And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth [day] of the month, [that] Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
27 30. Jehoiachin king of Judah kindly treated by Evil-merodach king of Babylon (Jer 52:31-34)
27. the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin ] Thus twenty-six years had elapsed since Jerusalem was overthrown.
on the seven and twentieth day of the month ] In Jeremiah it is put down as the five-and-twentieth. That the year, month and day are so carefully noted (for the variation is easily understood) shews that the captive Jews regarded the act of Evil-merodach as a gleam of hope for all the nation.
Evil-merodach king of Babylon ] He was the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar. Coming to the throne b.c. 561, he ruled for two years till b.c. 559, and then was murdered by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar, who thus made himself king of Babylon.
did lift up the head of Jehoiachin ] For the expression, signifying ‘to shew favour to’, compare Gen 40:13; Gen 40:20, where Pharaoh in a similar manner is said to have ‘lifted up the head’ of his chief butler, when he released him from prison and restored him to his post.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The captivity of Jehoiachin commenced in the year 597 B.C. – the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar. It terminated 561 B.C. – the first year of Evil-merodach, the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar. He reigned only two years, being murdered by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar, or Nergal-shar-ezer. He is said to have provoked his fate by lawless government and intemperance.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ki 25:27-30
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin.
Jehoiachin as a victim of tyrannic despotism and as an object of delivering mercy
The incident here recorded presents Jehoiachin–
I. As a victim of tyrannic despotism. He had been in prison for thirty-seven years and was fifty-five years of age. It was Nebuchadnezzar, the tyrannic King of Babylon, who stripped this man of liberty and freedom, and shut him up in a dungeon for this very long period of time. Such despotism has prevailed in all ages and lands. To the eternal dishonour of England, it has existed here for centuries, and is rampant even now. Look at this man–
II. As an object of delivering mercy. We are told that as soon as Evil-Morodach came to the throne on the death of his father Nebuchadnezzar, mercy stirred his heart and he relieved this poor victim of tyranny. Corrupt as this world is, the element of mercy is not entirely extinct. This mercy gave honour and liberty to the men who had been so long in confinement and disgrace. Let not the victims of tyranny–and they abound everywhere–despair. Mercy will ere long sound the trump of jubilee over all the land. The spirit of the Lord, said the great Redeemer of the race, is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 27. And it came to pass] Nebuchadnezzar was just now dead; and Evil-merodach, his son, succeeded to the kingdom in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin: and on the seven and twentieth day [Jeremiah says five and twentieth] of the twelfth month of that year, (Tuesday, April 15, A.M. 3442,) he brought the long captivated Jewish king out of prison; treated him kindly; and ever after, during his life, reckoned him among the king’s friends. This is particularly related in the four last verses of the book of Jeremiah.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
On the seven and twentieth day; or, on the twenty-fifth day, as it is Jer 52:31; for then the decree was made, which was executed upon the twenty-seventh day.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. seven and thirtieth year of thecaptivity of Jehoiachincorresponding with the year ofNebuchadnezzar’s death, and his son Evil-merodach’s ascension to thethrone.
Evil-merodach . . . did liftup the head of Jehoiachin . . . and spake kindlygave himliberty upon parole. This kindly feeling is said to have originatedin a familiar acquaintance formed in prison, in which Evil-merodachhad lain till his father’s death, on account of some malversationwhile acting as regent during Nebuchadnezzar’s seven years’ illness(Dan 4:32; Dan 4:33).But doubtless the improvement in Zedekiah’s condition is to be tracedto the overruling providence and grace of Him who still cherishedpurposes of love to the house of David (2Sa 7:14;2Sa 7:15).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ver. 27-30. And it came to pass in the thirty and seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah,…. Who must then be fifty five years of age:
in the twelfth month, on the twenty and seventh day of the month; in
Jer 52:31 it is said to be the twenty fifth day; of the reason of which difference, [See comments on Jer 52:31]:
that Evilmerodach king of Babylon; who is supposed, by some z”, to be the same with Belshazzar, and his successor Neriglissar, the same with Darius the Mede in Daniel. From hence, to the end of the chapter, the same account is given of the kindness of this king to Jehoiachin, as in Jer 52:31.
[See comments on Jer 52:31],
[See comments on Jer 52:32],
[See comments on Jer 52:33],
[See comments on Jer 52:34].
Metasthenes a calls him Amilinus Evilmerodach, and says he reigned thirty years, and makes Belshazzar, or Baltassar, as he calls him, his third son.
z Vid. Lampe, Eccles. Hist. l. 1. c. 7. sect. 18. a Ut supra. (De Judicio Temp. & Annal. Pers. fol. 221. 2.)
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jehoiachin delivered from prison, and exalted to royal honours (cf. Jer. 42:31-34). – In the thirty-seventh year after his deportation Jehoiachin was taken out of prison by Evil-merodach when he came to the throne. , in the year of his becoming king, probably immediately after he had ascended the throne, for it was no doubt an act of grace at the commencement of his reign. , to lift up a persons’ head, i.e., to release him from prison and exalt him to civil honours and dignities (cf. Gen 40:13). On the coincidence of the thirty-seventh year of Jehoiachin’s imprisonment and the commencement of the reign of Evil-merodach see the remarks at 2Ki 24:12. Instead of the 27th day of the month, the 25th is given in Jeremiah, again through the substitution of similar numeral letters (see at 2Ki 25:8). Evil-merodach: , or (lxx); , possibly a copyist’s error for , in the Can. Ptol., and in other forms also: see M. v. Nieb. Gesch. Ass. p. 42, and Ges. thes. p. 41; compounded from the name of the Babylonian god Merodach (see at 2Ki 20:12) and the prefix Evil, which has not yet been explained with certainty. He reigned two years, according to Berosus in Jos. c. Ap. i. 20, and the Can Ptol.; and according to the verdict of Berosus, ; and was murdered by his brother-in-law Neriglissor. The statement in Jos. Ant. x. 11, 2, to the effect that he reigned eighteen years, and that of Alex. Polyh. in Euseb. Chr. arm. i. p. 45, that he reigned twelve years, are evidently false.
2Ki 25:28 “He spake kindly to him (cf. Jer 12:6), and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babel.” This is not to be understood literally, as signifying that he assigned him a loftier throne than the other kings (Hitzig, Thenius), but figuratively: loco honestiore eum habuit (Ros.). The “kings with him” were dethroned kings, who were kept at the court like Jehoiachin to add to its splendour, just as Cyrus kept the conquered Croesus by his side (Herod. i. 88).
2Ki 25:29-30 “And he (Jehoiachin) changed his prison garments,” i.e., took them off and put other regal clothing on (cf. Gen 41:42). “And ate continually before him all his life,” i.e., ate at the king’s table (cf. 2Sa 9:7). Moreover a daily ration of food was supplied to him by the king for the maintenance of his retainers, who formed his little court. The of 2Ki 25:30, upon which Thenius throws suspicion without any reason, refers to Jehoiachin like that in 2Ki 25:29; for the historian intended to show how Jehoiachin had fared from the day of his elevation to the end of his life. At the same time, we cannot infer from this with any certainty that Jehoiachin died before Evil-merodach; for the favour shown to him might be continued by Evil-merodach’s successor. We cannot make any safe conjecture as to the motives which induced Evil-merodach to pardon Jehoiachin and confer this distinction upon him. The higher ground of this joyful termination of his imprisonment lay in the gracious decree of God, that the seed of David, though severely chastised for its apostasy from the Lord, should not be utterly rejected (2Sa 7:14-15). At the same time, this event was also intended as a comforting sign to the whole of the captive people, that the Lord would one day put an end to their banishment, if they would acknowledge that it was a well-merited punishment for this sins that they had been driven away from before His face, and would turn again to the Lord their God with all their heart.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
C. THE RELEASE OF KING JEHOIACHIN 25:2730
TRANSLATION
(27) And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon in his accession year lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from the prison. (28) And he spoke kindly with him, and he put his throne above the kings which were with him in Babylon. (29) And he changed his prison garments, and did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. (30) And his allowance was a continual allowance given him by the king day by day all the days of his life.
