had a son named [[Jehoiachin]].<ref name=UssherSon>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 749</ref>
=== Geopolitical situation ===
The twenty-fifth year of Jehoiakim's life saw several major power shifts. [[Babylonia]] had broken free of [[Assyria]] when Jehoiakim was nine years old, and a Babylonian-[[Medea]]n alliance had steadily weakened the power of the once-mighty Assyrian empire.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 740</ref> The [[Egypt]]ians were not willing to accept that state of affairs without a fight, however. And so, in 610 BC (or 609 BC by the Thiele reckoning), Pharaoh [[Necho II]] challenged the might of Babylonia at [[Carchemish]]. In that year, he took that city. He had to march through [[Southern Kingdom]] territory to do it, and so Josiah had joined battle with Necho at Megiddo. In that battle, Josiah had been killed, and very likely Jehoiakim's eldest brother [[Johanan]] was also killed in that same action.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 754-6.</ref><ref name=Britannica1>Anonymous, [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9043491/Jehoiakim Jehoiakim], ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' online. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref><ref name=Columbia>Anonymous, [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0826123.html Jehoiakim], ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 6th ed., Columbia University Press, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from Infoplease.com.</ref>
Thus Egypt appeared to hold sway in the territory classically called "Syria-Palestina" and "the land of Hatti" (where the modern [[Israel]], [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], and [[Jordan]] sit today) when the people of the Southern Kingdom passed Jehoiakim over and acclaimed his brother [[Jehoahaz II]] as their next king.
=== Accession ===
[[Necho II]], returning from his successful action at [[Carchemish]], marched into [[Jerusalem]] and immediately removed Jehoiakim's brother from the throne after a three-month reign and took him prisoner. Necho then selected Jehoiakim as the man most likely to accept his authority.<ref name=acc/><ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/><ref name=Columbia/> Necho also laid a heavy tribute on the Southern Kingdom: one hundred [[talent]]s of [[silver]] and one talent of [[gold]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=33|version=NASB}}, {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=36|verses=3|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/> Jehoiakim paid it by levying a special [[tax]] on the people.<ref name=proptax>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=35|version=NASB}}. Nearly every English-language translation of this verse uses language that indicates that this was a property tax and not a simple capitation tax.</ref>
=== Domestic Policy ===
Almost at once Jehoiakim embarked on several clashes of wills with [[God]]'s [[prophet]]s. The reason: Jehoiakim led his people to commit the same idolatries in which kings like [[Manasseh King of Judah|Manasseh]], [[Jehoahaz I|Ahaz]], [[Jehoram]], and [[Rehoboam]] had similarly led the people in their days.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=23|verses=37|version=NASB}}, {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=36|verses=5|version=NASB}}</ref>
[[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] spoke first. In the court of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]], during the [[Feast of Tabernacles]] (the major feast on or near the [[autumn]]al [[equinox]]), Jeremiah warned the people to repent or face the destruction of the kingdom. Those who were in the Temple court at the time arrested Jeremiah. He then faced trial for his life, but a jury of the heads-of-families and elders acquitted him.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=26|verses=1-19|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 763-4</ref>
His colleague [[Uriah (prophet)|Uriah]] would not be so blessed.<ref>Some, however, might say that an early trip to "Abraham's bosom," the temporary spiritual destination of believing Jews who died before [[Jesus Christ]], ''would'' be a blessing.</ref> He, too, prophesied against Jehoiakim and earned his wrath. Jehoiakim pronounced a death sentence on Uriah, who then fled to [[Egypt]], perhaps hoping to find political asylum. Jehoiakim sent some enforcers, led by one Elnathan son of Achor, after Uriah. They arrested him and brought him back to Jehoiakim, who had him executed and given a pauper's funeral. But Ahikam, the son of [[Saphan]] ([[Josiah]]'s former scribe), intervened and stopped this from happening to Jeremiah.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=26|verses=20-24|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 765</ref>
[[Habakkuk (prophet)|Habakkuk]] also prophesied against the Southern Kingdom, and specifically warned that the [[Babylonia]]ns would come.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Habakkuk|chap=1|verses=5-6|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 766-767</ref>
Three years later, Jeremiah dictated his many prophecies to one [[Baruch]], who wrote them down and read them aloud in the Temple. Jehoiakim would hear about that scroll over a year later.<ref name=Baruch>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=36|verses=1-28|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 773</ref>
=== The Coming of Babylonia ===
In 607 BC, a new, brilliant general named [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]] marched toward the [[Euphrates]] River at the head of an army. Jeremiah marked this as "in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebucadrezzar."<ref name=synchrony1>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=25|verses=1|version=NASB}}</ref> This has occasioned often vociferous scholarly debate as to the proper dating of the last of the kings of the [[Southern Kingdom]]--about which, see below. [[James Ussher|Ussher]] reconciled the apparent contradictions by presuming that Nebuchadnezzar had at that time become [[viceroy]] of [[Babylonia]]. Wood specifically states that [[Nabopolassar]], still on the throne in [[Babylon]], was ailing at the time.
