Poetic and Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament
RELG 301
Module 11 Notes - The Last Kings of Judah
The Political/Military Scene
The Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians ca.722 BC, but Judah, with its capital of Jerusalem, survived a siege by Sennacherib of Assyria ca.701 BC.
Assyria in its turn fell to the Babylonians ca. 612 BC, and Babylon set out to conquer the world. The other great military power at that time was Egypt - probably past its prime, but still a formidable enemy. Judah was situated on the land bridge between the two opposing powers - to get at one another they would have to go through Judah. Judah was far smaller than the kingdom it had once been. It was now a tiny vassal-state, shuttled between Egypt and Assyria/Babylonia. Successive Assyrian, Babylonian, and Egyptian forces had plundered the land, and their kings had levied tribute. People fled from the encroaching armies, and when they took refuge in neighboring countries they were sometimes taken prisoner and sold as slaves - sometimes even to the Assyrians or Babylonians.
The Last Kings of Judah
Hezekiah, the king who was helped by the prophet Isaiah, and who withstood the Assyrian siege, was followed on the throne by his son Manasseh (ca.697-687 BC co-regency, ca.687-643 BC sole reign), who became King when he was twelve years old, and reigned for 55 years - the longest reign of any King of Judah. Manasseh reverted to worship of the Canaanite deities, sacrificing his sons, and filling the Temple with altars and statues of the Canaanite gods. (2 Kings 21:1-9, 2 Chron.33:1-10).
Manasseh killed God's prophets (Jer.2:30), and there is a tradition the he killed the prophet Isaiah by having him sawn in half.
True to form, the Assyrians invaded again after they had settled the revolts which occurred after the assassination of Sennacherib (ca.681 BC). Manassah was captured and taken as a prisoner to Assyria. According to the Bible, Manasseh repented and prayed to God, and was allowed to return to Jerusalem (2 Chron.33:11-13). Assyrian records list Manassseh as being a vassal during the reigns of Sennacherib's son Esarhaddon (ca.681 BC-669 BC), and grandson Ashurbanipal (ca.669 BC-631 BC).
Manasseh's son Amon (ca.642-640 BC) was 22 when he came to the throne, and only reigned for 2 years before he was assassinated (2 Kings 21:18-19, 23; 2 Chron.33:20-22). He continued the policies of his father, so conditions did not change during his reign
Amon's son Josiah (ca.640-609 BC) was an 8-year-old child when he was made King, and he reigned for 39 years (2 Kings 22:1-2, 2 Chron.34:1-3). He reversed the policies of his father and grandfather, and restored the worship of God in the Temple. During restoration of the Temple the priests found the Book of the Law. When this was brought to Josiah and read to him, he realized how far Judah had fallen from God's standards. The prophetess Huldah announced that judgment would indeed fall upon Judah, but it would be in the time of Josiah's sons. Josiah himself would be spared because he had sought God (2 Kings 22:12-20, 2 Chron.20-28). Josiah carried out a thorough reform and rebuilding of worship in Jerusalem, cleaning and repairing the Temple (2 Kings 23:1-27, 2 Chron.34:29-33)
Jeremiah and Zephaniah were called to be prophets during the reign of Josiah (Jer.1:2, Zeph.1:1). It would seem that Zephaniah was called during the early part of Josiah's reign, before the reform and restoration of worship (Zeph. 1:4-6)
Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt (610-595 BC) wished to make trouble for Babylon, so he and the Assyrians joined in a pact against Babylon. Pharaoh Necho took his army northwards into Palestine in an attempt to attack Babylon.
Josiah, as a vassal of Babylon, was sent to oppose the Egyptian forces. They met in battle at Megiddo, and Josiah was killed (2 Kings 23:29-29, 2 Chron.20-24). When the body of Josiah was brought back to Jerusalem the prophet Jeremiah led a lament for him (2 Chron.35:25).
Josiah had four sons, Johanan, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and Shallum (1 Chron.3:15). Johanan may have died young - he is not mentioned again. Jehoiakim was originally called Eliakim, but his name was changed by Pharaoh Necho. Zedekiah was the youngest son, and was originally called Mattaniah, but his name was changed by Nebuchadnezzer. Shallum was also known as Jehoahaz, and although he was not the oldest son, he was the one chosen by the people of Judah to be king after Josiah's death.
