Bible Strands
2 Kings 25:18
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Babylonian captain of the guard seizes Jerusalem’s top religious and civic officials immediately after the temple pillars are destroyed and the city falls. The words — וַ/יִּקַּ֣ח (va/i.yi.Kach) = "and he took" and כֹּהֵן הָ/רֹאשׁ (ko.Hen ha./Rosh) = "priest of the head" or chief priest. The thread — This Seraiah is identified in 1 Chronicles 6:14 and Ezra 7:1 as an ancestor in the exiled priestly line. The captain of the guard continues his systematic removal of remaining officials in 2 Kings 25:19. Why it lands — It documents the concrete removal of religious leadership during national collapse, requiring the reader to confront the end of the Jerusalem priesthood without spiritualizing the historical record.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 6:14 Azariah was the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak.
- Ezra 7:1 Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
- Jeremiah 21:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,
- Jeremiah 29:25 this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:
- Jeremiah 29:29 (Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.)
- Jeremiah 52:24 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- 2 Kings 25:24 And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, assuring them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”