2 Kings 24:1

Judah Overrun by Enemies

1 In ^ahis days Nebuchadnezzar king of ^bBabylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 ^aAnd the Lord sent against him raiding¹ bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^baccording to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets.

3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight ^abecause of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,

4 ^aand also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon.

5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

6 ^aSo Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

7 And ^athe king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for ^bthe king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin

8 ^aJehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

9 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

10 ^aAt that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city¹ was besieged.

11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it.

12 ^aThen Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, ^bin the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.

The Captivity of Jerusalem

13 ^aAnd he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he ^bcut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, ^cas the Lord had said.

14 Also ^ahe carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ^bten thousand captives, and ^call the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except ^dthe poorest people of the land.

15 And ^ahe carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 ^aAll the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

17 Then ^athe king of Babylon made Mattaniah, ^bJehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and ^cchanged his name to Zedekiah.

18 ^aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does 2 Kings 24:1 Mean?

Who Are the Chaldeans?

The country of Chaldea was an ancient land in southern Babylonia, on the Persian Gulf near the delta of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In biblical times the name was applied to all of Babylonia. As far as can be traced, the Chaldeans themselves descend from Shem's son, Arphaxad, who is also an ancestor of Abraham and Israel.

Chaldeans are associated with Babylon and the city of Ur because they settled near Babylon and in Shinar. In fact, the most powerful Babylonian dynasty (Neo-Babylonia, c. 625-539 BC) was Chaldean, as was its most powerful and most famous king, Nebuchadnezzar (reigned c. 604-561 BC, see II Kings 24:1—25:21; II Chronicles 36:5-21; Jeremiah 39:1-14; Daniel 1:1—4:37). However, some Chaldeans settled farther north, around Lake Van—about halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Caspian Sea. There they came to be called "Chaldians" and, more often, the people of Van. (Haran, the ancestor of Lot, Abraham's nephew, also settled in northern Mesopotamia, south of Lake Van.)

History records that some of the "Chaldians" were driven northward out of the Near East by the Assyrians and Medes prior to 610 BC (An Encyclopaedia of World History, by William L. Langer, p. 38). From the shores of the Black Sea, they turned to southeastern Europe, then after a time headed west into the Roman Empire. They settled in northern Italy, southeastern France, and parts of Spain and northern Africa.

The ancient Chaldeans of Babylonia were also sent into exile to Syria in the Greek period of rule over Babylon. Many peoples calling themselves Chaldeans still live in Syria and the surrounding regions. During the time of the Roman Empire, Latin Romans often bought these people as slaves for their European villas, and afterward, their descendants were freed and settled nearby. Thus, wherever the Chaldeans are mentioned in Bible prophecy, the reference is primarily to these people in central and southwestern Europe.

Additional Reading:
Imagining The Garden of Eden (Part Five)
Abraham (Part One)
The Book of Daniel (Part Two)

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