COMMENTS
The Book of Kings closes with an account of the release of King Jehoiachin who had been taken to Babylon in 597 B.C. Until the end of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Judah was kept in prison. But when the Great King died in 562 B.C. his son Evil-Merodach[702] (stupid one of Marduk) lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, i.e., restored him to royal favor, and ordered him released from prison. According to the precise chronological information recorded here, this encouraging development occurred on the twenty-seventh day[703] of the twelfth month in the thirty-seventh year of Jehoiachins captivity (2Ki. 25:27). It may be that Daniel and the other highly esteemed Jews at the Babylonian court used their influence to secure the release of the imprisoned king. This might also account for the favor bestowed upon Jehoiachin when his throne was placed above the thrones of the other captive kings in Babylon. The presence of these kings each on a throne of honor was thought to enhance the dignity of Evil-Merodach (2Ki. 25:28). The Babylonian king supplied suitable garments to the released monarch and invited him to dine daily at his royal table. Jehoiachin enjoyed this dignity until the day of his death (2Ki. 25:29). In addition, Jehoiachin received a daily allowance[704] of all that he needed for himself and his family, besides the food which he enjoyed at the royal table (2Ki. 25:30). The release and subsequent elevation of Jehoiachin no doubt bolstered the morale of the Jewish captives and made them ever more confident that one day God would fulfill His promise to put an end to their banishment and restore them to their native land.
[702] Evil-Merodach is a parody on the actual name of this king which was Amel-Marduk (man of Marduk).
[703] Jer. 52:31 reads twenty-fifth day. Perhaps Jeremiah refers to the day the official decree was signed which laid the legal foundation for the release; the other account, the actual day that King Jehoiachin left the prison.
[704] Contemporary economic documents discovered in Nebuchadnezzars palace contain lists of the daily rations of food given to the royal prisoners from various lands. Jehoiachin and his five sons are mentioned in these texts. In comparison to the quantity of rations given to other prisoners, Jehoiachin and his sons faired very well indeed.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF JUDAH [705]
[705] Based on information contained in Finegan, HBC.
609587 B.C.
YEAR
MONTH/DAY
REFERENCE
EVENT
609
June ?
2Ki. 23:29-30 2Ch. 35:20-24
Josiah killed at Megiddo
609
June-August ?
Reign of Jehoahaz
609
August ?
Jehoiakim became king. His first official year began in October 609.
605
May/June
Jer. 25:1; Jer. 46:2 DOTT, p. 79
Battle of Carchcmish -fourth year of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar smashed army of Pharaoh Necho.
605
August 15
DOTT, p. 79
Nabopolassar died in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar returned home to be crowned king. He ascended the throne on September 7.
604
May/June
DOTT, p.,79 Dan. 1:1; 2Ki. 24:1
Jehoiakim submitted to Nebuchadnezzar. The first deportation to Babylon.
At this point Jehoiakim seems to have adopted the Babylonian method of counting regnal years from the spring. Presumably Jehoiakirn’s fifth year was extended to the following spring, i.e., the spring of 603 B.C. The key to the chronology of Judah during this period is Jer. 25:1 which equates Jehoiakim year 4 with Nebuchadnezzar’s accession year.
YEAR
MONTH/DAY
REFERENCE
EVENT
601
ANET, p. 564 2Ki. 24:1
Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians; Jehoiakim rebelled after serving Nebuchadnezzar three years604601 B.C.
598
Dec. 9
2Ch. 36:6
2Ki. 24:6
Jehoiakim died.
598597
Dec. 9-March 16
2Ch. 36:9
Jehoiachin reigned three months and ten days.
598
After Dec. 18
DOTT, p. 80
Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem.
597
March 16
DOTT, p. 80
Jerusalem surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiachin taken captive.
597
March 16-
April 13
The accession year of Zedekiah.
