Who was Jehucal in the Bible?

Jehucal, also called Jucal, was a royal official serving King Zedekiah of Judah. He is known for opposing the prophet Jeremiah and seeking his arrest and punishment for prophesying Jerusalem's fall (Jeremiah 38:1-6).

What did Jehucal do to the prophet Jeremiah?

Jehucal, along with other officials, accused Jeremiah of demoralizing the people and soldiers with his prophecies. They persuaded King Zedekiah to hand Jeremiah over, leading to the prophet being thrown into a muddy cistern to die (Jeremiah 38:4-6).

Why is Jehucal significant in the Bible?

Jehucal represents the hostile officials who rejected God's warning through Jeremiah. His actions highlight the conflict between political expediency and prophetic truth, culminating in Jeremiah's persecution just before Jerusalem's destruction.

Jehucal

Old TestamentDivided MonarchyMaleSon of shelemiah

Jehucal (or Jucal) was an official during King Zedekiah's reign who opposed the prophet Jeremiah and sought his punishment.

Jehucal

Biography

Jehucal (also spelled Jucal), son of Shelemiah, served as a court official during the final years of the Judean monarchy under King Zedekiah. He appears in Jeremiah 37:3 as one of the king's envoys sent to request the prophet's intercession, and again in Jeremiah 38:1 among those who heard Jeremiah's proclamation that the city would fall to Babylon. Alarmed by what they perceived as demoralizing speech, Jehucal joined other officials in petitioning Zedekiah to have Jeremiah cast into a cistern, where the prophet nearly perished. His actions represent the political class of Jerusalem in its final hours, men who sought to silence the prophetic word rather than heed its urgent call to repentance before the approaching Babylonian judgment.

Significance

Jehucal embodies a tragic archetype found throughout biblical history: the official who suppresses prophetic truth in the name of political stability. His opposition to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38) illustrates the tension between worldly power and divine revelation. His attempt to silence God's messenger did not alter the outcome that Jeremiah had proclaimed; Jerusalem fell precisely as foretold. His story warns against the temptation to treat inconvenient divine truth as sedition. Theologically, Jehucal's failure underscores that no human authority can ultimately obstruct God's redemptive purposes, even when those purposes include painful judgment designed to refine and ultimately restore the covenant people.

Verse Appearances (2)

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 37:3 Jeremiah 38:1

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]

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