Person Old and New Testament
Jehoiada
Also known as Barachiah =ESV; Berekiah =NIV; Barachias =KJV
Jehoiada, also known as Barachiah, was a high priest who led a revolt against Queen Athaliah and crowned Joash as king of Judah. Mentioned in 26 verses across 3 books, first at 2 Kings 11:4.
Why it matters. High priest who overthrew Athaliah and crowned Joash
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Jehoiada
Jehoiada, also referred to as Barachiah in Mat.23.35, was a high priest during the reign of King Joash of Judah. He played a crucial role in preserving the Davidic lineage and restoring the worship of Yahweh in Judah.
When Athaliah, the mother of the deceased king Ahaziah, seized the throne and ordered the execution of all the royal heirs, Jehoiada and his wife Jehosheba rescued the infant Joash and hid him in the temple for six years (2Ki.11.1-3; 2Ch.22.11-12). In the seventh year, Jehoiada gathered the military leaders and Levites, revealing the existence of the rightful heir and orchestrating a coup against Athaliah (2Ki.11.4-12; 2Ch.23.1-11). Joash was crowned king, and Athaliah was executed (2Ki.11.13-16; 2Ch.23.12-15).
During Joash's reign, Jehoiada served as his advisor and guided him in the ways of the Lord (2Ki.12.2). Jehoiada also initiated repairs to the temple and oversaw the collection of funds for this purpose (2Ki.12.7-16; 2Ch.24.4-14). He died at the age of 130 and was buried among the kings in the City of David, a testament to his significant role in the history of Judah (2Ch.24.15-16).
After Jehoiada's death, Joash turned away from the Lord and even ordered the execution of Jehoiada's son, Zechariah, for speaking out against the king's disobedience (2Ch.24.17-22; Mat.23.35). This act of betrayal led to the downfall of Joash and the kingdom of Judah.
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.
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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.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 26 verses across 3 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.