Nebuchadnezzar's mission was simple: reassert Babylonian dominance against a troublesome Egypt and a rebellious governor of [[Phoenicia]]. Nebuchadnezzar first met [[Necho II]] in battle in a rematch at [[Carchemish]].<ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/> Nebuchadnezzar cut off Necho's forces and routed them.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 769-770</ref>
In essence, Nebuchadnezzar chased Necho II all the way back to Egypt. Along the way, Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem for the first time and asserted Babylonian authority over the [[Southern Kingdom]].
In that year, in the month [[Kislev]], Nebuchadnezzar arrived in Jerusalem.<ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Columbia/> At first he arrested Jehoiakim and put chains on him, to carry him off to Babylon.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=36|verses=6|version=NASB}} Note that this verse says only that Nebuchadnezzar intended, at least initially, to carry Jehoiakim off to Babylon--not that he actually did so at this time.</ref> Jehoiakim pleaded earnestly to Nebuchadnezzar to let him stay on his throne, in return for faithful vassalage. Nebuchadnezzar agreed, but he also asked his overseer of [[eunuch]]s to seek out the best and brightest of the young men in the land for deportation to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar intended to train these men for positions in his administration. Among them were the young prophet [[Daniel]] and his friends [[Hananiah]], [[Mishael]], and [[Azariah]].<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 774-77</ref>
Nebuchadnezzar marched on and captured all the lands from the valley of the [[Nile]] to the [[Euphrates]] over which Egypt had once held sway.
=== The Scroll-Burning Incident ===
About one year after Nebuchadnezzar's first march to Jerusalem, Baruch read his scroll (see above) aloud again in the Temple gate. The heads-of-families heard of this, summoned Baruch, and listened to another reading--whereupon they strongly advised Baruch and Jeremiah to hide. Instead, they boldly read their scroll before Jehoiakim himself.
What Jehoiakim did next is remembered today in a special fast on the seventh day of Kislev. He cut the scroll through with a pen-knife (that is, a knife used for sharpening pens in those days) and burned the cuttings in the hearth. He then ordered the arrest of Baruch and Jeremiah, but God frustrated this arrest. Baruch later reconstructed his scroll with many additional words.<ref name=Baruch/><ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 779-81</ref><ref>Anonymous, [http://www.ucg.org/bsc/02/kingjehoiakim.htm King Jehoiakim: A Lesson from Biblical History], ''Good News Magazine'', 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref><ref>David J. Riggs, [http://mywebpages.comcast.net/davidriggs01/jehoiaki.htm Jehoiakim Cuts and Burns the Word]. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from Mr. Riggs' personal Web pages.</ref><ref>Anonymous, [http://www.becomingcloser.org/Profiles/on_the_scripture.htm On the Scripture: Jehoiakim], Eastside Christian Church, Fullerton, [[California]]. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref>
Also on that day, God gave this command to Jeremiah concerning Jehoiakim: "He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David." God further decreed that Jehoiakim's body would lie exposed to the elements after his death.<ref name=exposed>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=36|verses=29-31|version=NASB}}</ref>
=== Rebellion ===
In 605 BC, [[Nabopolassar]] died. [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]] immediately marched back to [[Babylon]] to make his throne secure. With him he carried the bulk of the captives he had earlier taken, along with various Temple vessels and furnishings.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pghh. 782-83</ref> Nebuchadnezzar subsequently returned westward and attacked and captured the [[Philistia|Philistine]] city of [[Ashkelon]].<ref name=Wood2>Wood, ''op. cit.'', p. 317</ref>
[[James Ussher|Ussher]] says that this was the time in history where Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 785</ref> [[Edwin R. Thiele|Thiele]], of course, says that the rebellion took place two years later. In any case, the Bible says that Jehoiakim rebelled three years after he agreed to serve Nebuchadnezzar<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=24|verses=1|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/><ref name=Columbia/>
