Who was Nedabiah in the Bible?

Nedabiah was a son of King Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin), the king of Judah who was taken into exile in Babylon. He is listed as a descendant of the royal line of David in 1 Chronicles 3:18.

Why is Nedabiah significant in the Bible?

His significance lies in his lineage. As a son of the exiled King Jeconiah, he was part of the royal Davidic line during the Babylonian captivity, connecting the pre-exile monarchy to the post-exile community.

What happened to Nedabiah in the Bible?

The Bible does not record any specific events in Nedabiah's life. His only mention is in the genealogical list of King Jeconiah's sons in 1 Chronicles 3:18, indicating he lived during the exile.

Nedabiah

Old TestamentDivided MonarchyMaleKing

Nedabiah was a descendant of Jeconiah, the exiled king of Judah.

Nedabiah

Biography

Nedabiah was a son of King Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin), the penultimate king of Judah who was deported to Babylon in 597 BC. His name, meaning "Yahweh is generous" or "whom the LORD impels," appears in the royal genealogy recorded in 1 Chronicles 3:18. Nedabiah was born during the period of Jeconiah's Babylonian captivity, making him part of the first generation of the Davidic line raised entirely in exile. His brothers included Shealtiel (through whom the messianic line continued to Zerubbabel), Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and others. Though Nedabiah himself played no recorded public role, his very existence testified to the continuation of David's royal house even in the depths of national humiliation, when the crown of Judah had been removed and the Temple lay in ruins.

Significance

Nedabiah's place in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles 3 carries theological weight far beyond his individual story. Born in exile to a deposed and imprisoned king, he represents the persistence of God's covenant promise to David that his dynasty would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16). The chronicler's careful recording of Jeconiah's sons, including Nedabiah, served to reassure post-exilic readers that the Davidic line had survived Babylon's attempt to extinguish it. His name, evoking divine generosity, stands as a quiet testimony of faith amid captivity: even in exile, parents named their children in trust of God's goodness. Each son of Jeconiah was a living refutation of the fear that God's promises had failed.

Verse Appearances (1)

1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 3:18

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]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

View all sources & licensing →

See our editorial standards →

Content compiled from public domain scholarship, academic sources, and verified references. Editorial standards · View all sources