II Kings 23:36
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Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Reign of Jehoiakim (cf. Ch2 36:5-8). - Jehoiakim reigned eleven years in the spirit of his ungodly forefathers (compare Kg2 23:37 with Kg2 23:32). Jeremiah represents him (Kg2 22:13.) as a bad prince, who enriched himself by the unjust oppression of his people, "whose eyes and heart were directed upon nothing but upon gain, and upon innocent blood to shed it, and upon oppression and violence to do them" (compare Kg2 24:4 and Jer 26:22-23). Josephus therefore describes him as τὴν φύσιν ἄδικος καὶ κακοῦργος, καὶ μήτε πρὸς Θεὸν ὅσιος, μήτε πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιεικής (Ant. x. 5, 2). The town of Rumah, from which his mother sprang, is not mentioned anywhere else, but it has been supposed to be identical with Aruma in the neighbourhood of Shechem (Jdg 9:41).
Open source ↗We have here, I. The happy continuance of the goodness of Josiah's reign, and the progress of the reformation he began, reading the law (Kg2 23:1, Kg2 23:2), renewing the covenant (Kg2 23:3), cleansing the temple (Kg2 23:4), and rooting out idols and idolatry, with all the relics thereof, in all places, as far as his power reached (v. 5-20), keeping a solemn passover (Kg2 23:21-23), and clearing the country of witches (Kg2 23:24); and in all this acting with extraordinary vigour (Kg2 23:25). II. The unhappy conclusion of it in his untimely death, as a token of the continuance of God's wrath against Jerusalem (Kg2 23:26-30). III. The more unhappy consequences of his death, in the bad reigns of his two sons Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim, that came after him (Kg2 23:31-37).
Open source ↗23:36 Jehoiakim, Jehoahaz’s older brother (cp. 23:31), reigned eleven years (609–598 BC).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
The sons of Josiah: Johanan was the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second, Zedekiah the third, and Shallum the fourth.
At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD:
and through the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.