The reckoning from that rebellion happened in the last year of Jehoiakim's reign. Nebuchadnezzar assembled a coalition of [[Syria]]ns ("Arameans"), [[Chaldea]]ns, [[Moab]]ites and [[Ammon]]ites and sent them against the Southern Kingdom. They attacked Jehoiakim's forces and pillaged virtually the entire kingdom.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=24|verses=2|version=NASB}}</ref> While this was happening, Nebuchadnezzar was apparently leading his main force against Egypt once again, in a battle that he nearly lost.<ref name=Wood2/><ref name=Pratt>A.K. Grayson, ''Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles , vol. 5 of Texts from Cuneiform Sources'', eds. A.L. Oppenheim, et al. (New York: Augustun, 1975) p. 100. Quoted by [http://www.johnpratt.com/jpp.html John P. Pratt] in "[http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2000/lehi6apr.html Lehi's 600-year Prophecy of the Birth of Christ]," ''[http://www.meridianmagazine.com/articles/000331sixhundred.html Meridian Magazine]'', March 31, 2000. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref>
=== Death and Succession ===
Jehoiakim died after an eleven-year reign, and his son [[Jehoiachin]] succeeded him.<ref name=Columbia/> The highly controversial circumstances of his death are discussed below.
== Controversies ==
=== Chronological Synchrony ===
The synchrony of Jehoiakim with [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] is well-attested in the [[Bible]]. Multiple points of synchrony exist, but many authorities consider these to be in conflict:
# [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] specifically stated<ref name=synchrony1/> that the third year of Jehoiakim was also the first year of Nebuchadnezzar.
# [[Daniel]], furthermore, says that Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to [[Jerusalem]] in the third year of King Jehoiakim.<ref name=synchrony2>{{Bible ref|book=Daniel|chap=1|verses=1|version=NASB}}</ref>
# [[Jehoiachin]]'s three-month-and-ten-day reign ended in the same year that it began, and this is described as the ''eighth'' year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign.<ref name=synchrony3>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=24|verses=12|version=NASB}}</ref>
# Jehoiachin won release from prison in the thirty-seventh year of his captivity, in the year that [[Evil-Merodach]], Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, began to reign.<ref name=synchrony4>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=25|verses=27|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=pytlik2>George Pytlik, [http://www.pytlik.com/observe/daniel/setting/setting-03.html The Setting], ''Daniel: Messenger to the Future'', 2003. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref>
# Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC.<ref>Anonymous, "[http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/goto?id=ENC111105 Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon (605-562 BC)]", ''The British Museum Compass'', 2000. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref><ref>Anonymous, [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/middle_east/nebuchadnezzar.html The Chaldeans], E-Museum at [[Minnesota]] State University, Mankato, Minnesota. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref><ref>Anonymous, [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Nebuchad.html Nebuchadnezzar], The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from the HighBeam Encyclopedia.</ref>
The conflict is that Jehoiachin's captivity must have ''begun'' on 599 BC (562 + 37). That would mean that the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign was in 607 BC. Yet Nabopolassar did not die until two years later. [[John Calvin]] noticed this problem as well.<ref name=Calvin>[[John Calvin]], ''Commentaries on the Book of Daniel'', vol. 1, Thomas Meyers, MA, trans. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from the [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom24.txt Christian Classics Ethereal Library] at Calvin University. See also this [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom24.xiii.i.html?bcb=0 dissertation] (retrieved from the same host) on the chronological problem and the efforts of Calvin's contemporaries to resolve it.</ref>
Calvin's resolution was simple: Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem while his father was still alive. But [[James Ussher]] appears to be the first person to suggest the obvious: that Nebuchadnezzar became ''[[viceroy]]'' of [[Babylonia]] in the same year that he led his expedition against Necho, and then onward to Jerusalem. Regnal years of executive viceroys who continue to reign alone are reckoned from the date of the viceroyalty and ''not'' the date of the lone reign. [[Edwin R. Thiele|Thiele]] appears to have taken no notice of this solution--and as a result he never presented a satisfactory solution to the length of Jehoiachin's captivity. This captivity, if Thiele were correct, would have lasted thirty-five years, not thirty-seven.
