{
  "id": "dict_002880",
  "term": "Jeconiah",
  "slug": "jeconiah",
  "letter": "J",
  "entry_type": "biblical_person",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Jeconiah was a king of Judah, also called Jehoiachin and Coniah, who was taken into exile in Babylon. He appears in the Old Testament and in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew.",
  "simple_one_line": "Jeconiah was a Davidic king of Judah taken captive to Babylon.",
  "tooltip_text": "Jeconiah is another name for Jehoiachin, a king of Judah carried into Babylonian exile.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Jehoiachin",
    "Coniah",
    "Davidic covenant",
    "Babylonian exile",
    "Jeremiah",
    "Matthew 1"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Nebuchadnezzar",
    "Judah",
    "Exile",
    "Genealogy",
    "Messiah"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Jeconiah was a king of Judah at the end of the monarchy, also known as Jehoiachin and Coniah. His brief reign ended with deportation to Babylon, and he remains significant in the biblical record because he appears in the royal line traced in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A late king of Judah, taken into Babylonian exile, whose other biblical names are Jehoiachin and Coniah.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "King of Judah in the final years before Jerusalem’s fall",
    "Also called Jehoiachin and Coniah",
    "Deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar",
    "Appears in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Jeconiah was a Judean king near the time of Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon and is also known as Jehoiachin or Coniah. His reign was brief, and he was carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar. Scripture also includes him in the royal line connected to the Messiah, which gives him importance beyond his short reign.",
  "description_academic_full": "Jeconiah was a king of Judah whose brief reign came during the final crisis before Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon. The Old Testament refers to him by more than one name, including Jehoiachin and Coniah, and records that he was taken captive to Babylon. He is significant not only as part of Judah’s last kings but also because he appears in biblical genealogies related to the line of David and the ancestry of Jesus in Matthew 1. Scripture presents him as a historical Davidic king in exile whose place in the biblical record contributes to the larger story of judgment, preservation of David’s line, and the coming of the Messiah.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Jeconiah belongs to the closing phase of the kingdom of Judah. His reign is associated with Babylonian pressure, the deportation of the royal family and leaders, and the transition from a functioning monarchy to exile. The biblical record treats him as one of the last Davidic kings before the fall of Jerusalem.",
  "background_historical_context": "Historically, Jeconiah reigned during the early Babylonian advance into Judah. Babylon’s dominance over the region forced Judah into vassal status, and Jeconiah was among those taken into exile. His removal marks an important step in the collapse of Judah’s independence.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In Jewish historical memory, Jeconiah stands within the Davidic royal house and the trauma of exile. His names appear in royal records and prophetic texts, where his rule and removal are interpreted in light of covenant judgment and the continuing hope tied to David’s line.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "2 Kings 24:8-17",
    "Jeremiah 22:24-30",
    "Matthew 1:11-12"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "1 Chronicles 3:16-17",
    "Jeremiah 37:1",
    "Jeremiah 52:31-34"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The Hebrew forms behind this name vary across passages and translations. Jeconiah is closely related to the names Jehoiachin and Coniah, which refer to the same historical king.",
  "theological_significance": "Jeconiah is important in the Bible’s presentation of judgment and mercy. His exile shows the seriousness of Judah’s covenant unfaithfulness, while his place in the Davidic line underscores God’s preservation of the messianic promise even through national disaster.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Jeconiah illustrates how the Bible holds together human responsibility, historical judgment, and divine promise. A king can be judged for real sin and yet still remain part of the larger redemptive story God is unfolding through history.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Readers should distinguish between the different names used for the same man and avoid over-reading Jeremiah 22 as canceling the entire Davidic promise. The text speaks of judgment on Jeconiah’s rule and line in a specific historical sense, while Matthew’s genealogy shows that the royal promise continues through exile and restoration.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters identify Jeconiah, Jehoiachin, and Coniah as the same person. Discussion usually centers not on whether he is the same king, but on how Jeremiah 22 should be read alongside the later Davidic genealogy in Matthew 1.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Jeconiah is a biblical historical figure, not a doctrinal category. His life supports biblical teaching on judgment, exile, covenant faithfulness, and the preservation of the messianic line, but should not be used to build speculative doctrines from genealogy alone.",
  "practical_significance": "Jeconiah reminds readers that God remains sovereign in seasons of judgment and disruption. Even when earthly institutions collapse, the Lord keeps His promises and works through imperfect people and broken histories.",
  "meta_description": "Jeconiah was a king of Judah, also called Jehoiachin and Coniah, taken into Babylonian exile and named in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/jeconiah/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/jeconiah.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}