Zedekiah () was the twentieth and final King of Judah before the conquest of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu (, Mattanyāhū, "Gift of God"; ; ). 

After the siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II deposed king Jeconiah and installed his uncle Mattanyahu instead, changing his name to Zedekiah (). The prophet Jeremiah was his counselor, yet he did not heed the prophet and his epitaph is "he did evil in the sight of the Lord" (; ).

William F. Albright dates the start of Zedekiah's reign to 598 BC, while Edwin R. Thiele gives the start in 597 BC. On that reckoning, Zedekiah was born in c. 617 BC or 618 BC, being twenty-one on becoming king. Zedekiah's reign ended with the siege and fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar II, which has been dated to 587 or 586 BC.

Background
The defeat of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 612 BC at the Battle of Nineveh by the Neo-Babylonian Empire caused upheavals that led to the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah. Egypt, concerned about the new threat posed by the Babylonians, moved northward to support Assyria. It set on the march in 608 BC, moving through Judah. King Josiah attempted to block the Egyptian forces and fell mortally wounded in battle at Megiddo. Josiah's younger son Jehoahaz was chosen to succeed his father on the throne. Three months later the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II, returning from the north, deposed Jehoahaz in favor of his older brother, Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was taken back to Egypt as a captive.

After the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Jerusalem. Jehoiakim changed allegiances to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem. He paid tribute from the treasury, some artifacts from the temple, and some of the royal family and nobility were taken as hostages. The subsequent failure of the Babylonian invasion into Egypt undermined Babylonian control of the area, and after three years, Jehoiakim switched allegiance back to the Egyptians and ceased paying the tribute to Babylon. Because of this, Nebuchadnezzar II invaded Judah again in 599 BC, and again laid siege to Jerusalem. In 598 BC, Jehoiakim died during the siege and was succeeded by his son Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin). Jerusalem fell within three months. Jeconiah was deposed by Nebuchadnezzar, who installed Zedekiah, Jeconiah's uncle, in his place.

Life and reign

According to the Hebrew Bible, Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar II in 597 BC. This is in agreement with a Babylonian chronicle, which states,The seventh year: In the month Kislev the king of Akkad mustered his army and marched to Hattu. He encamped against the city of Judah and on the second day of the month Adar he captured the city [and] seized [its] king. A king of his own choice he appointed in the city [and] taking the vast tribute he brought it into Babylon.

The kingdom was at that time a tributary to Nebuchadnezzar II. Despite the strong remonstrances of Jeremiah, Baruch ben Neriah and other family and advisors—and ignoring the example of his older brother Jehoiakim—Zedekiah entered into an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt and revolted against Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar responded by invading Judah (). Nebuchadnezzar began a siege of Jerusalem in December 589 BC. During this siege "every worst woe befell the city, which drank the cup of God's fury to the dregs" (; , ).

After laying siege to the city for about thirty months, Nebuchadnezzar finally succeeded in capturing Jerusalem in 586 BC. Zedekiah and his followers attempted to escape, making their way out of the city, but were captured on the plains of Jericho and taken to Riblah. There, Zedekiah saw his sons put to death. Then his eyes were put out and he was loaded with chains and carried captive to Babylon (; ; ; ; ; ), where he remained a prisoner until he died.

After the fall of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar sent Nebuzaradan to destroy the city. It was plundered and razed to the ground, and Solomon's Temple was destroyed. Only a small number of vinedressers and husbandmen were permitted to remain in the land ().

Aftermath
Upon the fall of Jerusalem, the former Kingdom of Judah was absorbed into the Neo-Babylonian Empire and reorganized to become Yehud province. Nebuchadnezzar transferred the administrative center from Jerusalem to Mizpah and appointed Gedaliah ben Aḥikam as governor of the province, under the watchful eye of a Babylonian guard (, ).

On hearing this news, all the Jews that were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Aram-Damascus returned to Judah (). However, the subsequent assassination of Gedaliah led most of the population of Judah to flee to Egypt for safety (, ) In Egypt, they settled in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and Pathros. ().

Chronological dispute

The Babylonian Chronicles give 2 Adar (16 March), 597 BC, as the date that Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. At that time, Nebuchadnezzar deposed King Jeconiah and installed Zedekiah—Jeconiah's uncle—in his place. Zedekiah's installation as king by Nebuchadnezzar can therefore be firmly dated to the early spring of 597 BC.

