| Zedekiah | |
|---|---|
 Zedekiah from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum, 1553 | |
| King of Judah | |
| Reign | 597–586 BC |
| Predecessor | Jehoiachin |
| Successor | Monarchy abolished |
| Born | Mattaniah c. 618 BC Jerusalem, Kingdom of Judah |
| Died | After 586 BC Babylon, Neo-Babylonian Empire |
| House | House of David |
| Father | Josiah |
| Mother | Hamutal |
Zedekiah[a] (/zɛdɪˈkaɪə/) was the twentieth and final King of Judah before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu (Hebrew: מַתַּנְיָהוּ, Mattanyāhū, "Gift of God"; Greek: Μαθθανίας; Latin: Matthanias).
After the siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II deposed king Jeconiah and installed his uncle Mattanyahu instead, changing his name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17). The prophet Jeremiah was his counselor, yet he did not heed the prophet and his epitaph is "he did evil in the sight of the Lord" (2 Kings 24:19–20; Jeremiah 52:2–3).
William F. Albright dates the start of Zedekiah's reign to 598 BC, while Edwin R. Thiele gives the start in 597 BC.[1] On that reckoning, Zedekiah was born in c. 617 BC or 618 BC, being twenty-one on becoming king. Zedekiah's reign ended with the siege and fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar II, which has been dated to 587 or 586 BC.[2]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). ISBN 0-8254-3825-X, 9780825438257, 217.
- ^ Robb Andrew Young (3 May 2012). Hezekiah in History and Tradition. BRILL. p. 18. ISBN 978-90-04-21608-2.