Zedekiah צִדְקִיָּ֫הוּ
Last king of Judah before the Babylonian exile
Biography
Zedekiah, originally named Mattaniah, was the last king of Judah before the Babylonian exile. He was the son of Josiah and the uncle of Jehoiachin. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, appointed him as a vassal king after deporting Jehoiachin. Zedekiah reigned for 11 years, but he did evil in the sight of the Lord. Despite the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, leading to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. During the siege, Zedekiah sought counsel from Jeremiah but did not heed his advice to surrender. When the city fell, Zedekiah attempted to flee but was captured. His sons were killed before his eyes, and then he was blinded and taken to Babylon in chains. Zedekiah's reign ended in tragedy, marking the fall of the kingdom of Judah and the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
Family
Parents
In Scripture
4 biblical books ; 1 with study content2 Kings 5 verses
- 2 Kings 24:17
"The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah."
- 2 Kings 24:18
"Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah."
- 2 Kings 24:20
"For through the anger of Yahweh, this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon."
- 2 Kings 25:2
"So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah."
- 2 Kings 25:7
"They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon."
1 Chronicles 1 verse
- 1 Chronicles 3:15
"The sons of Josiah: the firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, and the fourth Shallum."
2 Chronicles 2 verses
- 2 Chronicles 36:10
"At the return of the year, king Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the valuable vessels of Yahweh’s house, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem."
- 2 Chronicles 36:11
"Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem."
Jeremiah 5 verses Study available
- Jeremiah 1:3
"It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month."
Study Jeremiah → - Jeremiah 21:1
"The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,"
Study Jeremiah → - Jeremiah 21:3
"Then Jeremiah said to them, “Tell Zedekiah:"
Study Jeremiah → - Jeremiah 21:7
"Afterward,” says Yahweh, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, even those who are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and..."
Study Jeremiah → - Jeremiah 24:8
"“ ‘As the bad figs, which can’t be eaten, they are so bad,’ surely Yahweh says, ‘So I will give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem, who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt."
Study Jeremiah →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | צִדְקִיָּ֫הוּ | H6667H |
| Named | Hebrew | מַתַּנְיָ֫הוּ | H4983Q |