2 Kings 24:17
in 2 Kings 24Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
KJV
And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
⋯
This verse in 2 Kings 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead,.... The third son of Josiah, 1Ch 3:15. and changed his name to Zedekiah; for the same reason the king of Egypt changed the name of Eliakim, 2Ki 23:34 to signify his subjection to him; though some think it was to put him in mind of the justice of God, as the name signifies, that would overtake him, should he be treacherous to him, and rebel against him; so the Jewish Midrash.
This site's exposition
changed his name to Zedekiah
on 2 Kings 24:17-18
Nebuchadnezzar installs Mattaniah, Josiah's remaining son and Jehoiachin's uncle, and changes his name to Zedekiah, a vassal now wearing a name his master gave him. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, along with Wesley, read the name, the righteousness of the Lord, as a standing warning aimed at the very unfaithfulness it names, a name meant to remind him of the justice that had already broken Jehoiakim. Verse 18 gives his age at twenty-one and his mother's name as Hamutal, the same mother who had borne Jehoahaz, so Zedekiah is Jehoiachin's uncle by both throne and blood rather than by throne alone. Gill notes he was not yet ten when his father Josiah died at Megiddo, the last of four sons of Josiah to sit on Judah's throne within a single generation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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
Zedekiah - That he might admonish him of (what this name signifies) the justice of God, which had so severely punished Jehoiakim for his rebellion; and would no less certainly overtake him, if he should be guilty of the same perfidiousness.
The name which the king of Babylon gave him signifies The justice of the Lord, and was a presage of the glorifying of God's justice in his ruin. See how impious this Zedekiah was. Though the judgments of God upon his three immediate predecessors might have been a warning to him not to tread in their steps, yet he did that which was evil, like all the rest,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Mattaniah, son of Josiah and brother of Jehoahaz, but thirteen years his junior, adopted a name significant of the blessings promised by Jeremiah to the reign of a king whose name should be “Yahweh, our righteousness” Jer 23:5-8.
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.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead - He was the son of Josiah, and brother to Jehoiakim. Changed his name to Zedekiah - See the note on 2Ki 23:34.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Seven thousand. But above he states, “ten thousand.” 12 Above, v. The third verse comes to reconcile [the difference], in the Book of Yirmiyohu, ”This is the people whom Nevuchadnetzar exiled in the seventh year, three thousand Jews.” 13 Yirmiyahu:28. The verse there states, “three thousand and twenty-three Jews.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּמְלֵ֧ךְ | vaiyamlekh | and he made king | H4427 → | 348 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶ֛ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַתַּנְיָ֥ה | matanyah | Mattaniah | H4983 → | |
| דֹד֖וֹ | dodo | uncle his | H1730 → | |
| תַּחְתָּ֑יו | tachtav | in place of him | H8478 → | 505 times |
| וַיַּסֵּ֥ב | vaiyasev | and he changed | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמ֖וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| צִדְקִיָּֽהוּ׃ פ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
וַיַּמְלֵ֧ךְand he made king
vaiyamlekhH4427 →348 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶ֛לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַתַּנְיָ֥הMattaniah
matanyahH4983 →
דֹד֖וֹuncle his
dodoH1730 →
תַּחְתָּ֑יוin place of him
tachtavH8478 →505 times
וַיַּסֵּ֥בand he changed
vaiyasevH5437 →161 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמ֖וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
צִדְקִיָּֽהוּ׃ פZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 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
2 Kings 23:34Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 19:3–4
She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 3:15
The sons of Josiah: Johanan was the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second, Zedekiah the third, and Shallum the fourth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 22:11–12
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,
- Daniel 1:7
The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
- Ezekiel 19:3–4
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 24:12
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 52:31
On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned…
- Jeremiah 22:24
Through
2 Chronicles 36:4Then Neco king of Egypt made Eliakim brother of Jehoahaz king over Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 22:10–12
Do not weep for the dead king; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for the one who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land.
- Jeremiah 22:10–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- 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…
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.