was committed to the flames section by section. Jehoiakim ignored the pleas of three of his princes not to burn the roll. He particularly objected to the prophetic words that pointed to the desolation of Judah at the hands of Babylon’s king. This suggests that Nebuchadnezzar had not yet come against Jerusalem and made Jehoiakim his vassal.​—Jer 36:1-4, 21-29.

Second Kings 24:1 shows that Nebuchadnezzar brought pressure upon the Judean king “and so Jehoiakim became his servant [or vassal] for three years. However, he [Jehoiakim] turned back and rebelled against him [Nebuchadnezzar].” Evidently it is to this third year of Jehoiakim as a vassal king under Babylon that Daniel refers at Daniel 1:1. It could not be Jehoiakim’s third year of his 11-year reign over Judah, for at that time Jehoiakim was a vassal, not to Babylon, but to Egypt’s Pharaoh Necho. It was not until Jehoiakim’s fourth year of rule over Judah that Nebuchadnezzar demolished Egyptian domination over Syria-Palestine by his victory at Carchemish (625 B.C.E. [apparently after Nisan]). (Jer 46:2) Since Jehoiakim’s revolt against Babylon led to his downfall after about 11 years on the throne, the beginning of his three-year vassalage to Babylon must have begun toward the end of his eighth year of rule, or early in 620 B.C.E.

Daniel’s account (1:1, 2) states that Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem and laid siege to it and that Jehoiakim, along with some of the temple utensils, was given into the Babylonian king’s hand. However, the account at 2 Kings 24:10-15 describes the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and shows that Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin, whose reign lasted only three months and ten days, was the one who finally capitulated and went out to the Babylonians. It therefore appears that Jehoiakim died during the siege of the city, perhaps in the early part thereof. Jehovah’s prophecy through Jeremiah (22:18, 19; 36:30) indicated that Jehoiakim was not to receive a decent burial; his corpse was to lie unattended outside the gates of Jerusalem, exposed to the sun’s heat by day and the frost by night. Just in what way Jehoiakim was ‘given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar’ (Da 1:2) is not revealed. It may have been in the sense of his dying under siege and of his son’s thereafter having to go out into captivity, so that Jehoiakim’s line suffered the loss of the kingship at Nebuchadnezzar’s hands. There is no way to confirm the Jewish tradition (recorded by Josephus) that Nebuchadnezzar killed Jehoiakim and commanded that his dead body be thrown outside Jerusalem’s walls. (Jewish Antiquities, X, 97 [vi, 3]) By whatever means Jehoiakim’s death came, it appears that the copper fetters Nebuchadnezzar had brought along to bind Jehoiakim were not used as planned.​—2Ch 36:6.

Following the siege of Jerusalem during Jehoiakim’s “third year” (as vassal king), Daniel and other Judeans, including nobles and members of the royal family, were taken as exiles to Babylon. There being no record of an earlier Babylonian exile, this appears to place the event in the short reign of Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim’s successor.​—2Ki 24:12-16; Jer 52:28.

After Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin surrendered, Nebuchadnezzar elevated Jehoiachin’s uncle Zedekiah to the throne of Judah. (2Ch 36:9, 10) This fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy that Jehoiakim would have no one sitting on the throne of David. (Jer 36:30) Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin ruled a mere three months and ten days.

(Je·hoiʹa·rib) [May Jehovah Contend; Jehovah Has Conducted [Our] Legal Case].

The priest whose paternal house was selected by lot as first of the 24 priestly divisions organized during David’s rule. (1Ch 24:1-3, 5-7) Some of the postexilic descendants of this paternal house, or another priest with the same name, lived in Jerusalem. (1Ch 9:3, 10) The name is spelled Joiarib in the parallel list at Nehemiah 11:10.

(Je·honʹa·dab) [Jehovah Is Willing (Noble; Generous)], Jonadab (Jonʹa·dab) [shortened form of Jehonadab].

In the Hebrew text and many English translations, both spellings are used interchangeably for each of the two persons bearing the name.

1. David’s nephew; son of his brother Shimeah. Jehonadab was “a very wise man” but crafty and shrewd. After inducing David’s son Amnon to disclose to him his passion for his half sister Tamar, Jehonadab proposed the scheme by which Amnon violated her. After her full brother Absalom had Amnon killed in revenge, the report came to David that Absalom had killed all the king’s sons, but Jehonadab was on hand to give assurance that Amnon alone was dead. (2Sa 13:3-5, 14, 22, 28-33) He is possibly the “Jonathan” at 2 Samuel 21:21 and 1 Chronicles 20:7.

2. Son of Rechab; companion of King Jehu. His encounter with Jehu was not accidental, for on Jehonadab’s own initiative he was “coming to meet him,” and in turn, he received Jehu’s blessing. The subsequent events showed that Jehonadab was in complete agreement with Jehu’s