Bible Strands
2 Kings 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The biblical narrator records the royal succession immediately after the Babylonian king installs Mattaniah as Zedekiah. This account functions as a formal regnal summary for a Judean monarch.
The words — צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּ (tzid.ki.Ya.hu) denotes the name Zedekiah, and עֶשְׂרִ֨ים ('es.Rim) translates literally to twenty, marking his age at accession.
The thread — This regnal formula appears identically in Jeremiah 52:1 and 2 Chronicles 36:11, while a parallel structure appears in 2 Kings 23:31.
Why it lands — The text supplies the precise age, reign length, and maternal lineage of a king before detailing his moral failure. It requires the reader to treat historical succession as the necessary context for evaluating royal obedience.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 23:31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
- Jeremiah 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.
- 2 Chronicles 36:11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.
- Jeremiah 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.