Zedekiah
Zedekiah, originally named Mattaniah, was the last king of Judah before the Babylonian exile (2Ki.24.17,18,20; 25.2,7,7; 1Ch.3.15; 2Ch.36.10,11; Jer.1.3; 21.1,3,7; 24.8; 27.3,12; 28.1; 29.3; 32.1,3,4,5; 34.2,4,6,8,21; 37.1,3,17,18,21; 38.5,14,15,16,17,19,24; 39.1,2,4,5,6,7; 44.30; 49.34; 51.59; 52.1,3,5,8,10,11; 2Ki.24.17).
Biography
Zedekiah, born Mattaniah, was the twenty-first and final king of Judah, placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar after the deportation of his nephew Jehoiachin in 597 BC. He reigned for eleven years (597-586 BC) in a Jerusalem increasingly encircled by Babylonian power. Despite repeated and urgent counsel from the prophet Jeremiah, who urged him to submit to Babylon as God's instrument of judgment, Zedekiah vacillated fatally between reform and rebellion. His eventual revolt brought Nebuchadnezzar's army back to Jerusalem in a devastating siege. When the city fell in 586 BC, Zedekiah fled but was captured at Jericho, forced to watch his sons executed, then blinded and taken to Babylon in bronze shackles, where he died (2 Kgs. 25:7; Jer. 52:11).
Significance
Zedekiah's reign represents the tragic culmination of Judah's long covenant unfaithfulness. His story, told in agonizing detail across Kings, Chronicles, and Jeremiah, is not merely a political account but a theological reckoning. He had access to prophetic counsel, Jeremiah spoke to him privately on multiple occasions, yet he lacked the moral courage to obey. His famous question, "Is there any word from the LORD?" (Jer. 37:17), reveals a man who wanted divine guidance but would not submit to it. Zedekiah embodies the tragedy of privilege without obedience, of knowing the truth but choosing expediency. His blinding and exile fulfilled the letter of Ezekiel's prophecy (Ezek. 12:13) and closed the chapter on Judah's monarchy, making way for the promise of a new covenant and a greater King.
Verse Appearances (1)
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]