Begat Search

Zedekiah

Also called Mattaniah

Born 617 BC traditional (Jones)

The last king of Judah. He was the third son of Josiah, and his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, and hence he was the brother of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31; 24:17, 18).

From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897).

Father
Josiah
Mother
Hamutal
Sibling
Jehoahaz
Half-siblings
Johanan, Jehoiakim
Born at
Jerusalem
Died at
Babylon
Tagged in
52 verses

Computed from the data. Years are traditional (Jones).

Family

Two generations up and the children. Gold lines join partners; grey lines run from parent to child; a dotted line marks a parent named in the text but not by descent.

Stories

1 event in which Zedekiah takes part, in order of the traditional chronology. Years are traditional (Jones).

  1. 596 BCReign of Zedekiah2 Kgs 24:18–25:7

Places

Places named in the same verses as Zedekiah, with the number of verses they share; a larger marker means more. Locations follow OpenBible.info, which grades each identification. A dashed ring on the map marks a region, river, or mountain rather than a town.

  1. likely location: Babylon23
  2. likely location: Jerusalem12
  3. likely location: Riblah3
  4. location not graded: Egypt2
  5. likely location: Jericho2
  6. possible location: Libnah2
  7. location not graded: Ammon1
  8. location not graded: Arabah1
  9. location not graded: Edom1
  10. location not graded: Elam1
  11. likely location: Gibeon1
  12. likely location: Hamath1
  13. location not graded: Moab1
  14. likely location: Sidon1
  15. likely location: Tyre1

Timeline

The strip runs from Creation to AD 100; the shaded part, 642–557 BC, is drawn below at a larger scale around these mentions, with 3 contemporaries. Years are traditional (Jones), shown as recorded, not as settled fact.

Mentions

52 tagged verses in 4 books. Select a book to read its verses.

  1. 2 Kings5
  2. 1 Chronicles1
  3. 2 Chronicles2
  4. Jeremiah44

The name in each translation

TextOccurrences of each name
BSBZedekiah 69Mattaniah 16
KJVZedekiah 62Mattaniah 16
ASVZedekiah 63Mattaniah 16

Whole-word, case-sensitive count of the name string (regex \bName\b, so possessives like "Abraham's" count) across the whole Bible text of each translation; this counts the string, not the person, so other people who share the name are included and pronoun references are not. How Begat counts

Every verse

All 52 tagged verses, by book, in canonical order. The Berean Standard Bible is shown; switch to the King James or American Standard Version.

2 Kings5 verses
  1. 24:17

    Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

  2. 24:18

    Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.

  3. 24:20

    For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.

  4. 25:2

    And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

  5. 25:7

    And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

1 Chronicles1 verse
  1. 3:15

    The sons of Josiah: Johanan was the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second, Zedekiah the third, and Shallum the fourth.

2 Chronicles2 verses
  1. 36:10

    In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Jehoiachin and brought him to Babylon, along with the articles of value from the house of the LORD. And he made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

  2. 36:11

    Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.

Jeremiah44 verses
  1. 1:3

    and through the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

  2. 21:1

    This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,

  3. 21:3

    But Jeremiah answered, “You are to tell Zedekiah that

  4. 21:7

    ‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will not spare them or show pity or compassion.’

  5. 24:8

    But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.

  6. 27:3

    Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.

  7. 27:12

    And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!

  8. 28:1

    In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people:

  9. 29:3

    The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:

  10. 32:1

    This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

  11. 32:3

    For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying like this? You claim that the LORD says, ‘Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

  12. 32:4

    Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.

  13. 32:5

    He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will stay until I attend to him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.’”

  14. 34:2

    The LORD, the God of Israel, told Jeremiah to go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.

  15. 34:4

    Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the LORD says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;

  16. 34:6

    In Jerusalem, then, Jeremiah the prophet relayed all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah

  17. 34:8

    After King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty, the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD

  18. 34:21

    And I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon that had withdrawn from you.

  19. 37:1

    Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.

  20. 37:3

    Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”

  21. 37:17

    Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

  22. 37:18

    Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison?

  23. 37:21

    So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

  24. 38:5

    “Here he is,” replied King Zedekiah. “He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you.”

  25. 38:14

    Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.”

  26. 38:15

    “If I tell you,” Jeremiah replied, “you will surely put me to death. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

  27. 38:16

    But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of these men who are seeking your life.”

  28. 38:17

    Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.

  29. 38:19

    But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for the Chaldeans may deliver me into their hands to abuse me.”

  30. 38:24

    Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you will die.

  31. 39:1

    In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city.

  32. 39:2

    And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.

  33. 39:4

    When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and they went out along the route to the Arabah.

  34. 39:5

    But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.

  35. 39:6

    There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the nobles of Judah.

  36. 44:30

    This is what the LORD says: Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who seek his life, just as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who was seeking his life.”

  37. 49:34

    This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

  38. 51:59

    This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.

  39. 52:1

    Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.

  40. 52:3

    For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.

  41. 52:5

    And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

  42. 52:8

    but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army deserted him.

  43. 52:10

    There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the officials of Judah.

  44. 52:11

    Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon, where he kept him in custody until his dying day.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary

The full entry, public domain, as printed in 1897.

The last king of Judah. He was the third son of Josiah, and his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, and hence he was the brother of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31; 24:17, 18). His original name was Mattaniah; but when Nebuchadnezzar placed him on the throne as the successor to Jehoiachin he changed his name to Zedekiah. The prophet Jeremiah was his counsellor, yet “he did evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 24:19, 20; Jer. 52:2, 3). He ascended the throne at the age of twenty-one years. The kingdom was at that time tributary to Nebuchadnezzar; but, despite the strong remonstrances of Jeremiah and others, as well as the example of Jehoiachin, he threw off the yoke of Babylon, and entered into an alliance with Hophra, king of Egypt. This brought up Nebuchadnezzar, “with all his host” (2 King 25:1), against Jerusalem. During this siege, which lasted about eighteen months, “every worst woe befell the devoted city, which drank the cup of God’s fury to the dregs” (2 Kings 25:3; Lam. 4:4, 5, 10). The city was plundered and laid in ruins. Zedekiah and his followers, attempting to escape, were made captive and taken to Riblah. There, after seeing his own children put to death, his own eyes were put out, and, being loaded with chains, he was carried captive (B.C. 588) to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1-7; 2 Chr. 36:12; Jer. 32:4, 5; 34:2, 3; 39:1-7; 52:4-11; Ezek. 12:12), where he remained a prisoner, how long is unknown, to the day of his death.

After the fall of Jerusalem, Nebuzaraddan was sent to carry out its complete destruction. The city was razed to the ground. Only a small number of vinedressers and husbandmen were permitted to remain in the land (Jer. 52:16). Gedaliah, with a Chaldean guard stationed at Mizpah, ruled over Judah (2 Kings 25:22, 24; jer. 40:1, 2, 5, 6).