Bible Dictionaries
Jehoiachin

Holman Bible Dictionary

(jih hoy' uh kin) Personal name meaning, “Yahweh establishes.” In 2 Kings 24:6 , the son and successor of Jehoiakim as king of Judah. He was eighteen years old when he came to the throne late in 598 B.C., and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem before being taken into captivity by Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. The prominence in the account of his reign of his mother Nehushta suggests that she may have wielded considerable influence during the time that her son was in office. Jehoiachin evidently was a throne name taken at the time of accession to the kingship. Jehoiachin's original name seems to have been Jeconiah or Coniah. He retained the title “king of Judah” even in Exile, but he never returned to Judah to exercise rule there. Nevertheless, he was ultimately released from prison by Evil-merodach of Babylon and accorded some honor in the land of his captivity (2 Kings 25:27-30 ). See Israel; Chronology of the Biblical Period .