Who is…
Jechonias

Greek: Ἰεχονίας —transliteration: Iechonias —occurrences: 2 (Matthew 1:11-12 KJV)

also known as:
Jehoiachin
Jechoniah (1 Chronicles 3:16; Jeremiah 24:1; 27:20)
Jeconiah (1 Chronicles 3:16)
Coniah (an abbreviation of Jeconiah, Jeremiah 22:24; 37:1)
Jekonjah
Jojachin (German version)
Yaukin, King of Judah (in The Ration Tablets discovered in ancient Babylon)

This Judean king was known by various names.

“Coniah is an abbreviation of Jeconiah (1 Chronicles 3:16), which is another form of the name Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:6).

Coniah was the last king of Judah in the direct line from King David.

When he was deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Chronicles 36:10), Coniah’s uncle Zedekiah was assigned to rule Judah for a brief reign, but he also was put down, and no later king was ever able to regain the throne.” —Dr. Henry M. Morris, The Defender's Study Bible, note for Jeremiah 22:24

The Gospel of Matthew records,

“And Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.” —Matthew 1:11-12

Jechonias is one of the Judean Davidic kings in the legal ancestry of Jesus Christ, through his foster-father Joseph, a descendant of King David (Matthew 1:16).

Lineage—Adam to Jesus Christ through Joseph

Adam → Seth → Enos → Cainan → Mahalaleel → Jared → Enoch → Methuselah → Lamech → Noah → Shem → Arpachshad (Arphaxad) → Cainan → Shelah → Eber → Peleg → Reu → Serug (Saruch) → Nahor → Terah → Abraham → Isaac → Jacob → Judah → Perez → Hezron → Ram → Amminadab → Nahshon → Salmon → Boaz → Obed → Jesse → KING DAVID → King Solomon → King Rehoboam → King Abijah (Abijam) → King Asa → King Jehoshaphat → King Jehoram (Joram) → King Ahaziah (Uzziah) → King Jotham → King Ahaz → King Hezekiah → King Manasseh → King Amon → King Josiah → Jeconiah (Jechonias, Jehoiachin, Jekonjah, Coniah) → Prince Shealtiel → Prince Zerubbabel (Zorobabel) → Prince Abiud (Abihud) → Governor Eliakim → Azor → Zadok → Achim → Eliud → Eleazar → Matthan → Jacob → JOSEPH, the adoptive, legal father of of Jesus Christ

“It was Jechoniah whose sins caused God to cut his seed off from ever sitting on David's throne (Jeremiah 22:24-30). …Jechoniah’s royal line of descendants is listed here [in the genealogy of Matthew 1] to show the legal right of Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, to David’s throne (Matthew 1:16). Neither Joseph nor any others of Jechoniah’s seed could ever have the SPIRITUAL right to the throne. That right must be carried through Mary’s ancestry.” —Dr. Henry M. Morris, The Defender's Study Bible, note for Matt. 1:11

See Jeremiah 22:24-30 and 33:15-17.

See: Mary, mother of Jesus — Note that Zechoniah is not her ancestry.

For more information about this man, see JEHOIACHIN (one of his other names).

Streaming video— 
“Evidence That King David’s Descendants Survived In Exile”
Joel P. Kramer, Christian archaeologist and author, describes the importance of The Ration Tablets discovered in the ruins of Babylon. When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, it appeared that King David’s descendants had not survived. However, during excavations of Babylon in 1903, archaeologist Robert Koldewey discovered an inscription mentioning the King of Judah. This find proved to be archaeological evidence demonstrating that David’s royal line lived through exile, which was necessary for God’s promise to be fulfilled that the Messiah would come from the House of David.
Video by Expedition Bible
Length: 15 minutes

More information

Article Version: October 25, 2024