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What relation did Zedekiah, the last of the Jewish kings, bear to Jehoiachin, his predecessor?
1. He was his son. “Jechoniah [Jehoiachin] his son, Zedekiah his son” (1 Chron. iii, 16).
2. He was his brother. “Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him [Jehoiachin] to Babylon, ... and made Zedekiah his brother king of Judah” (2 Chron. xxxvi, 10).
3. He was his uncle. “The king of Babylon made Mattaniah his [Jehoiachin’s] father’s brother king in his stead and changed his name to Zedekiah” (2 Kings xxiv, 17).
“That Zedekiah, who in 1 Chron. iii, 16, is called ‘his son,’ is the same as Zedekiah his uncle (called ‘his brother,’ 2 Chron. xxxvi, 10), who was his [Jehoiachin’s] successor on the throne seems certain” (Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Art. Jehoiachin).
CHAPTER XVI.
WHEN DID JEHOSHAPHAT DIE?
At the end of Solomon’s reign the Jewish nation was divided into two kingdoms. Two tribes acknowledged the authority of Solomon’s successor, Rehoboam. This was called the kingdom of Judah, of which Jerusalem was the capital. Ten tribes revolted and made Jeroboam king. This formed the kingdom of Israel, of which Samaria was the capital. The following is a brief summary of the reigns of the kings of the two kingdoms from the partition of the empire to the conquest of Israel by the Assyrians: