Jeremiah 52:1
in Jeremiah 52Zedekiah 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 one and twenty 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 one and twenty 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 Jeremiah 52
Commentary
6 notes on this verseZedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign,.... Whose name was Mattaniah; and who was set on the throne by the king of Babylon, in the room of his brother's son Jehoiachin, 2Ki 24:17; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; so that he was thirty two years of age when he was taken and carried captive into Babylon: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah; see 2Ki 24:18.
This site's exposition
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old
on Jeremiah 52:1-3
The chapter's opening formula, his age, his mother's name, the length of his reign, matches 2 Kings 24:18-20 almost word for word, a later hand appending the same royal record Kings already gives after 51:64 has already signed the book off, thus far are the words of Jeremiah. Hamutal's father is named Jeremiah of Libnah, a different man from the prophet, which the commentators flag so the two are never confused. Zedekiah's rebellion against Babylon (v3) is the very move chapters 27 to 29 warned against, the lying prophets' promise of a quick end to the yoke acted out to its finish.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
Zedekiah was one and twenty 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But that evil deed of his which did in a special manner hasten this destruction was his rebelling against the king of Babylon, which was both his sin and his folly, and brought ruin upon his people, not only meritoriously, but efficiently. God was greatly displeased with him for his perfidious dealing with the king of Babylon (as we find, Ezek. xvii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Jer. 52 is an historical appendix to the Book of Jeremiah, giving details of the capture of Babylon additional to those contained in Jer. 39: The last words of the foregoing chapter affirm that Jeremiah was not the author, and the view adopted by most commentators is, that this chapter is taken from the 2nd Book of Kings, but that the person who added it here had access to other valuable documents, and made several modifications in it, the principal being the substituation of the account of those led captive by Nebuchadnezzar Jer 52:28-30, for the narrative given in 2Ki 25:22-26, where see the notes.
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old - See 2Ki 24:18.
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 |
| בִּירֽוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | 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 → | 147 times |
| מִלִּבְנָֽה׃ | milivnah | from Libnah | H3841 → |
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
בִּירֽוּשָׁלִָ֑םin 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 →147 times
מִלִּבְנָֽה׃from Libnah
milivnahH3841 →
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 8:22So to this day Edom has been in rebellion against the hand of Judah. Likewise, Libnah rebelled at the same time.
it leads to
- Joshua 21:13
So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 19:8
When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
- Genesis 27:40
You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
- Joshua 21:13
Through
2 Kings 24:18Zedekiah 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.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:31
Jehoahaz 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.
- Jeremiah 52:1–11
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 23:31
Through
Joshua 10:29Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 8:22
So to this day Edom has been in rebellion against the hand of Judah. Likewise, Libnah rebelled at the same time.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 15:42
Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
- 2 Kings 8:22
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
On this page
About Jeremiah

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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
