Judah Â· Divided Monarchy Â· Judah kingdom Â· King

Jeconiah

Also Jehoiachin / Coniah / Jechonias / Jechoniah

Era

Divided Monarchy

Tribe

Judah

Derived - by descent from Solomon - tribe of Judah

Roles

King

Kingdom

Judah

Dynasty

Davidic

Reign

Approx. 598-597 BC

Approximate - Thiele

Father

JehoiakimJosiah

Mother

Nehushta

Biography

Jehoiachin, also called Jeconiah and Coniah, reigned 3 months in Jerusalem and did evil in Yahweh's sight according to all his father had done . During Babylon's siege, he went out to the king of Babylon with his mother, servants, princes, and officers .

The king of Babylon carried away treasures from Yahweh's house and the king's house, deported Jerusalem's officials and craftsmen, and made Mattaniah king in Jehoiachin's place under the name Zedekiah . Jeremiah addresses Coniah with judgment language about his throne and offspring .

1 Chronicles names Jeconiah among the sons of Jehoiakim and names Shealtiel among Jeconiah's sons after the exile . Matthew names Jechoniah at the deportation to Babylon and then names Shealtiel after him in the genealogy of Jesus . Any dispute over how this line is navigated belongs in the disputes apparatus, not in this prose.

In Scripture

Place in the Line

The cited biological line from Jeconiah runs through Pedaiah toward Jesus.

8 generations

9 generations

15 generations

19 generations

8 generations

9 generations

15 generations

19 generations

Where scholars differ

What does Jeremiah mean when he says Jeconiah should be written childless?

What is in question: Jeremiah calls Jeconiah childless, yet other biblical lists continue his family line, so the issue is whether the word means no children at all or no successful royal heir.

One reading

Childless means no throne successor

majoritygraph path

Claim: Jeremiah's judgment means no descendant of Jeconiah will prosper on David's throne, not that Jeconiah has no descendants.

Basis: Jeremiah 22:30 explains the judgment in throne language, while 1 Chronicles 3:17 and Matthew 1:12 continue the line after Jeconiah.

Who holds it: not attributed to a named source in this dataset

Verses:

Another reading

The wording still creates a tension

minority

Claim: The word "childless" can sound absolute, so readers still have to notice the tension when a genealogy lists descendants after Jeconiah.

Basis: Jeremiah 22:30 says to write Jeconiah childless; 1 Chronicles 3:17 and Matthew 1:12 place Shealtiel after Jeconiah.

Who holds it: not attributed to a named source in this dataset

Verses:

Scholarly weight: The no-throne-successor reading is the wider and stronger reading because Jeremiah 22:30 itself defines the judgment in royal-throne terms. The second reading is a caution about wording, not an equal scholarly alternative.

Graph note: The graph keeps the Jeconiah to Shealtiel link because the genealogical texts name it; the note flags the wording of Jeremiah rather than treating it as an equal unresolved scholarly split.

Where scholars differ

Which father names should be followed for Shealtiel and Zerubbabel?

What is in question: Different biblical lists attach Shealtiel and Zerubbabel to different fathers, so the issue is which textual witness is being followed at each link.

One reading

Zerubbabel is son of Shealtiel

majority

Claim: Several texts call Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, so this is the most repeated biblical wording for Zerubbabel's father.

Basis: Matthew 1:12 and Luke 3:27 put Zerubbabel after Shealtiel; Ezra 3:2 and Haggai 1:1 call Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel.

Who holds it: not attributed to a named source in this dataset

Verses:

Another reading

Zerubbabel is son of Pedaiah

contested

Claim: 1 Chronicles names Pedaiah as Zerubbabel's father, so that link cannot be erased when comparing the lists.

Basis: 1 Chronicles 3:19 says the sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei.

Who holds it: not attributed to a named source in this dataset

Verses:

A third reading

Shealtiel is linked to Jeconiah or Neri

contested

Claim: Matthew and 1 Chronicles associate Shealtiel with Jeconiah, while Luke places Neri before Shealtiel.

Basis: 1 Chronicles 3:17 and Matthew 1:12 connect Shealtiel with Jeconiah; Luke 3:27 calls Shealtiel son of Neri.

Who holds it: not attributed to a named source in this dataset

Verses:

Scholarly weight: For Zerubbabel, Shealtiel is the more widely repeated biblical father-name, but Pedaiah remains a real Chronicles counter-witness. For Shealtiel's own father, Matthew/Chronicles and Luke preserve different lines, and this apparatus does not choose a harmonization.

Graph note: The graph retains all cited edges as textual witnesses rather than collapsing them into one harmonized family tree.

Matthew 1:11-12 'Jechonias.' Exiled to Babylon; the line continues through Shealtiel/Zerubbabel.

Josiah -> Jeconiah is marked as a telescoped lineage edge. Matthew 1:11 compresses Josiah to Jeconiah at the exile; the Jehoiakim generation is retained from 1 Chronicles 3:15-16.

Jeconiah -> Shealtiel Flagged for review. Jeconiah to Shealtiel is a known review point because Matthew 1:12 and 1 Chronicles 3:17 name Shealtiel after Jeconiah while Jeremiah 22:30 is relevant to interpretation; no harmonization is shown here.