Zedekiah
(
the_LORD") was the last king of
Judah.
Albright has dated his reign to
597 -
587_BC, while
Thiele offers the dates
597 -
586_BC. He was the third son of
Josiah, and his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of
Jeremiah of Libnah, thus he was the brother of
Jehoahaz (
2 Kings 23:31; 24:17, 18).
His original name was
Mattaniah ( 52:2, 3).
He ascended the throne at the age of twenty-one years. The kingdom was at that time tributary to 4:4, 5, 10).
In the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar succeeded in conquering Jerusalem. The city was plundered and reduced to ruins. Zedekiah and his followers attempted to escape, making their way out of the city, but were captured on the plains of
Jericho, and were taken to
Riblah.
There, after seeing his own children put to death, his own eyes were put out, and, being loaded with chains, he was carried captive (587 BC) to 36:12; 12:12), where he remained a prisoner, how long is unknown, to the day of his death.
After the fall of Jerusalem, Nebuzaraddan sent to carry out its complete destruction. The city was razed to the ground. Only a small number of vinedressers and husbandmen were permitted to remain in the land (Jer. 52:16).
Gedaliah, with a Chaldean guard stationed at
Mizpah, were left to rule over Judah (2 Kings 25:22, 24; Jer. 40:1, 2, 5, 6).
Preceded by:
Jehoiachin
Kings of Judah
Followed by:None
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