King Jeconiah | |
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![]() Jeconiah from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum, 1553 | |
King of Judah | |
Reign | December 9, 598 – March 15/16, 597 BCE |
Coronation | December 9, 598 BCE |
Predecessor | Jehoiakim |
Successor | Zedekiah |
Born | c. 615 or 605 BCE Jerusalem |
Died | after c. 562 BCE Babylon |
Issue | Assir Shealtiel Malkiram Pedaiah Shenazzar Jekamiah Hoshama Nedabiah |
Father | Jehoiakim |
Mother | Nehushta[1] |
Jeconiah (Biblical Hebrew: יְכָנְיָה, romanized: Yəḵonəyā [jəxonjɔː] meaning "Yahweh has established";[2] Greek: Ἰεχονίας; Latin: Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah[3] and as Jehoiachin (יְהוֹיָכִין Yəhoyāḵin [jəhoːjɔːˈxiːn]; Latin: Ioachin, Joachin), was the nineteenth and penultimate king of Judah who was dethroned by the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BCE and was taken into captivity. He was the son and successor of King Jehoiakim, and the grandson of King Josiah. Most of what is known about Jeconiah is found in the Hebrew Bible. Records of Jeconiah's existence have been found in Iraq, such as the Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets. These tablets were excavated near the Ishtar Gate in Babylon and dated to c. 592 BCE. Written in cuneiform, they mention Jeconiah (Akkadian: 𒅀𒀪𒌑𒆠𒉡, romanized: Yaʾúkinu [ia-ʾ-ú-ki-nu]) and his five sons as recipients of food rations in Babylon.[4]