Determining the age of Jehoiachin when he began to reign as king of Judah requires looking at several passages in the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Jehoiachin was the son of King Jehoiakim and succeeded him as king.
2 Kings 24:8 states that “Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.” This verse clearly gives his age as 18 when he assumed the throne.
However, 2 Chronicles 36:9 states that “Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem.” This presents an apparent contradiction with the passage in 2 Kings.
There are several ways Christian scholars have sought to reconcile this difference:
- Some posit that there is a copyist error in the manuscripts, most likely in 2 Chronicles. The numbers may have been reversed by accident.
- Others suggest the passage in 2 Chronicles refers to when Jehoiachin became a co-regent with his father at age 8, but he didn’t fully assume the throne until 18.
- Another proposal is that the age in Kings is referring to when Jehoiachin became fully independent as king, whereas Chronicles mentions when he was officially installed as crown prince.
- Some interpreters take the passages as complementary – he may have had some royal responsibilities from age 8 but formally took the throne at 18.
There is no scholarly consensus on which solution is best. But the most straightforward reading is to take 2 Kings 24:8 as giving his definitive age when he began his reign. The number in 2 Chronicles 36:9 is more difficult to reconcile but may refer to the earlier start of his royal duties while his father still reigned.
Analysis of 2 Kings 24:8
The passage in 2 Kings 24:8 clearly states that Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he began to reign over Judah:
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
The author of 2 Kings provides the detail about Jehoiachin’s age in the midst of a narrative describing the events leading up to and including the beginning of his reign. This verse comes right after the report of King Jehoiakim’s death at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
There is no ambiguity in the statement about Jehoiachin’s age when he assumed rulership after his father’s death. The number eighteen is straightforward. Some key points about this passage:
- It clearly states he was 18 years old at the start of his reign.
- This age is given as a precise number rather than a more approximate range.
- The context implies this was when he took over kingship after his father’s death.
- No qualifiers or conditions are provided for the age reference.
For these reasons, readers can have confidence that 2 Kings 24:8 gives accurate biographical information about Jehoiachin’s age when he became king of Judah after Jehoiakim’s death.
Analysis of 2 Chronicles 36:9
In contrast to the clear statement in 2 Kings, the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 36:9 presents Jehoiachin’s age as 8 years old when he became king:
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
At first glance this seems clearly contradictory. However, the passage in Chronicles has some contextual factors that may indicate the author had something different in view other than the start of Jehoiachin’s independent rule.
- The verse comes amidst a history of the final kings of Judah leading up to the Babylonian exile.
- It summarizes Jehoiachin’s reign between longer accounts of his father and uncle’s rules.
- The focus is on Jehoiachin doing evil, a common theme in Chronicles applied to many kings.
- It portrays his reign as very short before the next king is installed by Egypt.
Some interpreters think these factors point to the age reference not necessarily being about when Jehoiachin became sole king. Instead, it may refer to when he was made a youthful co-regent with his father at age 8. This was a practice sometimes seen in ancient Near Eastern monarchies.
Under this proposed harmonization, Jehoiachin would have begun some royal duties at 8 but only fully ascended the throne at 18 at his father’s death. This possible explanation makes the two accounts less directly contradictory.
Additional Biblical Evidence
Beyond these two direct statements about Jehoiachin’s age, there are some other biblical clues that provide relevant information:
- Jeremiah 22:24-30 refers to Jehoiachin (also called Coniah) as a “youth” when he became king.
- Ezekiel 19:5-9 depicts Jehoiachin as a young cub/lion taken captive to Babylon.
- The lenient treatment he received there implies he was quite young (2 Kings 25:27-30).
- His father’s reign lasted only 11 years (2 Kings 23:36), making an 8 year co-regency unlikely.
These points lend some support to the idea that Jehoiachin was a young man, likely 18, when he began to reign independently. The references to him as a “youth” align better with the report of his age in 2 Kings 24.
Summary of the Biblical Evidence
In summary, the biblical evidence point to these conclusions about Jehoiachin’s age when he assumed rulership as king of Judah:
- The book of 2 Kings definitively states he was 18 years old when he began to reign.
- 2 Chronicles 36 introduces some confusion by reporting his age as 8 years old.
- The Chronicles account may refer to him being installed as a boy co-regent.
- Other biblical clues corroborate Jehoiachin being a youthful king when exiled.
- The evidence weighs most heavily on the side of him being 18 when becoming the sole king.
There is no definitive way to fully reconcile the conflicting reports in Kings and Chronicles regarding Jehoiachin’s age. However, the predominance of evidence points to 2 Kings 24 providing the accurate, definitive statement that he assumed the throne at age 18 after his father Jehoiakim’s death at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.
Jehoiakim’s Reign
In order to gain more context on the age issue of Jehoiachin, it is helpful to consider the reign of his father Jehoiakim. According to 2 Kings 23:36, “Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.” Some key points about his rule provide relevant background:
- His 11 year reign began around 609 BC when he was installed as king by Pharaoh Necho.
- Initially he was a vassal of Egypt but came under Babylonian control after 605 BC.
- He rebelled against Babylon which led to a siege and his death around 598 BC (2 Kings 24:1-6).
- No co-regency with Jehoiachin is mentioned during his reign.
- His being 25 at the start of his rule makes an 8 year old for Jehoiachin unlikely at the end.
Considering Jehoiakim’s reign fits better with the timeline of Jehoiachin being 18 when he came to the throne after his father’s death at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar II and the Babylonians.
When Did Jehoiachin’s Reign End?
In addition to the beginning of Jehoiachin’s reign, the Bible gives clear details about when his reign ended. 2 Kings 24:12 states:
And Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.
The passage also reiterates he reigned only 3 months. His reign came to an end when he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar’s forces besieging Jerusalem in 597 BC. He was taken captive to Babylon along with other royal family and leaders.
This marked the effective end of the kingdom of Judah as the Babylonians installed Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah as a puppet king under the name Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17). So while his reign was brief, it represented the transition from independence to exile for Judah.
Jehoiachin’s Age at Exile to Babylon
If Jehoiachin was 18 when he became king, then he was still 18 just 3 months later when he went into Babylonian captivity. The biblical accounts emphasize his youth when taken from Judah:
- Jeremiah 52:31 refers to Jehoiachin as a “youth” when exiled.
- Ezekiel 19:9 depicts him as a young lion cub taken captive.
- He received favorable treatment in Babylon due to his young age (2 Kings 25:27-30).
These descriptions match well with the idea that Jehoiachin assumed the throne at age 18 and just months later endured exile as a young man. There is no indication he underwent any uniquely harsh punishment in Babylon despite technically being an enemy king.
Conclusions About Jehoiachin’s Age and Reign
In conclusion, the evidence from 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and other biblical texts point to these main points:
- Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he began his 3 month reign as king of Judah.
- This followed immediately after the death of his father Jehoiakim in 598 BC.
- The conflicting report of him being 8 in 2 Chronicles 36 may refer to an earlier co-regency.
- At 18 he was taken as a young exile to Babylon after surrendering in 597 BC.
- His age and status resulted in favorable treatment there until at least 561 BC.
In summary, the preponderance of biblical evidence indicates Jehoiachin was 18 years old at his accession to the throne and exile to Babylon. The precise details around the start and end of his reign help provide clarity on this question.
