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JEHOIAKIM

(Heb. yĕhôyāqîm)

1. King of Judah (609-598 b.c.e.), whose given name was Eliakim (2 Kgs. 23:34; 2 Chr. 36:4). His mother was Zebidah, daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah (2 Kgs. 23:36b). Jehoiakim was the second-born son of Josiah (1 Chr. 3:15) and was enthroned by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt in 609 to replace Jehoahaz (Shallum), whom the “people of the land” had chosen to succeed his father Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:30; 2 Chr. 36:1). Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he acceded the throne, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem (2 Kgs. 23:36). He was succeeded in 598 by his son Jehoiachin.

The death of Jehoiakim is shrouded in mystery. 2 Kings seems to indicate that Jehoiakim died peacefully in Jerusalem and “slept with his ancestors” (2 Kgs. 24:6). 2 Chronicles, however, suggests that he was taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon where he eventually died (2 Chr. 36:5-8; 1 Esdr. 1:39-42). In somewhat conventional language, Jeremiah predicts the humiliating death of Jehoiakim (Jer. 22:18-19; 36:30; cf. Josephus Ant. 10.6.3), without reference to a specific location. The Deuteronomist presents Jehoiakim as a (compliant) vassal of Egypt who levied an oppressive tax upon the people in order to “meet Pharaoh’s demand for money” (2 Kgs. 23:35). After an unspecified period (Kings makes no reference here to Egypt’s defeat by the Babylonians at Carchemish in 605 [Jer. 46:2]), Jehoiakim became a servant of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (2 Kgs 24:1). However, Jehoiakim was not a willing vassal; after three years of Babylonian subjugation, he revolted, only to be defeated by bands of Arameans (2 Kgs. 24:2; cf. Jer. 35:11). The writer concludes that Judah’s defeat was the direct consequence of an entire history of idolatry and bloodshed. Jehoiakim is thus viewed by the Deuteronomist as simply another Judean king who “did evil in the sight of Yahweh” (2 Kgs. 23:37).

Although the account of his reign is truncated in 2 Chronicles (cf. 36:4-8), the writer adds that Jehoiakim was “bound in fetters” by Nebuchadnezzar and threatened with deportation. Whether the Babylonian king actually deported Jehoiakim or simply frightened him into submission is impossible to determine from the text. According to the Chronicler, Jehoiakim was merely an “evil king” who committed “abominations” against Yahweh (2 Chr. 36:5b, 8; cf. 1 Esdr. 1:37-39, 42).

The writer of Daniel dates to the “third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim” (Dan. 1:1-2) a siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (606), a reference for which there is no historical support. In Jeremiah the “fourth year of King Jehoiakim” (Jer. 25:1; 36:1; 45:1; 46:2) functions literally and as a “code word” for danger, judgment, and destruction. This date is fraught with danger because it is the accession year of Nebuchadnezzar (605), in which he overtook the Egyptian armies at Carchemish before advancing southward. Thus, the “fourth year of Jehoiakim” signals an approaching “enemy from the north” and the imminent end of Judah.

Jeremiah often contrasts the much admired Josiah and the despised Jehoiakim. The abusive reign and opulent lifestyle of Jehoiakim are compared to the just rule of his father (Jer. 22:10-30). The text commends Josiah for defending “the cause of the poor and needy” (Jer. 22:16), but condemns Jehoiakim for greed and exploitation, as well as for “shedding innocent blood and practicing oppression and violence” (v. 17). In Jer. 36 Jehoiakim is presented as one who loathes the prophetic word of God. When the king destroys the scroll of Jeremiah, one can discern in this text a deliberate contrast between Josiah’s penitential response to the book of the Law (2 Kgs. 22:11) and Jehoiakim’s contemptible reaction to the reading of Jeremiah’s scroll. Both “hear” (Heb. qrʾ) the words of the book/scroll (2 Kgs. 22:11; Jer. 36:24), and thus are afforded an opportunity to protect the community from imminent disaster. However, whereas Josiah “rends” (Heb. qr{) his clothes as a sign of mourning and repentance, Jehoiakim instead “rends” the scroll. Consequently, Josiah saves the nation from destruction, at least temporarily, while Jehoiakim seals the dreadful fate of the Judean people. It is no wonder that Jehoiakim is portrayed in the Haggadah as the personification of arrogance and evil.

Bibliography. J. A. Dearman, “My Servants the Scribes: Composition and Context in Jeremiah 36,,” JBL 109 (1990): 403-21; J. M. Myers, 2 Chronicles. AB 13 (Garden City, 1965); E. W. Nicholson, Preaching to the Exiles: A Study of the Prose Tradition in the Book of Jeremiah (New York, 1971); M. A. Taylor, “Jeremiah 45: The Problem of Placement,” JSOT 37 (1987): 79-98.

Louis Stulman

2. A high priest, son of Hilkiah and descendant of Shallum, to whom the exiles sent an offering (Bar. 1:7).

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

JEHOIAKIM

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)