2 Kings 24:18
in 2 Kings 24Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
KJV
Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
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This verse in 2 Kings 24
Commentary
5 notes on this verseZedekiah was twenty years old when he began to reign,.... So that he was but between nine and ten years of age when his father Josiah died; for Jehoahaz reigned three months, Jehoiakim eleven years, and his son three months and ten days: and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah; by which it appears that he was the brother of Jehoahaz by father and mother's side, 2Ki 23:
This site's exposition
changed his name to Zedekiah
on 2 Kings 24:17-18
The king of Babylon makes "Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle," king and "changed his name to Zedekiah," a vassal wearing a name his master gave him. The name means the righteousness of the LORD, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note. Gill notes he was not yet ten when his father Josiah died.
This site's exposition
Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah
This Jeremiah of Libnah is a different man from the prophet of Anathoth named at Jeremiah 1:1. Libnah was a town given to the priests. Jeremiah 52:1 repeats this verse on Zedekiah's years and his mother word for word at the opening of its own account of the fall.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
3 Surely at the commandment of the L ORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; 4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the L ORD would not pardon.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:92%@v3-4
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But, according to the custom of conquerors, who changed the names of the great men they took captives in war, in token of their supremacy, he gave him the new name of Zedekiah--that is, "The righteous of God." This being a purely Hebrew name, it seems that he allowed the puppet king to choose his own name, which was confirmed.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [was] a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֨ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| וְאַחַ֤ת | veachat | and one | H259 → | 971 times |
| שָׁנָה֙ | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| בְמָלְכ֔וֹ | vemalekho | when became king he | H4427 → | 348 times |
| וְאַחַ֤ת | veachat | and one [plus] | H259 → | 971 times |
| עֶשְׂרֵה֙ | ʾesreh | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| שָׁנָ֔ה | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| מָלַ֖ךְ | malakh | he reigned | H4427 → | 348 times |
| בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְשֵׁ֣ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אִמּ֔וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| חֲמוּטַ֥ל | chamital | [was] Hamutal | H2537 → | |
| בַּֽת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | |
| מִלִּבְנָֽה׃ | milivnah | from Libnah | H3841 → | 18 times |
בֶּן־[was] a son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
עֶשְׂרִ֨יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
וְאַחַ֤תand one
veachatH259 →971 times
שָׁנָה֙year[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
בְמָלְכ֔וֹwhen became king he
vemalekhoH4427 →348 times
וְאַחַ֤תand one [plus]
veachatH259 →971 times
עֶשְׂרֵה֙ten
ʾesrehH6240 →338 times
שָׁנָ֔הyear[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
מָלַ֖ךְhe reigned
malakhH4427 →348 times
בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
וְשֵׁ֣םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
אִמּ֔וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
חֲמוּטַ֥ל[was] Hamutal
chamitalH2537 →
בַּֽת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
יִרְמְיָ֖הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →
מִלִּבְנָֽה׃from Libnah
milivnahH3841 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 37:1Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 22:24
“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
- 2 Kings 24:17
Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
- 2 Kings 24:12
Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him…
- Jeremiah 24:1
After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to…
- 1 Chronicles 3:15–16
The sons of Josiah: Johanan was the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second, Zedekiah the third, and Shallum the fourth.
- Jeremiah 22:24
Through
2 Kings 23:31Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 3:15
The sons of Josiah: Johanan was the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second, Zedekiah the third, and Shallum the fourth.
- Jeremiah 22:11
For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return,
- 1 Chronicles 3:15
Through
2 Chronicles 36:11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 24:18–20
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
- 2 Kings 24:18–20
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonLate monarchy / ExileJeremiahPriest of Anathoth called before birth to uproot and to plant; the weeping prophet of Jerusalem's fall who bought a field in the s…
- PersonExileZedekiahJudah's last king, who broke his oath to Babylon against Jeremiah's word; his sons slain before his eyes at Riblah, and the city a…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Berean Standard Bible, Joshua 21:13; Jeremiah 1:1; Jeremiah 52:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.