Josiah's son Jehoahaz (ca. 609 BC) was proclaimed King in Jerusalem, but he only reigned for three months before Pharaoh Necho captured him and carried him off to Egypt as a prisoner, where he died (2 Kings 23:30-34, 2 Chron.36:1-2).
Ezekiel referred to this in a lament for the Princes of Judah (Ezekiel 19:1-4). Jeremiah also lamented and prophesied that Shallum (Jehoahaz) would never return to Judah (Jer.22:11-12)
Pharaoh Necho not only deposed Jehoahaz and took him as a captive, and exacted a heavy tribute from the land (2 Kings 23:34-35, 2 Chron.36:3-5) but he also chose the next king of Judah. He chose another of Josiah's sons, the 25-year-old Eliakim, to be the next King of Judah. To show his power Pharaoh Necho changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. Necho's triumph was short-lived - the Babylonians retaliated and drove the Pharaoh and the remnants of his army back to Egypt. This was the subject of a prophecy by Jeremiah (Jer.46:2-26)
Jehoiakim (609-598 BC) was 25 when he came to the throne, and he reigned for eleven years (2 Kings 23:36). He gave up his allegiance to Egypt, and became a vassal of Babylon, and served the Babylonians for three years. Then he decided to rebel, but the Egyptians had been so decisively beaten by Babylon that they did not join the alliance against Babylon (2 Kings 24:7). The record in 2 Kings merely states that Jehoiakim died (2 Kings 24:6). 2 Chron.36:6-7) explains that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, and took Jehoiakim in chains to Babylon, along with a heavy tribute. At this time, Nebuchadnezzar also deported some of the nobles of Judah, including the young man Daniel and his friends (Dan.1:1-6)
Jehoiakim repeatedly scorned God, and refused to hear His messages. Jeremiah prophesied the death of Jehoiakim (Jer.22:18-19), and prophesied throughout his reign (Jer.1:3, Jer. 25:1-14; 26:1-24; 27:1; 35:1; 36:1). Jeremiah not only preached his messages, he also wrote them and had his assistant Baruch publish them (Jer.36:1-19). Jehoiakim cut the letter in pieces and burned them, then tried to have Jeremiah killed (Jer.36:20-32). Jeremiah survived the animosity of the King, but another prophet, Urijah, was executed on Jehoiakim's orders. (Jer.26:20-23).
Jehoiakim was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin, who was also known as Jeconiah or Coniah
Jehoiachin (ca.598 BC) was 18 years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for 3 months before being taken as a captive to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-16, 2 Chron.36:9-10). He remained in prison in Babylon for 37 years, until the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562 BC. Nebuchadnezzar's son, Evil Merodach, released Jehoiachin from prison, but still kept him in Babylon, with a position at court and a ration of food allocated to him (2 Kings 25:27-30). Archaeologists have found and deciphered clay tablets from the Babylonian archives that describe the rations allocated to Jehoiachin and five of his sons.
Neither Jehoiachin nor his sons ever returned to Jerusalem, so he was regarded as being childless (Jer.22:24-30). However, his descendant Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, did lead a group of exiles back to Jerusalem after the Persian conquest of Babylon (Ezra 1:2; 3:2)
Zedekiah (597-586 BC) was 21 when he was made king, and he reigned for 11 disastrous years (2 Chron.36. , Jer.52:1-2). Nebuchadnezzar had made him swear allegiance, invoking God in his oath (2 Chron.36:13,) but he broke that oath and so brought the wrath of Babylon upon Judah.