597
April 13
The first day of Nisan when Zedekiah began his first official year of reign.
588
Jan. 15
2Ki. 25:1
Jer. 39:1
Eze. 24:1
Beginning of the final siege of Jerusalem.
587
July 29
2Ki. 25:2-4
Babylonians make a breach in the walls of Jerusalem.
587
August 25
2Ki. 25:8
Jer. 53:12
Jerusalem burned.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(27) In the seven and thirtieth year . . .Jehoiachin was now fifty-five years old (2Ki. 24:8; 2Ki. 24:12).
On the seven and twentieth day.Jer. 52:31 : five and twentieth, which is probably right. (See Note on 2Ki. 25:19.)
Evil-merodach.In Babylonian Amil-marduk, man of Merodach. (Comp. the Hebrew Eshbaal, man of Baal.) There are in the British Museum some contract tablets dated from his regnal years (562, 561, 560, B.C. ). He came to the throne 562 B.C. , upon the death of Nebuchadnezzar, who had reigned forty-three years. According to the canon of Ptolemy, Evil-merodach reigned two years. He was murdered by his brother-in-law Neriglissari.e., Nergal-sharezer.
Did lift up the head of Jehoiachin . . . out of prisoni.e., brought him out of prison (Gen. 40:13; Gen. 40:20). The LXX., Syriac, and Arabic add, and brought him forth before the words out of prison. So Jer. 52:31.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(27-30) The captivity of Jehoiachin ameliorated by the new king of Babylon. (See Jer. 52:31-34.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
RELEASE OF JEHOIACHIN FROM PRISON, 2Ki 25:27-30.
27. Seven and thirtieth year So identified was the captivity of Jehoiachin with that of the great mass of the Jewish exiles that its beginning formed a chronological epoch in their history. Compare Ezr 1:2. It was in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighth year that Jehoiachin was made captive, (2Ki 24:12,) and these thirty-seven years added would bring it to his forty-fifth year; but he had recently died, and a new king was on the throne, so that Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, according to these Scriptures, must have been forty-four years long. According to Ptolemy’s Canon and Josephus, it was forty-three years; but this slight difference is explained by the fact that the Scripture writer reckons his reign from the time he took command of the army of Babylon, a year, or, perhaps, a little more, before his father’s death. See note on 2Ki 24:1.
Seven and twentieth day According to Jeremiah, five and twentieth.
Evil-merodach was son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar. According to Berosus, “he governed public affairs after an illegal and impure manner, and had a plot laid against him by Neriglissar, his sister’s husband, and was slain by him when he had reigned but two years.” JOSEPHUS, Cont. Apion, 1:20. And this is about all that is known of him. The rabbies have a tradition that he contracted a friendship for Jehoiachin in prison, whither he himself had been cast by his father for a public offence.
In the year that he began to reign He “seems to have wished to signalize the beginning of his reign by an act of kindness to the Jews.” Rawlinson suggests “that the marvellous events of his father’s life, which are recorded in the book of Daniel, had made a deep impression upon him, and that he was thence inclined to favour the persons, and perhaps the religion, of the Jews.”
Lift up the head out of prison An expression that evidently originated in the fact that a prisoner would naturally have his head bowed down under the weight of his sorrow and despondency, and liberation would cause him to lift up his head with gladness and comfort.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Partial Restoration of Jehoiachin, in Babylon ( 2Ki 25:27-30 ).
There can be no question that the purpose of this final narrative is to indicate that YHWH’s hand was still on the house of David. It is demonstrating that He had not forgotten His promise of the continuation of David’s seed, and that Judah and Israel had therefore hope for the future. Though history had consigned Jerusalem to destruction, God still had His hand on history and was preparing for the fulfilment of His purposes in the coming of Jesus Christ. This comes out especially in that he was ‘set above the kings who were in Babylon’. The author probably had in mind the Psalm which speaks of the son of David as ‘the highest of the kings of the earth’ (Psa 89:27; compare Psalms 2). It was a portent of what was coming.
