2 Chronicles 36:4 kjv
And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.
2 Chronicles 36:4 nkjv
Then the king of Egypt made Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.
2 Chronicles 36:4 niv
The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But Necho took Eliakim's brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.
2 Chronicles 36:4 esv
And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.
2 Chronicles 36:4 nlt
The king of Egypt then installed Eliakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, as the next king of Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. Then Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt as a prisoner.
2 Chronicles 36 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Chr 36:1-3 | Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah... Necho... removed him... | Immediate context; Jehoahaz's brief reign and Necho's intervention. |
| 2 Ki 23:30 | ...the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him... | Parallel account; People's initial choice of king. |
| 2 Ki 23:31-34 | Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign... and Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him... then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim... king. | Direct parallel and fuller details of Jehoahaz's reign, removal, and Eliakim's enthronement. |
| Jer 22:10-12 | Weep not for him who is dead, nor grieve for him; but weep bitterly for him who goes away, for he shall never return. | Prophecy about Shallum (Jehoahaz) being exiled and not returning from Egypt. |
| Ezek 19:3-4 | She brought up one of her cubs to be a young lion... but the nations laid snares for him... and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. | Prophetic lament describing Jehoahaz (the "young lion") being captured and exiled to Egypt. |
| Gen 41:45 | And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah... | Example of a dominant ruler changing a subject's name to signify authority. |
| Dan 1:7 | To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah Shadrach, Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego. | Another instance of conquerors changing captives' names as an act of subjugation. |
| 2 Ki 24:17 | And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah. | Parallel to Babylonians changing a Judean king's name as a sign of vassalage. |
| Num 13:16 | These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua. | Example of a name change marking a significant shift or divine appointment. |
| Gen 17:5 | No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. | God changing a name to signify a new covenant and identity. |
| Gen 32:28 | Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." | God changing Jacob's name to signify a new character and destiny. |
| Prov 21:1 | The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. | Divine sovereignty over the actions of earthly rulers, even foreign ones like Necho. |
| Isa 10:5-7 | Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger... | God using pagan nations (like Assyria, or later Egypt and Babylon) as instruments of His judgment. |
| Hab 1:6 | For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth. | God actively raising up conquering nations to execute His will, though they are unaware. |
| Jer 25:9 | behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant. | Nebuchadnezzar (a pagan king) referred to as God's servant, demonstrating God's ultimate control. |
| Rom 13:1 | Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. | All governmental authority ultimately comes from God, even if exercised by a pagan king over His people. |
| Ezra 5:14 | And also the gold and silver vessels of the house of God... Nebuchadnezzar took... and brought them into the temple of Babylon. | Foreshadowing the plundering of Jerusalem by foreign powers due to its sin. |
| 2 Chr 36:15-16 | The LORD... sent persistently to them by his messengers... but they kept mocking the messengers of God... | Context of Judah's rebellion leading to divine judgment, expressed through foreign conquest. |
| Lev 26:33 | And I will scatter you among the nations... and your land shall be a desolation... | Prophecy of exile and scattering, ultimately fulfilled by such actions of foreign powers. |
| Deut 28:36 | The LORD will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. | Prophecy of exile for kings and people for disobedience. |
| Jer 46:2 | About Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho... defeated at Carchemish. | Historical background of Necho's broader campaign and eventual defeat by Babylon. |
| Zeph 1:1 | ...the word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah... in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. | Prophetic warnings contemporary with this era, predicting judgment upon Judah. |
2 Chronicles 36 verses
2 Chronicles 36 4 Meaning
Pharaoh Necho of Egypt, having recently asserted his authority in the region, removed the reigning King Jehoahaz from Judah's throne. In a powerful demonstration of his suzerainty, Necho appointed Jehoahaz's brother, Eliakim, as the new king over Judah and Jerusalem. As a clear symbol of Eliakim's submission and Necho's dominion, the Egyptian king changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. Subsequently, Necho took the deposed King Jehoahaz captive and transported him to Egypt, where he died.
2 Chronicles 36 4 Context
2 Chronicles 36 opens with the tragic end of Josiah's reign and Judah's swift decline into foreign domination, first under Egypt, then Babylon, culminating in the Babylonian exile. Josiah, a righteous king, was killed at Megiddo by Pharaoh Necho II (609 BC) when he attempted to prevent Necho from crossing through Judah to aid the Assyrians against the Babylonians. Following Josiah's death, the people chose his son Jehoahaz (also called Shallum) as king. However, Jehoahaz reigned only three months before Necho, who had asserted regional control after his campaign, deposed him. This verse, 2 Chronicles 36:4, marks the immediate consequence: Necho replaces the people's choice with his own, fundamentally changing the dynamics of Judah's sovereignty and setting it on an irreversible path toward foreign rule and the eventual destruction of Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 36 4 Word analysis
- Then: This temporal conjunction emphasizes the immediate consequence of the previous verse, which describes Pharaoh Necho's removal of Jehoahaz. It links the foreign subjugation directly to Josiah's death and Jehoahaz's brief, ill-fated reign.
- the king of Egypt: Identifies Pharaoh Necho II (Hebrew: פַּרְעֹה נְכֹה, Par'oh Nekhoh), a formidable geopolitical power at the time. His presence in Judah indicates Egyptian dominance in the Levant following the Battle of Megiddo. His actions highlight the precarious political position of Judah between rising empires.
- made Eliakim his brother king: "Made... king" signifies Necho's ultimate authority over the Judean throne, overriding the customary succession and the people's earlier choice. Eliakim (Hebrew: אֶלְיָקִים, 'Elyaqim), meaning "God raises up" or "My God will raise," was Jehoahaz's older half-brother, both sons of Josiah. Necho's choice demonstrates a political calculation to install a compliant ruler.
- over Judah and Jerusalem: Specifies the extent of Jehoiakim's imposed rule. It confirms that Judah, though retaining its local government, was effectively reduced to a vassal state, entirely subject to Egyptian policy and demands.
- and changed his name to Jehoiakim: This is a profound symbolic and political act. Renaming was a common ancient Near Eastern practice by a dominant ruler over a vassal, indicating ownership, subjugation, and a change in allegiance. Eliakim's name (God raises up) was changed to Jehoiakim (Hebrew: יְהוֹיָקִים, Yehoyaqim), meaning "Yahweh raises up" or "Yahweh establishes." This ironic change incorporates the Divine Name of Israel's God, perhaps to provide a veneer of local legitimacy or simply to fit into standard renaming patterns of the time, oblivious to its theological weight, given that it was a pagan king performing the action and the new king proved wicked.
- And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother: This directly follows the installation of the new king. Necho asserts absolute control by removing the former ruler physically. Jehoahaz (Hebrew: יְהוֹאָחָז, Yeho'akhaz), meaning "Yahweh has grasped," underscores the divine irony; he was "grasped" not by Yahweh's protection but by an enemy for judgment.
- and brought him to Egypt: This signifies the complete and irreversible end of Jehoahaz's brief reign and personal freedom. It fulfills earlier prophecies of Judah's kings being led into captivity and highlights the deep humiliation and political demise of the kingdom.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- "Then the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem": This phrase encapsulates the unilateral imposition of foreign sovereignty. It demonstrates that Judah's political destiny was no longer in its own hands, nor truly in God's eyes regarding the people's faithfulness, but subject to the dictates of a conquering power. The sequence is pivotal: first the deposition, then the arbitrary installation of a puppet ruler, effectively reducing Judah to an Egyptian protectorate.
- "and changed his name to Jehoiakim": This specific action speaks volumes about the loss of sovereignty. It was a potent declaration of mastery and dependency, signaling Eliakim's new identity and loyalty, not to his people or his God (Yahweh), but to Pharaoh Necho. The retained 'Yahweh' element in the name underscores the pagan ruler's lack of theological understanding or deliberate use of local nomenclature to integrate his power grab, contrasted with the fact that the 'raised up' king would be deeply unfaithful to Yahweh.
- "And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt": This part concludes the tragic episode for Jehoahaz, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of Necho's victory. The forced deportation to Egypt seals the fate of the deposed king and reinforces the subjugated status of Judah. It serves as a stark visual of divine judgment at work through the hands of foreign rulers.
2 Chronicles 36 4 Bonus section
- Pharaoh Necho's motivation for installing Eliakim/Jehoiakim might have been his pro-Assyrian policy, seeing that Jehoahaz was reportedly anti-Egyptian and likely inclined towards Babylon, which was the rising power. Installing a pliant ruler served Egyptian strategic interests.
- The fact that Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years after being appointed by Necho (2 Chr 36:5) indicates his relatively stable vassalage under Egypt initially, before the regional power dynamics shifted with the rise of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar's subsequent dominance (c. 605 BC).
- The swift succession of kings and their short, troubled reigns in 2 Chronicles 36 underscore the rapid decline of Judah and the accelerating pace of God's judgment against the unrepentant nation, just before the full outpouring of His wrath in the Babylonian exile.
2 Chronicles 36 4 Commentary
2 Chronicles 36:4 concisely summarizes a critical turning point in Judah's history: its transition from self-governance to an Egyptian vassal state, initiated by Pharaoh Necho. Necho's actions—deposing a popular king, unilaterally appointing a successor from the royal line, and ceremonially changing his name—were classic demonstrations of suzerainty in the ancient Near East. The name change to "Jehoiakim" was not incidental but a profound assertion of Necho's authority and a constant reminder of Eliakim's subjugation. The irony that Jehoiakim, whose name implies "Yahweh establishes," was set up by a pagan king and would prove to be one of Judah's most faithless monarchs, highlights the nation's spiritual apostasy and impending judgment. This verse encapsulates Judah's diminishing political independence, laying the groundwork for further foreign dominance by Babylon, which would eventually lead to the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the people. It demonstrates the direct consequence of persistent national sin and rejection of God's ways, leading to external control and captivity.