Hamutal
Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, was the mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, two kings of Judah.
Biography
Hamutal was a queen mother of Judah, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, a city in the Shephelah region of Judah. She was the wife of King Josiah and the mother of two of his sons who reigned as kings: Jehoahaz (also called Shallum), who ruled briefly after Josiah's death before being deported to Egypt by Pharaoh Neco (2 Kings 23:31–34), and Zedekiah (also called Mattaniah), who became Judah's last king before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:18). She is mentioned in 2 Kings 23:31; 24:18, and Jeremiah 52:1. As a royal mother who bore witness to the catastrophic end of the Davidic monarchy, watching one son exiled to Egypt and another to Babylon, Hamutal represents the tragic conclusion of Judah's history.
Significance
Hamutal occupies a poignant place in the history of the monarchy: she was the mother of both Judah's penultimate and final kings, living through the nation's collapse in real time. Her sons' reigns bookend the desperate final years described in 2 Kings and Jeremiah, with Jehoahaz's brief, ill-fated rule and Zedekiah's decade-long kingship ending in the siege, destruction of Jerusalem, and Babylonian exile. As a queen mother, Hamutal held recognized political and social status in the ancient Near Eastern royal court. Her story is a sober reminder that even royal privilege offers no protection when a nation turns from God.
Verse Appearances (3)
Jeremiah
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]