Analysis.
a
b And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon (2Ki 25:28).
a And changed his prison garments. And Jehoiachin did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life, and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life (2Ki 25:29-30).
Note that in ‘a’ Jehoiachin was released from prison and his head was ‘lifted up’, and in the parallel he changed his prison garments for others, and was sat at the king’s table. Centrally in ‘b’ his throne was set above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
2Ki 25:27
‘And it came about in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison,’
Many Jews in exile reckoned time by Jehoiachin’s captivity (see Eze 1:2). The thirty seventh year of his captivity would be around 561 BC, and Awel Marduk (Ewil Merodach) succeeded his father in October 562 BC. He only reigned for two years. The prison that Jehoiachin was in probably represented a kind of house imprisonment, and we do in fact have copies of records detailing provision supplied to him and his sons. The ‘lifting up of the head’ indicated more than just release. He was raised to an honoured position. This suggests that he benefited by more than just a coronation amnesty. It suggests a policy decision on behalf of Evil Merodach, which continued on with his successor, Nergal-sarra-usur
2Ki 25:28
‘And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon,’
Jehoiachin had clearly won Evil Merodach’s favour, and Evil Merodach demonstrated this by setting Jehoiachin’s throne above the thrones of the kings who were in Babylon. In other words he was given the highest status among captured kings. The author may well have seen in this the partial fulfilment of promises made to the sons of David that they would be the highest of the kings of the earth (Psa 89:27). It was a reminder, in spite of the adverse circumstances, that YHWH was watching over the house of David as He had promised. It gave hope for the future..
2Ki 25:29-30
‘And changed his prison garments. And Jehoiachin did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life, and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.’
From this point on Jehoiachin ceased to be treated as a prisoner and was dressed in a way worthy of a king, partaking of ample provisions supplied by the king of Babylon, and provided with regular allowances of food. As this continued ‘all the days of his life’ it indicates that Evil Merodach’s successors carried on his policy. In return, of course, Jehoiachin would have had to swear an oath of loyalty.
There is in this restoration a wonderful picture of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. If we are truly His, He too has changed our garments, clothing us in His righteousness and feeding us daily at His table.
2Ki 25:27. Evil-merodach, king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar, the father of Evil-merodach, died in the year of the world 3442, and before Christ 562, after he had reigned from the death of his father, according to the Babylonish account, three and forty years. He was certainly one of the greatest princes that had appeared in the east for many ages; and, according to Megasthenes, as he is cited by Josephus, both for his enterprizes and performances far excelled even Hercules himself. The same historian, as he is quoted by Eusebius, informs us, that a little before his death he foretold to his subjects the coming of the Persians, and their subduing the kingdom of Babylon, which he might gather from the prophet Daniel, and especially from the interpretation of his dreams. His son Evil-merodach reigned but a short time; for his debaucheries and other crimes in the space of two years made him so intolerable, that even his own relations conspired against him, and put him to death. It is likely that Jehoiachin, whom he thus signally favoured, (2Ki 25:28-29.) fell with him, for that best agrees with Jeremiah’s prophesies concerning him; wherein it is denounced, (ch. Jer 22:30.) that he should not prosper in his days, which could not be so well verified of him, had he died in the full possession of all that prosperity to which Evil-merodach advanced him. Prideaux.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The few who remained were put under the care of Gedaliah, a good man it should seem, and one who, if it had been possible, might have yet preserved them from utter ruin; but what the king of Babylon left unfinished, their own madness and folly completed. Ishmael, one of the seed-royal, was among the number of those who came to Gedaliah, under pretence of submission to his government: but envying his power, or to be revenged of the Chaldeans, who supported him, he treacherously fell upon him, slew him and his friends, whether Jews or Chaldeans; and then, in spite of Jeremiah’s remonstrance, all the people who remained under him as their leader went down to Egypt, and mixed probably with that idolatrous people, (see Deu 28:68.) and thus their desolations were accomplished.
