The Meaning of 2 Kings 24:8 Explained

2 Kings 24:8

KJV: Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

YLT: A son of eighteen years is Jehoiachin in his reigning, and three months he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem,

Darby: Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

ASV: Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months: and his mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Jehoiachin  [was] eighteen  years  old  when he began to reign,  and he reigned  in Jerusalem  three  months.  And his mother's  name  [was] Nehushta,  the daughter  of Elnathan  of Jerusalem. 

What does 2 Kings 24:8 Mean?

Study Notes

eighteen
Cf. 2 Chronicles 36:9 ; 1 Corinthians 10:8 .
fell in one day
Cf. Numbers 25:9 . A discrepancy has been imagined. 1 Corinthians 10:8 . gives the number of deaths in "one day"; Numbers 25:9 , the total number of deaths "in the plague." Some discrepant statements concerning numbers are, however, found in the existing manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures. These are most naturally ascribed to the fact that the Hebrews used letters in the place of numerals. The letters for Koph to Tau express hundreds up to four hundred. Five certain Hebrew letters, written in a different form, carry hundreds up to nine hundred, while thousands are expressed by two dots over the proper unit letter: e.g. the letter Teth, used alone, stands for 9; with two dots it stands for nine thousand. Error in transcription of Hebrew numbers thus becomes easy, preservation of numerical accuracy difficult.

Context Summary

2 Kings 24:1-9 - The Price Of Innocent Blood
Note the entail of Manasseh's sin. He had lived, had been forgiven, and had died years before, but Judah was irretrievably implicated in his sins. The poison had eaten into the national heart, and for the innocent blood which had been shed like water there had been no amends. Notice the emphatic statement that Nebuchadnezzar and the other enemies who came against the land were deliberately carrying out the divine chastenings. They were, as Isaiah puts it, the rod of God's anger and the staff of His indignation, Isaiah 10:5. How often does God still use evil men as His instruments to chasten us! The best way of escaping them is to commit ourselves to God.
Jehoiakim was blatant in his blasphemy, Jeremiah 36:23. He was a very contemptible prince, and was carried in chains to Babylon, Daniel 1:1-4. Apparently he was temporarily restored to his throne, but in the end he perished ignominiously, Jeremiah 36:30.
What sorrows befell the Holy City! Though God would have gathered her under the wings of his protecting care, she would not, and therefore the times of the Gentiles began, which would now seem to be hastening to their end, Luke 21:24. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 24

1  Jehoiakim, first subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, then rebelling against him,
2  procures his own ruin
5  Jehoiachin succeeds him
7  The king of Egypt is vanquished by the king of Babylon
8  Jehoiachin's evil reign
10  Jerusalem is taken and carried captive into Babylon
17  Zedekiah is made king, and reigns ill, unto the utter destruction of Judah

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 24:8 mean?

Old eight [and] ten years Jehoiachin [was] when he became king and three months He reigned in Jerusalem and name [was] of His mother Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem
בֶּן־ שְׁמֹנֶ֨ה עֶשְׂרֵ֤ה שָׁנָה֙ יְהוֹיָכִ֣ין בְּמָלְכ֔וֹ וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה חֳדָשִׁ֔ים מָלַ֖ךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם וְשֵׁ֣ם אִמּ֔וֹ נְחֻשְׁתָּ֥א בַת־ אֶלְנָתָ֖ן מִירוּשָׁלִָֽם

בֶּן־  Old 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שְׁמֹנֶ֨ה  eight 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: שְׁמֹנֶה  
Sense: eight, eighth.
עֶשְׂרֵ֤ה  [and]  ten 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: עָשָׂר 
Sense: ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers).
שָׁנָה֙  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
יְהוֹיָכִ֣ין  Jehoiachin  [was] 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהֹויָכִין  
Sense: king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, and the next to last king of Judah before the Babylonian captivity; kingship lasted for 3 months and 0 days before he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar who took him to Babylon and imprisoned him for 36 years when he was finally released.
בְּמָלְכ֔וֹ  when  he  became  king 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה  and  three 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁלֹשׁ 
Sense: three, triad.
חֳדָשִׁ֔ים  months 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
מָלַ֖ךְ  He  reigned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם  in  Jerusalem 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
וְשֵׁ֣ם  and  name  [was] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
אִמּ֔וֹ  of  His  mother 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.
נְחֻשְׁתָּ֥א  Nehushta 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: נְחֻשְׁתָּא  
Sense: daughter of Elnathan, wife of king Jehoiakim of Judah and mother of king Jehoiachin of Judah.
בַת־  the  daughter 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
אֶלְנָתָ֖ן  of  Elnathan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֶלְנָתָן  
Sense: king Jehoiachin’s maternal grandfather.
מִירוּשָׁלִָֽם  of  Jerusalem 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.