Other authorities have tried to reconcile the conflicts by citing differences between Judaic reckoning and Babylonian reckoning of years of reign.<ref name=Pytlik>George Pytlik, [http://www.pytlik.com/observe/daniel/timeline.html Historical Timeline of Daniel], ''Daniel: God's Messenger to the Future'', 2003. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref> Konig,<ref name=Konig>George Konig, [http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/q33.htm Was Daniel wrong when he referred to the "third" year of Jehoiakim?], AboutBibleProphecy.com, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref> for example, suggests that Daniel might have reckoned the first siege of Jerusalem in the "third" year of Jehoiakim by using Babylonian, not Judaic, reckoning. This, however, ignores Jeremiah, who reckoned Jehoiakim's years the same way and even specifically synchronized Jehoiakim with Nebuchadnezzar.
=== The Manner of Jehoiakim's Death ===
The manner and even the venue of the death of Jehoiakim is the subject of more controversy than is involved in the life of any other king of the Divided Kingdoms Northern and Southern.<ref name=Britannica1/><ref name=Britannica2/> Some authorities suggest that when the Bible says that Jehoiakim "slept with his fathers,"<ref name=slept>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=24|verses=6|version=NASB}}</ref> it means that Jehoiakim died peacefully. But [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] mentions many baleful prophecies<ref name=exposed/><ref name=exposed2>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=22|verses=18-19|version=NASB}}</ref> that, taken together, suggest that Jehoiakim's body was exposed to the elements and that he did not have a proper burial. Some authorities suggest that Jehoiakim's own people threw him over the wall of Jerusalem to convince the besieging Chaldeans that he was dead.<ref name=WebBible>Anonymous, [http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/jehoiakim.html Jehoiakim], WebBible Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from ChristianAnswers.net.</ref><ref name=HSI>Anonymous, [http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/biblediscovery/jehoiakim.asp Jehoiakim], Holy Spirit Interactive, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref>
Oded Lipschits, of [[Tel-Aviv]] University ([[Israel]]),<ref name=Lipschits>Oded Lipschits, [http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/Articles/article_23.htm Jehoiakim Slept With His Fathers: Did He?], Department of Jewish History, Tel-Aviv University. Retrieved April 12, 2007.</ref> presents an elaborate argument to the effect that Jehoiakim did indeed die peacefully. Yet his analysis dismisses Jeremiah's prophecy as, in essence, false. Prophets of God have never foretold anything that has been shown not to have come to pass when those prophets said it would (although some, including [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]], [[Ezekiel (prophet)|Ezekiel]], [[Daniel]], and, of course, [[Revelation|John the Revelator]], have foretold events that, some say, are ''yet'' to come to pass). [[James Ussher|Ussher]],<ref>Ussher, ''op. cit.'', pgh. 794</ref> indeed, saw no conflict between Jeremiah's baleful prophecies and the expression "he slept with his fathers." The Bible nowhere says that he was ''buried'' with his fathers. Ussher gives perhaps the simplest resolution that fits all the Bible texts that bear on this issue: that Jehoiakim was dragged out of the city gate by a chariot and left exposed on the ground. Whether his own people killed him and tossed him over the wall, or whether Nebuchadnezzar captured him and executed him first, remains an open question.
=== The Genealogy of Christ ===
Jehoiakim appears in [[Matthew]]'s listing of the ancestors of [[Jesus Christ]]. Yet [[God]] had pronounced a curse on Jehoiakim<ref name=exposed/>, as he would later curse his son, saying that he would be "childless." <ref name=childless>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=22|verses=30|version=NASB}}</ref> The solution is that [[Joseph of Nazareth]] was a direct lineal descendant of [[David]] through both these kings, but [[Mary]] was a descendant of David through another of David's sons, named Nathan.<ref name=pytlik2/><ref name=genes>Ken Palmer, "[http://www.lifeofchrist.com/life/genealogy/curse.asp The Curse of Jehoiakim]", The Life of Christ, 2007. Retrieved Apriil 12, 2007.</ref>
== References and Notes ==
<references/>
== See Also ==
* [[Josiah]]
* [[Jehoahaz II]]
* [[Necho II]]
* [[Nebuchadnezzar]]
* [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]]
* [[Daniel]]
* [[Habakkuk (prophet)|Habakkuk]]
* [[Zedekiah]]
* [[House of David]]
* [[Southern Kingdom]]
* [[Biblical chronology dispute]]
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