Bible Strands
Jeremiah 26:1
At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text dates the oracle to the start of Jehoiakim’s reign over Judah, identifying him as Josiah’s son and king. A divine message arrives, establishing the historical moment for the subsequent prophetic commission.
The words — The phrase בְּרֵאשִׁית מַמְלְכֻת (be.reShit mam.leKhut) literally renders "at the beginning of the reign." הָיָה (ha.Yah) functions here as "it came," marking the divine utterance’s arrival.
The thread — This regnal dating formula appears again in Jeremiah 27:1, where a nearly identical chronological marker introduces a new prophetic word. It also aligns with the historical records in 2 Kings 23:34 and 2 Chronicles 36:4 regarding Jehoiakim’s accession.
Why it lands — The verse anchors prophecy in concrete history, requiring readers to verify the messenger’s words against the specific political and religious conditions of that exact reign. It demands attention to how divine speech operates within recorded human timelines rather than in abstraction.
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
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying,
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 36:4 Then Neco king of Egypt made Eliakim brother of Jehoahaz king over Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.
- Jeremiah 27:1 At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.
- 2 Kings 23:34 Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died.
- Jeremiah 1:3 and through the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
- 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.
- Jeremiah 35:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
- Jeremiah 36:1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: