Jehoiachin, the last king of Judah before the Babylonian conquest, is mentioned in 2 Kings 24:10-17; 2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34; Ezekiel 1:2-3; and Ezekiel 17:11-12. Interestingly, he is also mentioned several times in the Babylonian records. The Bible and the Babylonian records agree on several points:
- Jehoiachin was the king of Judah
- he was defeated by the Babylonian forces,
- he was taken into exile in Babylon,
- he was imprisoned there, and
- he was then finally freed after 37 years.
Babylonian records also provide some interesting details about Jehoiachin’s time in captivity, specifically, details about his daily rations while imprisoned. Archaeologists have discovered a huge archive of official documents in an underground vault near the Ishtar Gate in Babylon. They date from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and his son Amel-Marduk (approximately 595-560 BC). Among the discovered documents were four ration tablets which can be fairly reliably dated to the early reign of Amel-Marduk, beginning about 562 BC.
These four cuneiform clay tablets were administrative documents detailing the daily amount of oil allotted to Jehoiachin, five of his sons, as well as other captives. One of the tablets notes that “ten sila of oil is to be distributed to the king of Judah, Yaukin,” which is the Babylonian transliteration of Jehoiachin. (Ten sila is a little over 2 US gallons — 17 pints.) The tablet also notes that “two-and-a-half sila of oil is distributed to the sons of the king of Judah.”
Interestingly, another tablet that mentions the sons of the king of Judah also mentions rations for various craftsmen from Judah. The book of Kings records that craftsmen and smiths were among the captives taken at the same time as Jehoiachin.
Jehoiachin fared much better than both his predecessor and his successor, surviving 37 years of imprisonment and eventually being given a place of honor in the king’s presence. The book of Ezekiel also notes that Jehoiachin, king of Judah, was taken to Babylon with his family and continued to live there — not tortured or executed, as was the fate of many other defeated kings.
Summary
The Jehoiachin Ration Tablets agree with the Biblical accounts on many key points:
- confirming that Jehoiachin was the king of Judah,
- mentioning that his sons were allowed to live,
- specifying that he was given daily rations in Babylon, and
- that he even continued to be referred to by his royal title.
This specified agreement confirms the accuracy of historical details recorded in the books of Kings, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; and he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life, and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life. (2 Kings 25: 27-30 NASB95)
