Who was Zedekiah in the Bible?
King, during the divided monarchy
Zedekiah, originally named Mattaniah, was the last king of Judah before the Babylonian exile. Zedekiah appears in 53 verses across 5 books of the Bible.
The Bible uses the name Zedekiah for 2 different people. All 2 are below, each with its own passages.
Zedekiah in Jeremiah
Zedekiah, originally named Mattaniah, was the last king of Judah before the Babylonian exile. He was the son of Josiah and the uncle of Jehoiachin. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, appointed him as a vassal king after deporting Jehoiachin. Zedekiah reigned for 11 years, but he did evil in the sight of the Lord. Despite the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, leading to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. During the siege, Zedekiah sought counsel from Jeremiah but did not heed his advice to surrender. When the city fell, Zedekiah attempted to flee but was captured. His sons were killed before his eyes, and then he was blinded and taken to Babylon in chains. Zedekiah's reign ended in tragedy, marking the fall of the kingdom of Judah and the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah
Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, was a false prophet during the reign of King Ahab of Israel. When Ahab sought advice about attacking Ramoth-gilead, Zedekiah, along with other prophets, encouraged the king to go to war, promising victory. He made iron horns and symbolically declared that Ahab would gore the Syrians. However, the prophet Micaiah contradicted their message, prophesying Ahab's defeat and death. Zedekiah struck Micaiah and accused him of lying. Micaiah responded by saying that Zedekiah would hide in an inner chamber when his false prophecy was revealed. Ahab listened to Zedekiah and the other false prophets, leading to his death in battle.
4 verses: 1 Kings 22:11, 1 Kings 22:24, 2 Chronicles 18:10, 2 Chronicles 18:23
Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.
Where does Zedekiah appear in the Bible?
Zedekiah is referenced in 53 verses across 5 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- 1 Chronicles 3:15
- 2 Chronicles 36:10
- 2 Chronicles 36:11
- 2 Kings 24:17
- 2 Kings 24:18
- 2 Kings 24:20
- 2 Kings 25:2
- 2 Kings 25:7
- Jeremiah 1:3
- Jeremiah 21:1
- Jeremiah 21:3
- Jeremiah 21:7
- Jeremiah 24:8
- Jeremiah 27:12
- Jeremiah 28:1
- Jeremiah 32:1
- Jeremiah 32:3
- Jeremiah 32:4
- Jeremiah 32:5
- Jeremiah 34:2
- Jeremiah 34:4
- Jeremiah 34:6
- Jeremiah 34:8
- Jeremiah 34:21
Showing the first 24 of 53.
Open all 53 references in ProtosWhat else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Zedekiah.
Common questions
How many people in the Bible are called Zedekiah?
Zedekiah refers to 2 different people in the Bible: Zedekiah in Jeremiah; Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah.
How many times does the Bible mention Zedekiah?
Zedekiah appears in 53 verses across 5 books, most often in Jeremiah, which accounts for 41 of them.
Which books of the Bible mention Zedekiah?
Jeremiah, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles.
Where can I read every verse about Zedekiah?
This page lists 24 of them. Protos carries all 53, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.
