Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/413

Rh and he did that which was evil in the sight of the. And at the return of the year king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the his God; he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the, the God of Israel.

he did that which was evil] Cp. Jer. xxii. 24; Ezek. xix. 5—9.

10. at the return of the year] Cp. 2 Sam. xi. 1 = 1 Chr. xx. 1, "at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle." This would be in the spring.

brought him to Babylon] Not the king only, but also certain leading men and craftsmen and smiths (in number 3023) went into captivity—so Jer. lii. 28; cp. Jer. xxiv. 1, and 2 Kin. xxiv. 14 (where the size of the deportation is magnified into "all Jerusalem save the poorest of the land—even ten thousand captives").

Zedekiah] A covenant-name like "Jehoiakim"—(ver. 4, note); it seems to mean "Righteousness of Jehovah"; cp. the significant title in Jer. xxiii. 6, "The is our Righteousness." Zedekiah's original name was "Mattaniah" (i.e. "gift of Jehovah"); 2 Kin. xxiv. 17.

his brother] In 2 Kin. (more accurately) "his father's brother"; cp. 1 Chr. iii. 15, 16, notes.

11—19 (= 1 Esd. i. 46—56; cp. 2 Kin. xxiv. 18—xxv. 21; Jer. xxxvii. 1—xxxix. 8, lii. 1—27).&emsp;

11. in Jerusalem] The Chronicler omits, as usual, his mother's name. She was "Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah" (2 Kin. xxiv. 18), and was mother of Jehoahaz also (ibid. xxiii. 31). Jehoiakim was by a different mother (ibid. ver. 36).

12. humbled not himself] Jeremiah consistently advised Zedekiah to submit to the Chaldeans; but the king partly through fear of his princes, partly through illusive hopes, could never bring himself to doso; cp. Jer. xxi. 1—7, xxxiv. 8—22, xxxvii. 1—10, 17, xxxviii. 17—23.

13. who had made him swear by God] Cp. Ezek. xvii. 11—19.