15. the firstborn Johanan] This son of Josiah never came to the throne, nor is anything known of him except from this passage.
Zedekiah] Though reckoned third here, he was younger than Shallum (= Jehoahaz); compare 2 Chronicles xxxvi. 2 (= 2 Kings xxiii. 31) with 2 Chronicles xxxvi. 11 (= 2 Kings xxiv. 18).
Shallum] To be identified with Jehoahaz; compare 2 Chronicles xxxvi. 1 with Jeremiah xxii. 11.
¹⁶And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son.
16. Jeconiah] This name is sometimes shortened to Coniah (Jeremiah xxii. 24) and written (with a slight change of meaning) Jehoiachin (2 Chronicles xxxvi. 8, 9; 2 Kings xxiv. 6 ff.).
Zedekiah his son] Zedekiah was heir, not son, to Jeconiah, whom he succeeded in the kingdom. His relationship to Jeconiah was that of uncle.
17–19a.
The Davidic Line from Jeconiah to Zerubbabel.
Note that whereas Zerubbabel is here represented apparently as the son of Pedaiah and consequently nephew of Shealtiel (= Salathiel), he is elsewhere called the son of Shealtiel (Ezra iii. 2; Haggai i. 1, ii. 2; compare Luke iii. 27–31). The LXX. solves the difficulty by reading Salathiel (= Shealtiel) in verse 19. The view that the names given in verse 18 (including Pedaiah) are the names of the sons of Shealtiel is not probable. Another suggestion is that Zerubbabel was grand-son both to Shealtiel and Pedaiah, according to such a scheme as the following:
Pedaiah Shealtiel
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a daughter = a son
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Zerubbabel.
A minor difficulty that Shealtiel (= Salathiel) is here connected with David through Solomon, whereas in Luke iii. 27–31 his descent is traced through Solomon’s brother Nathan, could be explained by an intermarriage at some point in the genealogy between the two Davidic families.