Jeremiah 1:3

JEREMIAH—NOTE ON Jeremiah 1:3 Jehoiakim appears as the book’s villain. He ruled c. 609–598 B.C. He hated Jeremiah’s preaching (Jeremiah 36:1). He favored Egypt over Babylon, which led Babylon to invade Judah and take a number of captives c. 605 B.C. (Daniel and his friends were some of the exiles taken to Babylon at that time; Daniel 1:1.) Jehoiakim then switched allegiance to Babylon, only to change back to Egypt, which led to a second deportation of Judeans in 597 B.C. (Ezekiel went to Babylon at this time.) Zedekiah was the last king of Judah (c. 597–586 B.C.). He was an inconsistent man who sought Jeremiah’s advice but was unwilling to follow it (Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 38:14). His opposition to Babylon eventually led to the defeat of Jerusalem by Babylonians in the fifth month, or July/August (see Jeremiah 39:1), of 587 or 586 B.C. This captivity lasted until c. 538–535 B.C., when Cyrus, the Persian conqueror of Babylon, allowed the Jews to return to their homeland (Ezra 1:1). Jeremiah prophesied that the exile would last 70 years, and it did (counting from 605 B.C.; see note on Jer. 25:11).