Historically there has been considerable controversy over the date when Jerusalem was captured the second time and Zedekiah's reign came to an end. There is no dispute about the month: it was the summer month of Tammuz (Jeremiah 52:6). The problem has been to determine the year. It was noted above that Albright preferred 587 BC and Thiele advocated 586 BC, and this division among scholars has persisted until the present time. If Zedekiah's years are by accession counting, whereby the year he came to the throne was considered his "zero" year and his first full year in office, 597/596, was counted as year one, Zedekiah's eleventh year, the year the city fell, would be 587/586. Since Judean regnal years were measured from Tishrei in the fall, this would place the end of his reign and the capture of the city in the summer of 586 BC. Accession counting was the rule for most, but not all, of the kings of Judah, whereas "non-accession" counting was the rule for most, but not all, of the kings of Israel.

The publication of the Babylonian Chronicles in 1956 yielded evidence that the years of Zedekiah were measured in a non-accession sense. According to this method, 598/597 BC—the year Zedekiah was installed by Nebuchadnezzar according to Judah's Tishrei-based calendar—is considered to be "year one" of Zedekiah's reign. Therefore, the fall of Jerusalem in his eleventh year would have been in year 588/587 BC, i.e. in the summer of 587 BC.

The Babylonian Chronicles allow the fairly precise dating of the capture of Jeconiah and the start of Zedekiah's reign, and they also give the accession year of Nebuchadnezzar's successor Amel-Marduk (Evil Merodach) as 562/561 BC, which was the 37th year of Jeconiah's captivity according to 2 Kings 25:27. These Babylonian records related to Jeconiah's reign are consistent with the fall of the city in 587 but not in 586, thus supporting Albright's date. Nevertheless, scholars who assume that Zedekiah's reign should be calculated by accession reckoning continue to adhere to the 586 date.

Book of Mormon
According to the Book of Mormon, a religious text in the Latter Day Saint movement, Zedekiah had a son named Mulek, who escaped death and traveled across the ocean to the Americas, where he founded the Mulekite nation. The Mulekites later merged with another Israelite splinter group—the Nephites—to form one nation, which retained the Nephite name.

Genealogical note
Zedekiah (whose name at birth was Mattanyahu) was the third of Josiah's four sons. His three brothers were Eliakim (born c. 634 BCE), Shallum (born c. 633 BCE), and Johanan. Hamutal—the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah—was mother to Mattanyahu and his younger brother Shallum, while Zebidah—the niece of Pedaiah—was mother to Eliakim.

Shallum succeeded Josiah as king of Judah, under the name Jehoahaz. Shallum was succeeded by Eliakim, under the name Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim was succeeded by his own son Jeconiah. 

Nebuchadnezzar II deposed Jeconiah and installed his uncle Mattanyahu on the throne, under the name Zedekiah. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah before the kingdom was conquered by Babylon and the people exiled.

In films

See also
 Zedekiah's Cave

Notes

References

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6th-century BC kings of Judah
Book of Mormon people
Dethroned monarchs
시드키야(공동번역), 혹은 시드기야(개역개정)(, )는 고대 유다 왕국의 마지막 왕이다. 요시야 왕의 셋째 아들이며, 그의 어머니는 "리브나의 예레미야"의 딸로서 18대 왕인 여호야김의 형제가 된다.

구약성경의 기록에 따르면, 참모들의 만류에도 거리낌없이 이집트와 동맹을 맺고 당시 강성하던 바빌론 제국에 반기를 들다가, 바빌론의 네부카드네자르 2세의 침공을 맞아 싸우던 끝에 587년의 예루살렘 공성전 패배하여 도망치던 중 여리고 평야에서 잡혀 립나까지 끌려가는 일련의 과정을 거쳐 두 아들은 그가 보는 앞에서 처형당하고 자신은 두 눈을 뽑힌채 바빌론으로 끌려가 그곳 감옥에서 남은 삶을 보내야 했다. 예루살렘은 느부갓네살 왕의 지시로 철저히 파괴되어 잿더미가 되었고, 적은 수의 장애인과 노약자를 뺀 모든 국민이 바빌론에 포로로 끌려갔다.

배경 
기원전 612년 니네베 전투에서 신아시리아 제국이 신바빌로니아 제국에 의해 패배하면서 유다 왕국의 멸망이 시작되었다. 바빌로니아인들의 새로운 위협을 우려한 이집트는 아시리아를 지원하기 위해 기원전 608년 북쪽으로 이동하기 시작한다. 이 때 유다가 통행로에 있었고, 요시아왕은 이집트군을 막으려다가 메기도 전투에서 치명상을 입고, 둘째 아들 여호아하즈가 아버지의 뒤를 이어 왕위에 올랐다. 3개월 후, 이집트의 파라오 네카우 2세(느고)가 북쪽에서 이집트로 돌아가며 여호아하즈의 형인 여호야킴을 즉위시킨다. 여호아하즈는 포로가 되어 이집트로 끌려갔다.

