1:11: From Josiah came Jeconiah and his brothers.
1. Josiah was perhaps, in a similar manner to Jehoshaphat and
Hezekiah, expected as the Messiah from the world to come: “But he (Josiah) will
receive a lasting reward, and he will be honored with the Mighty One beyond
many (others) during the final time. For on his account and on account of those
who are like him, the honorable glories were created and prepared, about which
you were told in advance” (2 Bar. 66:6–7).
2. Jehoiakim is omitted between Josiah and Jeconiah (cf. 1 Chr
3:15–16).
3. Brothers of Jeconiah are not mentioned in the Old Testament; ἀδελφοί
like אחים should therefore be understood in the
broader sense as relatives. The rule of Jeconiah’s uncle (1 Chr 3:15) was
interrupted by Jeconiah, as if he belonged to their generation (2 Kgs 23–24); 2
Chr 36:10 calls Zedekiah, the uncle of Jeconiah, his brother (אח).
Regarding this older generation, the Talmud makes the following
observation. After stating that when the succession to the throne was disputed,
a king who was the son of a king would be anointed with holy anointing oil, the
Talmud also refers to Jehoahaz, who was anointed (2 Kgs 23:30), because his
brother Jehoiakim (cf. 2 Kgs 23:35–36) was older than he was. Jerusalem Talmud
Soṭah 8.3 (22C.39) continues as follows: R. Yohanan († 279) has said, “Yohanan
(2 Chr 3:15) and Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:30) are identical. But it is written (cf. 2
Chr 3:15), ‘The firstborn Yohanan!’ (If he were identical with Jehoahaz, he
could not be called the firstborn, because he is two years younger than the
second born Jehoiakim according to 2 Kgs 23:31, 36). This text wants to say,
‘The firstborn according to rule (not according to birth).’ ” R. Yohanan
has said, “Shallum and Zedekiah (1 Chr 3:15) are identical. But it is written,
‘The third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum!’ (cf. 1 Chr 3:15). This means that
Zedekiah was third according to birth and the fourth according to rule
(Jehoahaz ruled first [2 Kgs 23:30], then Jehoiakim [2 Kgs 23:36], followed by
Jeconiah = Jehoiachin [2 Kgs 24:6] and then Zedekiah = Mattaniah, Jeconiah’s
uncle [2 Kgs 24:17–18]). He was called Zedekiah because he recognized that the
divine punishment that befell him was just (cf. Ezek 17:13–24; 2 Chr 36:13).
Shallum was his name because in his days the rule of the house of David was
finished (= the end of שלם,
a wordplay with שלום).
But his real name was neither Shallum nor Zedekiah, but Mattaniah (2 Kgs
24:17).” For parallel passages, see y. Šeqal. 6.1 (49D.5); b. Hor. 11B; b. Ker.
77B (other issues in 5B). In the Babylonian Talmud the last movement, which in
the Jerusalem Talmud is part of R. Yohanan’s speech, is explained by means of a
baraita as follows: Shallum and Zedekiah are identical. Why is his name
Shallum? Because he was perfect in his works. Another explanation is as
follows: His name is Shallum, because the rule of the house of David was
completed since his days. And what was his name? Mattaniah was his name (2 Kgs
24:17): “And he made Mattaniah, his uncle, king in his stead, and changed his
name to Zedekiah,” for he said to him, “Yahweh will bring a just judgment on you
if you are angry with me’ ” (2 Kgs 25:7; 2 Chr 36:13). (Hermann
L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A Commentary on the New Testament from the
Talmud and Midrash, ed. Jacob N. Cerone, 4 vols. [trans. Andrew Bowden and
Joseph Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2022], 1:36-37)
