Skip to content

Person Old and New Testament

Jehoiachin

Also known as Joyachin; Jehoiachin =ESV, NIV, KJV, Jeconiah =ESV, KJV; Jehoiachin =NIV, Coniah =ESV, Shallum, Jechoniah =ESV; Jeconiah =NIV; Jechonias =KJV

Jehoiachin, also known as Jeconiah, Coniah, or Shallum, was a king of Judah who reigned for three months before being exiled to Babylon. Mentioned in 22 verses across 7 books, first at 2 Kings 24:6.

Why it matters. King of Judah, son of Jehoiakim

Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Jehoiachin

Jehoiachin, also referred to as Jeconiah, Coniah, or Shallum, was a king of Judah who reigned for a brief period of three months and ten days (2Ch.36.9). He was the son of King Jehoiakim and ascended to the throne at the age of eighteen (2Ki.24.8). However, during his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin surrendered to him (2Ki.24.12). As a result, Jehoiachin, along with his family, nobles, and skilled workers, was taken captive to Babylon (2Ki.24.15-16; Jer.24.1; 27.20; 29.2; Ezk.1.2). Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jehoiachin's uncle, Mattaniah (later renamed Zedekiah), as the new king of Judah (2Ki.24.17; Jer.37.1).

During his captivity in Babylon, Jehoiachin was imprisoned for 37 years until Evil-merodach, the new king of Babylon, released him and treated him kindly (2Ki.25.27-30; Jer.52.31-34). Jehoiachin's descendants, including Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (1Ch.3.17; Mat.1.11-12).

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied about Jehoiachin, referring to him as "Coniah" and declaring that none of his descendants would prosper on the throne of David (Jer.22.24-30). Despite this prophecy, Jehoiachin's release from prison and the favor shown to him by the Babylonian king suggest that God had not forgotten him or his family.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.

Connections

No reviewed connections yet.

Family

Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.

Children
ShealtielZedekiah (?)

Appears in Scripture

Named in 22 verses across 7 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Person. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.