기원전 605년 카르케미시 전투에서 바빌로니아가 이집트를 물리친 후, 네부카드네자르 2세는 예루살렘을 포위했다. 여호야킴은 예루살렘의 파괴를 피하기 위해 바빌로니아로 충성의 대상을 바꾸었다. 국고를 털어 조공을 바쳤으며, 사원의 기물도 주었다. 또한 왕족과 귀족들 중 일부가 볼모로 잡혀갔다. 그러나 이후 바빌로니아의 이집트 침공이 실패로 끝나자 3년 후 여호야킴은 이집트인들에게 다시 충성을 바치고 바빌로니아에 조공을 중단했다. 이 때문에 기원전 599년 네부카드네자르 2세는 다시 유다를 침공하여 예루살렘을 포위하였다. 기원전 598년, 여호야킴은 포위 공격 중에 사망했고, 그의 아들 여호야긴이 뒤를 이었다. 예루살렘은 3개월만에 함락되어 여호야긴은 폐위되었고, 네부카드네자르는 그 삼촌 시드키야를 왕위에 앉혔다.

통치 

구약성경은 시드키야가 기원전 597년 유다의 왕이 되었을 때 21세였다고 기록한다. 바빌로니아 연대기는 다음과 같이 기록한다.

그 당시 왕국은 네부카드네자르 2세의 속국이었다. 예레미야, 바룩을 비롯해 여러 원로들과 예언자들의 반대에도 불구하고, 시드키야는 여호야킴처럼 다시 이집트의 파라오 호프라와 동맹을 맺고 바빌론에 대항하여 반란을 일으킨다. 네부카드네자르는 이에 응하여 유다를 침공하였다. 네부카드네자르는 기원전 589년 12월에 예루살렘을 포위하기 시작했다. 이 포위 공격 중에 기근을 포함한 여러 재앙이 그 성읍에 닥쳤고, '하나님의 분노의 잔을 삼켜 잿더미가 되었다'.

약 30개월 동안 도시를 포위한 후, 마침내 기원전 586년에 예루살렘이 점령되었다. 시드키야와 그의 추종자들은 도망치려다가 예리코 평원에서 붙잡혀 리블라로 끌려갔다. 시드키야는 거기에서 그의 아들들이 처형되는 것을 보았다. 이후 시드키야의 눈을 파내고 쇠사슬을 채운 뒤 바빌론으로 끌고 갔다. 그는 죽을 때까지 포로로 남아 있었다.

예루살렘이 함락된 후, 네부카드네자르는 네부자라단(느부사라단)을 보내 예루살렘을 파괴했다. 도시는 약탈되었고, 제1성전은 파괴되었다. 소수의 포도원지기와 농부, 목축업자들을 제외한 나머지는 모두 바벨론으로 끌려갔다.

연대 

바빌로니아 연대기에는 네부카드네자르 2세가 예루살렘을 점령한 날짜로 아달월 2일(기원전 597년 3월 16일)를 기록하고 있다. 그 때에 네부카드네자르는 여호야긴왕을 폐위시키고, 그의 삼촌인 시드키야를 그 자리에 앉혔다. 따라서 시드키야의 즉위는 기원전 597년으로 받아들여진다.

그러나 예루살렘이 두 번째로 함락되고 시드키야의 통치가 끝난 날짜에 대해서는 여러 의견이 있다. 예레미야서 52장 6절에서 적듯 담무스월에 예루살렘이 함락된 것에는 이견이 없다. 그러나 연대에 대해서는 윌리엄 F. 올브라이트가 587년을 주장하고, 에드윈 R. 틸레는 586년을 주장한 이래로 논쟁이 계속되고 있다. 만약 시드기야의 즉위 연도를 0년으로 간주하고 재위 첫 해인 597년/596년을 1년으로 계산한다면, 시드기야의 11년차인 도시가 함락된 해는 587년/586년이 될 것이다. 또한 유대인들이 가을인 디스리월부터 연도를 세기 때문에 기원전 586년 여름에 예루살렘이 함락되었다는 것이 틸레의 논리이다. 유다 국왕 대부분 즉위한 연도를 1년으로 포함하여 셌으나 전부 그랬던 것은 아니었다. 마찬가지로 북이스라엘 국왕 대부분 즉위한 연도를 0년으로 셌으나 이 역시 전부 그랬던 것은 아니기 때문에 논란이 있다.

몰몬경 
예수 그리스도 후기성도 교회의 몰몬경에서는 시드기야의 선지자 중 하나인 리하이가 하나님의 인도에 따라 예루살렘을 떠나 바다를 건너 아메리카 대륙에 당도하였고, 후일 그의 후손이 니파이인과 레이맨인들(아메리카 인디언 조상의 일부)로 나뉘어 그들의 나라를 세웠다고 적는다.

각주 

유다 국왕