2nd, How hopeless, how desperate now appeared the case of Judah and her king! but in the midst of their captivity there ariseth up light in their darkness. Their captive, king Jehoiachin is brought from his mournful prison, and, on the accession of Evil-merodach, Nebuchadnezzar’s son, admitted into the royal favour. He obtains apartments in the palace, a noble provision for himself and family, and pre-eminence over the other kings who were captives with him. This happened just in the midst of the seventy years during which this captivity was to last, as a means to support the hopes, and confirm the faith of the people in the fulfilment of the promises in due time. Note; (1.) While there is life, there is hope: we must not despair. God can turn the dungeon, when he pleases, into a palace. (2.) When our friend the great King shall sit on the throne of his kingdom, then he shall loose the bands of death, change the prison-garments of his saints, clothe them with immortality, and, placing their throne next to his own, make them sit down with him, and reign in glory everlasting.
We defer, till we come to the end of the book of Chronicles, some reflections on the dreadful end of the Israelitish monarchy, after it had stood four hundred and sixty-eight years from the time that David began to reign over it; three hundred and eighty-eight years from the revolt of the ten tribes from it; and one hundred and thirty-four years from the excision of the Israelitish commonwealth; and might have continued under the sunshine of the divine protection, which nothing could have eclipsed but the almost constant and horrid ingratitude of the people, and the invincible propensity to imitate the idolatries and witcheries of other nations; crimes, which, though become as abominable to God as they were universally practised by mankind, yet seem to have flowed from a purer source, though corrupted by degrees to this vast height through the amazing degeneracy of human nature. See the Appendix to the 3rd vol. of Univ. Hist. 8vo.
It is hardly possible to read the wonderful change in the circumstances of Jehoiachin, who, after so long a period as thirty-seven years lying in a prison, is brought forth to liberty, and to the king’s table, without having our minds led out in the contemplation, how wonderful the changes sometimes are in human life. But oh! what a change is that in grace, when from the prison of death and sin, the soul is brought forth to the light and liberty of the gospel. When Jesus opens the door in conversion, and calls forth the captives of Satan from the prison-house! When by the blood of his Covenant, Jehovah sends forth his prisoners of hope from the pit in which is no water. Zec 9:11 . And Reader! carry on the idea, and think if it be possible, what everlasting freedom that will be, when death itself shall, at the voice of Jesus, give up his dead, and all the children of Jesus shall sit down at his table, to go out no more! Precious thought! may it warm my heart amidst all the changeable events in the providences of my God and Saviour, during the whole of this life, and amidst the revolutions of all things here below: may it be the portion of both Writer and Reader to live on an unchangeable God in Christ Jesus, who is now the peace of his people, and will be their glory forevermore!
2Ki 25:27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth [day] of the month, [that] Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
Ver. 27. And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year. ] This was a long while to be held prisoner; but yet he had his life preserved – now, “a living dog is better than a dead lion” – and his eyes – which benefit Zedekiah was deprived of; and at length this high preferment: so little is there lost by doing or suffering aught for God’s sake; whose retributions are more than bountiful. Those “good figs” that were carried captive with him, had their share also, no doubt, in his comforts, though nothing be said of it.
On the seven and twentieth day of the month.
That Evilmerodach king of Babylon. lift up the head. Hebrew idiom = show favour to.
out of prison. Some codices, with Septuagint and Syriac, read “and brought him forth out of his prison”. Compare Jer 52:31.
twelfth month
i.e. March.
am 3442, bc 562
it came to pass: Jer 24:5, Jer 24:6, Jer 52:31-34
king of Babylon: Pro 21:1
lift up the head: Gen 40:13, Gen 40:20
Reciprocal: 2Ki 24:12 – took him 2Ki 25:8 – the nineteenth 1Ch 3:16 – Jeconiah 2Ch 36:10 – when the year was expired Psa 3:3 – the Psa 27:6 – And Ecc 4:14 – also Jer 22:27 – to the Jer 28:4 – Jeconiah Jer 38:18 – if thou Eze 21:26 – Remove Mat 1:12 – Jechonias
2Ki 25:27-30. Evil-merodach, king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar, the father of Evil-merodach, died in the year of the world 3442, and before Christ 562, after he had reigned from the death of his father, according to the Babylonish account, forty-three years. He was certainly one of the greatest princes that had appeared in the East for many years before him; and, according to Megasthenes, as he is cited by Josephus, both for his enterprises and performances, far excelled even Hercules himself. The same historian, as he is quoted by Eusebius, informs us, that a little before his death he foretold to his subjects the coming of the Persians, and their subduing the kingdom of Babylon, which he might gather from the Prophet Daniel, and especially from the interpretation of his dreams. Dodd.
