Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 23:34

And Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there.

34. Eliakim and turned his name to Jehoiakim ] We can hardly think that this change was made by Pharaoh. He probably insisted on a change of name, but allowed the new king to suggest what it should be. So the change was made from El (God) iakim (will establish), to Jeho (i.e. Jehovah) will establish. On the custom of changing the names of subject persons and slaves, cf. the change of Joseph’s name in Egypt (Gen 41:45, also chap. 2Ki 24:17 below). To these may be added the changes mentioned in the book of Daniel (Dan 1:7).

and [R.V. but he ] took Jehoahaz away ] i.e. From Riblah, and carried him with him prisoner into Egypt, where he died. On his death see Jer 22:11-12.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

In the room of Josiah his father – Not in the room of Jehoahaz his brother; the phrase is intended to mark the fact, that Neco did not acknowedge that Jehoahaz had ever been king.

Turned his name to Jehoiakim – Compare 2Ki 23:30 and 2Ki 24:17. It seems likely, from their purely Jewish character, that the new names of the Jewish kings, though formally imposed by the suzerain, were selected by the individuals themselves. The change now made consisted merely in the substitution of y^ehovah for ‘el (God, Yahweh, will set up). Both names alike refer to the promise which God made to David 2Sa 7:12 and imply a hope that, notwithstanding the threats of the prophets, the seed of David would still be allowed to remain upon the throne.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 34. Turned his name to Jehoiakim] These names are precisely the same in signification: ELIAKIM is God shall arise; JEHOIAKIM, Jehovah shall arise; or, the resurrection of God; the resurrection of Jehovah. That is, God’s rising again to show his power, justice, c. The change of the name was to show Nechoh’s supremacy, and that Jehoiakim was only his vassal or viceroy. Proofs of this mode of changing the name, when a person of greater power put another in office under himself, may be seen in the case of Mattaniah, changed into Zedekiah Daniel, Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah, into Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; and Joseph into Zaphnath-paaneah. See Da 1:6-7; Ge 41:45.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Eliakim the son of Josiah; whom he perceived to be of a more mild and peaceable disposition.

Turned his name to Jehoiakim; because the giving of names was accounted an act and sign of dominion; which therefore parents did to their children, and conquerors to their vassals or tributaries. Compare 2Ki 24:17; Dan 1:7.

Took Jehoahaz away; partly as a punishment for him, and partly that he might give no disturbance to his brother.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father,…. Not in the room of Jehoahaz; for he did not allow him to be a king, and to have any lawful right to the throne; but, deposing him, set up his elder brother:

and turned his name to Jehoiakim; to show his subjection to him, and that he held his government by him:

and took Jehoahaz away: with him, from Jerusalem, when he departed thence:

and he came to Egypt, and died there: and never returned to Jerusalem, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer 22:11.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

From the words “Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of his father Josiah,” it follows that the king of Egypt did not acknowledge the reign of Jehoahaz, because he had been installed by the people without his consent. “And changed his name into Jehoiakim.” The alteration of the name was a sign of dependence. In ancient times princes were accustomed to give new names to the persons whom they took into their service, and masters to give new names to their slaves (cf. Gen 41:45; Ezr 5:14; Dan 1:7, and Hvernick on the last passage). – But while these names were generally borrowed from heathen deities, Eliakim, and at a later period Mattaniah (2Ki 24:17), received genuine Israelitish names, Jehoiakim, i.e., “Jehovah will set up,” and Zidkiyahu, i.e., “righteousness of Jehovah;” from which we may infer that Necho and Nebuchadnezzar did not treat the vassal kings installed by them exactly as their slaves, but allowed them to choose the new names for themselves, and simply confirmed them as a sign of their supremacy. Eliakim altered his name into Jehoiakim, i.e., El (God) into Jehovah, to set the allusion to the establishment of the kingdom, which is implied in the name, in a still more definite relation to Jehovah the covenant God, who had promised to establish the seed of David (2Sa 7:14), possibly with an intentional opposition to the humiliation with which the royal house of David was threatened by Jeremiah and other prophets. – “But Jehoahaz he had taken ( , like in 2Ki 24:12), and he came to Egypt and died there” – when, we are not told. – In 2Ki 23:35, even before the account of Jehoiakim’s reign, we have fuller particulars respecting the payment of the tribute which Necho imposed upon the land (2Ki 23:33), because it was the condition on which he was appointed king. – “The gold and silver Jehoiakim gave to Pharaoh; yet ( = but in order to raise it) he valued ( as in Lev 27:8) the land, to give the money according to Pharaoh’s command; of every one according to his valuation, he exacted the silver and gold of the population of the land, to give it to Pharaoh Necho.” , to exact tribute, is construed with a double accusative, and placed first for the sake of emphasis, as an explanatory apposition to .

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

THE REIGN OF JEHOAHAZ (31-34).

(34) Jehoahaz.Called Shallum (Jer. 22:11; 1Ch. 3:15), which may have been his name before his accession. (Comp. 2Ki. 23:34; 2Ki. 24:17.) Hitzig suggested that he was so called by Jeremiah in allusion to his brief reign, as if he were a second Shallum (2Ki. 15:13). It is against this that Shallum was not a Judean prince, but an obscure adventurer who usurped the throne of Samaria a hundred and fifty years previously, so that the allusion would not be very clear.

Hamutal.Akin to dew. (Comp. Abital, father of dew, or perhaps, the father is dew.) Tal, however, may be a divine name; the meaning then is, Tal is a kinsman. (Comp. Hamuel, El is a kinsman.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

(34) Turned his name to Jehoiakim.A slight change. Eliakim is El setteth up; Jehoiakim, Jah setteth up. Necho meant to signify that the new king was his creature. Eliakim, the elder son, may have paid court to Necho; or the Egyptian may have deposed Jehoahaz, as elected without his consent, and perhaps as likely to prove a stronger king than his brother. Necho may have fancied a resemblance between the name Yah (i.e., Jah; so it was then pronounced) and Aah, the name of the Egyptian moon-god. (See Note on 1Ch. 4:18.)

And he came to Egypt, and died there.LXX. and Vulg. as Chronicles: and he brought him to Egypt (by a slight change of the pointing in the Hebrew.) Jeremiah had foretold the fact (Jer. 22:10-12).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

34. Made Eliakim king Some suppose that Eliakim had appealed to Necho to interfere, and had urged that he himself, being the elder son of the deceased Josiah, was the only proper heir to the kingdom. It is possible, also, that Necho took offence at the popular election of Jehoahaz immediately after his father’s fall, and without consulting him as his sovereign.

Turned his name to Jehoiakim This changing the name of a captive or vassal king was to show the conqueror’s absolute authority over him. “The alteration of the name was a sign of dependence. In ancient times princes were accustomed to give new names to the persons whom they took into their service, and masters to give new names to their slaves.

Gen 41:45; Ezr 5:14; Dan 1:7. But while these names were generally borrowed from heathen deities, Eliakim, and at a later period Mattaniah, (2Ki 24:17,) received genuine Israelitish names, Jehoiakim, ‘Jehovah will set up,’ and Zedekiah, ‘Righteousness of Jehovah;’ from which we may infer that Necho and Nebuchadnezzar did not treat their vassal kings, installed by them, exactly as their slaves, but allowed them to choose the new names for themselves, and simply confirmed them as a sign of their supremacy.” Keil.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments