Yehoyakhin in Babylonia

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  1. The Attempted Rebellion Against the King, and the Promotion of Haman

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman

    The story of Bigtan and Teresh raise many questions that do not seem to be answered in the text. Apparently the purpose of the story is limited to the information that is conveyed, and there is no reason to try and fill in the missing details. This article will analyze the phrase "And it was after these things," and discuss the verses describing Haman's rise to power.

  2. Historical and Prophetic Setting

    Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

    After the seventy years of the Babylonian exile come to an end with the Cyrus declaration, a small number of Jews decide to return to Eretz Yisrael while the majority of Jews choose to stay in Babylon and Persia. The story of the Megillat Esther in Shushan takes place after Cyrus's declaration with those Jews who did not return. 

  3. The Decline towards Hurban

    Rabbi Alex Israel

    The last four kings of Yehuda struggle under the crippling hegemony first of Egypt and then of Babylon, suffering military defeat, vassalage, humiliation, deportation, siege and torture. The sun is setting on the First Temple period and it will swiftly end in the conquest of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.

    Soon after Yehoahaz becomes king, Pharaoh Nekho makes his brother Yehoyakim the king placing on him a heavy tax. Yehoyakim and the higher strata of society lead a lavish lifestyle oppressing the regular people to pay the tax and for their lifestyles - something that the prophet Yirmiyahu fights against. Despite the growing power of Babylon and despite Yirmiyahu's prophecies, the people remain indifferent and believe the Beit HaMikdash to be invicible. Yehoyakim is removed by the Babylonian king and the child king Yehoyakhin rules for a mere three months. He, the skilled laborers and the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash are taken to Babylon beginning the exile of Yehuda and creating two centers - in Jerusalem with Tzidkiyahu and in Babylon with Yehoyakhin.

  4. Regarding the Kings of the Davidic Dynasty

    Rabbi David Sabato

    These chapters contain a collection of prophecies that Yirmiyahu delivered to the last kings of Yehuda. The institutions of the Beit HaMikdash and the Davidic dynasty are perceived by the people as stable, absolute, and unassailable. Both rely on a Divine promise regarding their eternity, and the two promises are intertwined. However, the biological continuity of the descendants of David does not in itself entitle them to the kingdom, but only when coupled with its moral continuity. Only then can they truly sit on the throne of David. In contrast, the non-realization of the moral purpose will lead to the destruction of the house of David, just as it will lead to the destruction of the house of God.

    In contrast to the ideal description of the monarch at the beginning of the chapter, Yirmiyahu traces the debased moral situation in the days of Yehoyakim. This rebuke revolves around the building of Yehoyakim's magnificent royal palace, which involved the breach of the most fundamental principles of morality and justice.

    The future of Yehoyakhin’s seed is described in bleak terms by Yirmiyahu, but that is contradicted by his descendant Zerubavel who takes a leadership role in the Return to Zion. In contrast, Tzidkiyahu is described by Yirmiyahu as a potential Mashiah, a role that his poor decisions do not allow him to realize.

  5. The End is Near

    Dr. Tova Ganzel

    The prophetic message of Yehezkel and Yirmiyahu is that the end of Jerusalem is imminent. The common belief in Jerusalem and in Babylonia is that somehow God will save the inhabitants of Jerusalem, allowing them to survive this crisis. The exiles themselves, though, might – in a best case scenario – return to the land; but will otherwise assimilate and disappear among the nations.

    Yirmiyahu prophesies that in his own days Yehoyakhin is “a man who shall not prosper” and in those years that Yehuda is desolate, none of his progeny will prosper as king or ruler. But in the long term, the exile of Yehoyakhin will settle and prosper in Babylonia for a long period of time and they will serve as the salvation of the people. It would be these exiles who would return one day to rebuild the land which was about to be destroyed. Yehekzel prophesies that those who remained in Jerusalem will die by pestilence, by the sword or by famine.

    But even after these prophecies, neither the inhabitants of Jerusalem nor the exiles in Babylonia were convinced. The Temple was still standing; the inhabitants of Jerusalem remained steadfast despite the crises they had faced since the time of Shlomo. These facts made a stronger impression than the prophecies of Yirmiyahu and Yehezkel.

    To convey his messages, Yehezkel enlists all possible means: the use of symbolic acts and the borrowing of expressions familiar from the Tokhaha in Vayikra. Now, another means is adopted: a key word, aimed at emphasizing the subject of the prophecy as a whole. We see here the repeated use of the word “ketz” (end), alluding to the story of the Flood.

  6. Tzidkiyahu

    Part 2

    Dr. Tova Ganzel

    Yehezkel continues his criticism of Tzidkiyahu by means of a parable. By relying on the king of Egypt to aid him and rebelling against Nevukhadnetzar, Tzidkiyahu decreed his own death in Babylonia. This violation was a grave breach of trust.  Yehezkel goes further by comparing the violation of the covenant with Nevukhadnetzar to violation of the covenant with God.

    This conclusion to the prophecy indicates that the potential for renewal of the monarchy in Israel rests with Yehoyakhin, who is in exile. This conclusion once again emphasizes the unique status of Yehoyakhin in Sefer Yehezkel; and, indeed, it is Zerubavel – the grandson of Yehoyakhin – who will eventually lead the nation at the start of the Second Temple period.