In the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin, &c. He released him out of prison, where he had lain thirty-seven years, and was now fifty-five years old. And he spake kindly to him Paid more respect to him than to any other of the kings his father had left in captivity, gave him princely clothing instead of his prison garments, maintained him in his own palace, and allowed him a pension for himself and his family, some way agreeable to his rank; a daily rate for every day as long as he lived. This was a very happy change of Jehoiachins condition. To have honour, liberty, and plenty, after he had been so long in confinement and disgrace, and compelled to endure the straits and miseries of a prison, was like the return of the morning after a very dark and tedious night. Let none say they shall never see good again, because they have long seen little but evil: the most miserable know not what blessed turn Providence may yet give to their affairs, nor what comforts they are reserved for, according to the days wherein they have been afflicted, Psa 90:15. It is likely Evil-merodach thought his father made the yoke of his captives too heavy; and, therefore, with the tenderness of a man, and the honour of a prince, he made it lighter. The Jews tell us, he had himself been imprisoned by his own father, after the latter was restored from his insanity, for some mal- administration at that time, and that in prison he contracted a friendship for Jehoiachin; and, therefore, as soon as he had it in his power, showed him this kindness as a sufferer, and as a fellow-sufferer. It should seem that all the kings he had in his power were favoured, but Jehoiachin above them all. Perhaps, as some have suggested, he had learned from Daniel and his fellows the principles of true religion, and was well affected to them, and upon that account favoured Jehoiachin. This undoubtedly happened by the good providence of God for the encouragement of the Jews in captivity, and the support of their faith and hope concerning their enlargement in due time. Thirty-six of the seventy years of their captivity were now past, and almost as many yet remained, when now, in this midnight of their bondage and misery, they see their king thus advanced as a comfortable earnest to them of their own release at the appointed season.
We are now come to the dreadful end of the Jewish monarchy, after it had stood four hundred and sixty-eight years from the time that David began to reign over it; three hundred and eighty-eight years from the revolt of the ten tribes from it; and one hundred and thirty-four years from the excision of the Israelitish commonwealth; and would have still continued under the sunshine of the divine protection, had it not been for the almost constant and horrid ingratitude of the people, and their invincible itch of imitating the idolatries and witcheries of other nations: crimes which, though abominable before God, were but too generally practised by mankind, through the amazing degeneracy of the human nature.
Having now gone through the history of the Jewish state, from its first beginning to its total captivity in a foreign land, we must acknowledge it to be a history of such remarkable particulars, as distinguish it from all other histories: a history of a state founded upon such principles, governed in such a manner, concerned in such extraordinary circumstances, distinguished by such wonderful facts, and its condition, from the beginning to the end, so corresponding to its obedience or disobedience to the principles upon which it was first founded, that it cannot be paralleled by the history of any people in the world.
2Ki 25:27-30. Jehoiachin Restored to Honour.Nebuchadrezzar succeeded his father 605 B.C., and reigned till 562 B.C. The first captivity took place thirty-seven years before Jehoiachins release, or about 598 B.C. Evil-Merodach, the successor of Nebuchadrezzar, only reigned two years, till 560 B.C. There is no record of the year of Jehoiachins death, and consequently of the earliest possible date of the Book of Kings in its present form.
25:27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of {n} Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth [day] of the month, [that] Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
(n) This long were he, his wife and his children in Babylon, whom Nebuchadnezzar’s son after his father’s death preferred to honour: thus by God’s providence the seed of David was preserved even to Christ.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes