World Translation, 1955 edition. (See, for instance, Hosea 1:1; Amos 1:1 and footnotes on 2 Kings 13:9, 12-14, 25.) He ruled for sixteen years in the middle of the ninth century B.C.E. During the first part of the reign of this Jehoash (son of Jehoahaz) over the northern kingdom of Israel, Jehoash son of Ahaziah was king over the southern kingdom of Judah.—2 Ki. 13:10.

Jehoash generally did what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes and allowed calf worship to continue throughout the land. Nevertheless, when the prophet Elisha was sick and near death Jehoash went down and wept over him, saying: “My father, my father, the war chariot of Israel and his horsemen!” (2 Ki. 13:11, 14) In response to the prophet’s request Jehoash shot an arrow out the window toward Syria, and then beat the earth with his arrows. However, he only beat three times. Elisha was incensed at this, for had he continued to beat the earth five or six times, Elisha said, then Jehoash would have been completely victorious over the Syrians; but now, the prophet declared, he would enjoy only three partial victories. (2 Ki. 13:15-19) In Jehoash’s three campaigns against the Syrians he did have a measure of success, recovering a number of Israelite cities that Ben-hadad’s father Hazael had taken from the northern kingdom.—2 Ki. 13:24, 25.

Jehoash also hired out a hundred thousand of his troops to the king of Judah to fight against the Edomites. However, on the advice of a “man of the true God” they were dismissed, and although they had been paid a hundred silver talents, equivalent to $142,359, in advance, they were angered at being sent home, probably because of losing out on their anticipated share of the booty. So after their return N they plundered towns of the southern kingdom, from Samaria (perhaps their base of operations) as far as Beth-horon.—2 Chron. 25:6-10, 13.

It was probably in retaliation for this that the king of Judah provoked Jehoash to fight. In the battle that followed Judean King Amaziah was captured at Beth-shemesh, and in the follow-up Jehoash’s forces broke through the wall of Jerusalem, looting the temple and house of the king of their gold and silver and taking hostages back to Samaria. (2 Ki. 14:8-14; 2 Chron. 25:17-24) Finally, Jehoash died and was buried in Samaria and his son Jeroboam II ruled in his place.—2 Ki. 13:12, 13; 14:15, 16.

JEHOHANAN

(Je·ho·haʹnan) [Jehovah has been gracious].

1. A Korahite gatekeeper during the reign of David; the sixth son of Meshelemiah.—1 Chron. 26:1-3.

2. An army chief under King Jehoshaphat, in direct charge of 280,000 men of Judah. (2 Chron. 17:12, 14-16) Possibly the same as No. 3 below.

3. Father of the Ishmael who stood up with Jehoiada and other chiefs to depose Athaliah and put Jehoash on Judah’s throne. (2 Chron. 23:1-3) Possibly the same as No. 2 above.

4. An Ephraimite whose son Azariah was a leader in that tribe around 760 B.C.E., when Kings Ahaz of Judah and Pekah of Israel were ruling.—2 Chron. 28:1, 6, 12.

5. Head of the priestly paternal house of Amariah during the days of Joiakim the successor of High Priest Jeshua.—Neh. 12:10, 12, 13.

6. Son of Eliashib. Ezra retired to Jehohanan’s temple dining hall to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the people.—Ezra 10:6.

7. One of four sons of Bebai who dismissed their foreign wives and sons in Ezra’s day.—Ezra 10:28, 44.

8. Son of Nehemiah’s antagonist Tobiah the Ammonite. Jehohanan married an Israelite girl.—Neh. 6:17-19.

9. A priest positioned at the temple during the inauguration of Jerusalem’s rebuilt wall.—Neh. 12:40-42.

JEHOIACHIN

(Je·hoʹia·chin) [Jehovah firmly establishes].

Son of Judean King Jehoiakim by Nehushta. (2 Ki. 24:6, 8; 2 Chron. 36:8) He is also called Jeconiah (a variant of Jehoiachin) and Coniah (a contraction of Jeconiah).—Esther 2:6; Jer. 28:4; 37:1.

At the age of eighteen Jehoiachin became king and continued the bad practices of his father. (2 Ki. 24:8, 9; 2 Chron. 36:9 [see NW, 1955 ed., ftn.]) Jehoiachin’s father, Jehoiakim, had been under subjection to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, but rebelled in his third year of such vassalage (618 B.C.E.). (2 Ki. 24:1) This resulted in a siege being laid against Jerusalem. The expression “during that time” (2 Ki. 24:10) may not necessarily refer to Jehoiachin’s brief reign, but may refer to the general period in which it fits, hence allowing for the siege to have begun during his father Jehoiakim’s reign, as Daniel 1:1, 2 seems to indicate. It appears that Jehoiakim died during this siege and Jehoiachin ascended the throne of Judah. His rule ended, however, a mere three months and ten days later, when he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar (617 B.C.E., in the month of Adar, according to the Babylonian Chronicles). (2 Ki. 24:11, 12; 2 Chron. 36:9) In fulfillment of Jehovah’s word through Jeremiah, he was taken into Babylonian captivity. (Jer. 22:24-27; 24:1; 27:19, 20; 29:1, 2) Other members of the royal household, court officials, craftsmen and warriors were also exiled.—2 Ki 24:14-16.

The record at 2 Kings 24:12-16 states that Nebuchadnezzar took these captives into exile, along with “all the treasures of the house of Jehovah and the treasures of the king’s house.” The account at Daniel 1:1, 2 refers to only “a part of the utensils” as being taken to Babylon. The explanation may be that the treasures referred to at Second Kings involved particularly the gold utensils, which are emphasized in that account, and that other utensils were allowed to remain. Another possibility is that, when Jerusalem yielded to the Babylonian siege (which came as a result of Jehoiakim’s rebellion against the king of Babylon), “some of the utensils of the house of Jehovah” were taken to Babylon, and that a short time later, when Jehoiachin himself was transferred to Babylon, other “desirable articles of the house of Jehovah” were taken along. This possibility is suggested by the account at 2 Chronicles 36:6-10. From the Chronicles account, it appears that Nebuchadnezzar, after successfully conquering Jerusalem, returned to Babylon and from there “sent and proceeded to bring [Jehoiachin] to Babylon with desirable articles of the house of Jehovah.” In a similar way, ten years later, in the final conquest and destruction of Jerusalem (607 B.C.E.), Nebuchadnezzar retired to Riblah “in the land of Hamath,” leaving the post-conquest details to his chief of the bodyguard, Nebuzaradan.—2 Ki. 25:8-21.

While in Babylon, Jehoiachin fathered seven sons. (1 Chron. 3:16-18) In this way the royal line leading to the Messiah was preserved. (Matt. 1:11, 12) But, as prophecy had indicated, none of Jehoiachin’s descendants ever ruled from earthly Jerusalem. It therefore was as though Jehoiachin had been childless, with no offspring to succeed him as king.—Jer. 22:28-30