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem. When the city finally fell, Nebuchadnezzar killed Zedekiah's sons in front of him, then blinded him and took him in chains to Babylon (2 Kings 24:6-7, 2 Chron.36:17-21, Jer. 52:4-11, Ezek.12:10-13)
Timeline
Dates are approximate. The Jewish and Babylonian calendars differed in the date for the start of the year; they are also different from the calendar presently in use. The regnal years of Jewish Kings might, or might not, include a period of co-regency with the previous king. The difference is usually not more than one or two years, except for the date of the Return from Exile
732 BC Assyrians started marauding and invading the Northern Kingdom of Israel, carrying captives away into Assyria
722 BC Fall of Samaria to Shalmaneser V of Assyria, followed by the death of Shalmaneser V and the accession of Sargon II
716/715 BC Hezekiah of Jerusalem started his reign, which lasted until 687/686 BC
701 BC Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah and beseiged Jerusalem but did not take the city, in the 14th year of Hezekiah, King of Judah
687 BC Death of Hezekiah, King of Judah. He was succeeded by his son Manasseh
687 BC Manasseh became King of Judah
681 BC Sennacherib II of Assyria was assassinated by two of his sons
681 BC Esar-Haddon succeeded his father Sennacherib as King of Assyria
673 BC Esar-Haddon of Assyria attempted to invade Egypt, but was defeated and driven off
671 BC Esar-Haddon of Assyria invaded and conquered Egypt. Egypt became part of the Assyrian Empire for a short time
669 BC Esar-Haddon of Assyria died. He had arranged for two of his sons to inherit: Ashurbanipal became King of Assyria, and Shamash-shum-ukin became King of Babylonia
642 BC Ammon became King of Judah, and reigned until he was assassinated in 640 BC
640 BC Josiah became King of Judah, and reigned until his death in 609 BC. The prophet Zephaniah was active during the reign of Josiah
626 BC Probable date for the call of Jeremiah as a prophet
621 BC Probable date for the start of Josiah's reforms
615 BC Possible date for the prophecies of Nahum
612 BC Possible date for the prophecies of Habakkuk
612 BC Fall of Assyria to the Babylonians
609 BC Battle of Megiddo between Pharaoh Necho of Egypt and Josiah of Jerusalem. Josiah was killed. Pharaoh Necho continued to march northwards to attack Babylon
605 BC Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon began his reign, and reigned until 562 BC
605 BC Battle of Carchemish - Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho and invaded Judah
605 BC First deportation of prisoners from Judah to Babylon. Hostages included Daniel and his friends
601 BC Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt but the Egyptians drove him off. Jehoiakim of Judah stopped paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar prepared to retaliate
598 BC Death of Jehoiakim of Judah. Accession of his son Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Coniah) as King of Judah
598 BC Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem for three months
597 BC Second deportation of prisoners from Judah to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin and thousands of Jews, including Ezekiel, as prisoners to Babylon
597 BC Nebuchadnezzar made Mattaniah, youngest son of Josiah, King of Judah, and changed his name to Zedekiah
594 BC Zedekiah called the Kings of Ammon, Edom, Moab, Sidon, and Tyre to join him in rebellion against Babylon
588 BC Zedekiah refused to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and broke his oath of allegiance. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem
586 BC Fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah was taken as a prisoner to Babylon. Third deportation of prisoners from Judah to Babylon. Gedaliah was appointed by the Babylonians as an administrator for Judah. Jeremiah was allowed to stay in Judah
583 BC Gedaliah, governor of Judah, was assassinated by a prince of the Jewish royal family, who then fled to the Ammonites
562 BC Death of Nebuchadnezzer II of Babylon, and accession of his son Evil-Merodach as King of Babylon
562 BC Jehoiachin was released from prison in Babylon, but he was kept in Babylon and did not return to Jerusalem
560 BC Evil-Merodach was deposed and murdered by his brother-in-law Neriglissar, who then claimed the throne of Babylon
539 BC Fall of Babylon to the Achaemenid Empire of Persia
538 BC Edict of Cyrus, allowing Babylonian captives to return to their homelands. Return of Jewish exiles to Jerusalem
537 BC Possible date for the start of the building of the Second Temple
521 BC - 516 BC Possible dates for the building of the Second Temple
457 BC Possible date for the return of Exiles led by Ezra to Jerusalem from Babylonia
444 BC Possible date for the return of Exiles led by Nehemiah to Jerusalem from Babylon. Start of the rebuilding of Jerusalem
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