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=== The Manner of Jehoiakim's Death ===

=== 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=Britannica2/><ref name=Britannica1/> Some authorities (possibly failing to check the Hebrew and wrongly translating '''שׁכב'''  as "slept") suggest that the passage in 2 Kings which says  that Jehoiakim "lay down [שׁכב]<ref>'''שׁכב''', ''The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon'', does not imply "slept," it is even used of having sex.</ref> with his fathers," means that Jehoiakim died peacefully. But very similar language is used of Ahab who died in battle,<ref>1 Kings 22:40</ref> and [[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>

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=Britannica2/><ref name=Britannica1/> Some authorities (possibly failing to check the Hebrew and wrongly translating '''שׁכב'''  as "slept") suggest that the passage in 2 Kings which says  that Jehoiakim "lay down [שׁכב]<ref>'''שׁכב''', ''The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon'', does not imply "slept," it is even used of having sex; cf. ''Young's Literal Translation''.</ref> with his fathers," means that Jehoiakim died peacefully. But very similar language is used of Ahab who died in battle,<ref>1 Kings 22:40</ref> and [[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.

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.