Bible Strands
2 Kings 24:1
During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records historical events during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, noting Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion and Jehoiakim’s three-year period of vassalage followed by rebellion. The account functions as chronological record rather than direct speech.
The words — The term `עֶ֙בֶד` (`eved`), translated as "a subject" or "vassal," defines Jehoiakim’s forced political subordination to Babylon. This lexical choice marks a concrete shift from autonomous rule to tributary obligation.
The thread — This invasion and vassalage motif connects to Jeremiah 25:1 and Jeremiah 25:9, where the LORD summons Nebuchadnezzar as an instrument of judgment, and to Daniel 1:1, which dates the siege to the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that foreign conquest operates within recorded historical causality rather than random chance. It requires readers to trace human rebellion directly to prophetic fulfillment without softening the political consequences.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 25:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
- Daniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
- Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
- 2 Kings 17:5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
- 2 Chronicles 36:6 Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 46:2 concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah: