("Yah is [my] righteousness")
1. The son of Chenaanah (I Kgs 22:11, 24; II Chr 18:10, 23) and one of Ahab's 400 court prophets. At the request of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Ahab summoned these prophets to consult them concerning the chances of success in the proposed military expedition against the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead. Zedekiah joined with other false prophets in predicting Ahab's victory. In order to impress his audience, he placed horns of iron on his head, a symbol of great power (cf Deut 33:17), signifying that Ahab would defeat the Arameans, and thus encouraging the king to attempt the ill-fated campaign. When Micaiah son of Imlah made a contrary prediction, Zedekiah insulted him by casting doubt on the source of his inspiration.
2. The son of Hananiah, one of the princes of Judah during the reign of king Jehoiakim, before whom Baruch the scribe read the scroll of Jeremiah's oracles.
3. The youngest son of King Josiah and Hamutal (II Kgs 24:18), brother of Jehoahaz, uncle and successor of Jehoiachin as king of Judah; (according to I Chronicles 3:15 he was the third son of Josiah). His original name was Mattaniah (II Kgs 24:17) and he reigned between 596-586 B.C. With Zedekiah's exile to Babylonia, the fate of Judah was sealed. The direct account of his reign is contained in II Kings 24:17-25:7; II Chronicles 36:10-21; and Jeremiah 39:1-7; 52:1-11; while supplementary records such as the Babylonian Chronicle, an important source for the history of the period between 605 and 594 B.C., makes available more contemporary material for Zedekiah's reign than exists for any other Hebrew monarch.
Following the revolt of King Jehoiakim, who was encouraged by Egypt, the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, moved on Jerusalem, which capitulated in 597 B.C. He then exiled King Jehoiachin and installed Zedekiah in his place (II Kgs 24:10-17). The idea of a king appointed by a foreign ruler was not accepted by the people who continued to regard Jehoiachin as their legitimate king (Jer 37:1; Ezek 1:2; 17:16). Indeed, Ezekiel, regarding Jehoiachin as de jure king, dates his prophecies not by the years of Zedekiah's reign, but by those of King Jehoiachin's captivity (Ezek 1:2; 8:1; 20:1; 24:1). Although bound by oath to serve the king of Babylon (II Chr 36:13; Ezek 17:14-18), Zedekiah was unable to withstand the nationalist currents which urged rebellion against Babylonia (Jer chaps. 37-38). It was not long before the entire nation became entangled in international intrigue as a result of Zedekiah's inexperience and weak character. He was forced to summon an anti-Babylonian conference of ambassadors from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon (Jer 27:3), which signaled a rebellion against the power which had enthroned him. The rebellion was condemned by Jeremiah who was regarded as a traitor by public opinion (Jer 37:11-16). Nevertheless, the king more than once turned to him for advice although he disregarded the prophet's warnings. Ultimately, the anti-Babylonian plot came to naught, and Zedekiah aimed to allay the suspicions of the Babylonian king by sending Elasah and Gemariah (Jer 29:3) to Babylon. Apparently, Zedekiah's personal attendance was required and he journeyed to Babylon (Jer 51:59) to clear himself of complicity in the treasonable plot and to assure Nebuchadnezzar of his loyalty. However, when the Phoenician coastal cities yielded to the force of Egyptian arms, Zedekiah allied himself with Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar, determined to make an end of the Egyptian aggressions, dispatched his army to crush the rebellion. All the members of the coalition, except Tyre and Judah, recanted and joined the Babylonians. With Tyre besieged, Judah was left to face the Babylonian might alone and in a desperate attempt to alleviate Judah's plight, Zedekiah, in the spirit of the laws of the Book of Deuteronomy (chap. 15), entered into a covenant with the whole nation to let all Hebrew slaves go free (Jer 34:9). At this point, the Babylonians temporarily lifted Jerusalem's siege in order to drive back an approaching Egyptian relief force. No sooner had their army withdrawn than the people of Jerusalem reduced their freed slaves to bondage again (Jer 34:11). The relief force failed and the siege was renewed.
Nebuchadnezzar depended mainly on starving the city into surrender but it withstood one and a half years of siege, until its walls were breached and Jerusalem destroyed. In the confusion, Zedekiah and his entourage stole away but were captured near Jericho (Jer 39:4-5; 52:7-8). Zedekiah was dragged to Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar had stationed his headquarters. There he was tried for treason, his sons were killed before his eyes and he himself was blinded before being carried captive to Babylon and imprisoned until his death (Jer 52:9-11).
4. The son of Maaseiah, and a contemporary of Jeremiah the prophet. He and another false prophet, Ahab, were denounced by Jeremiah (Jer 29:21-23) for their adulterous and immoral lives, and for falsely prophesying an early return from captivity to the exiles in Babylon. Jeremiah predicted their cruel death at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, who roasted them in a fire.
5. One of the officials who signed the covenant at the time of Nehemiah.
Concordance
ZEDEKIAH 1:
I Kgs 22:11,24. II Chr 18:10, 23
ZEDEKIAH 2:
Jer 36:12
ZEDEKIAH 3:
II Kgs 24:17-18, 20; 25:2,7. I Chr 3:15-16. II Chr 36:10-11. Jer 1:3; 21:1, 3, 7; 24:8; 27:3, 12; 28:1; 29:3; 32:1, 3-5; 34:2, 4, 6, 8,21; 37:1, 3,17-18, 21; 38:5, 14-17,19, 24; 39:1-2,4-7; 44:30; 49:34; 51:59; 52:1, 3, 5, 8,10-11
ZEDEKIAH 4:
Jer 29:21-22
ZEDEKIAH 5:
Neh 10:1
