“And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Kings 23:34 Mean?
The political collapse of Judah accelerates here. After Josiah's death in battle against Pharaoh Necho, the people install his son Jehoahaz as king. But Pharaoh Necho intervenes, deposing Jehoahaz and replacing him with his brother Eliakim — whom Necho renames Jehoiakim. The name change is an act of political dominance: renaming someone in the ancient world was an assertion of authority over them.
Jehoahaz, the people's choice, is taken to Egypt where he dies. The king of Judah now rules at the pleasure of Egypt's pharaoh. The irony echoes through the centuries — the nation God liberated from Egyptian bondage is once again under Egypt's thumb. A pharaoh is choosing Judah's kings and renaming them.
The name change from Eliakim ("God establishes") to Jehoiakim ("the LORD raises up") seems minor — both names reference God. But the act itself is what matters. A foreign king is asserting the right to define Judah's ruler's identity. The theological meaning of the name is irrelevant when the power to assign it belongs to Pharaoh.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What freedoms — spiritual, relational, personal — did a previous generation fight for that you might be taking for granted?
- 2.Who or what is currently 'naming' you — defining your identity? Is it God, or something else?
- 3.How does Judah's return to Egyptian control echo patterns in your own life of drifting back to old bondages?
- 4.What does it look like practically to guard the freedom someone else won for you?
Devotional
A pharaoh is naming Judah's kings again. Centuries after the Exodus, Egypt reaches back into Israel's story and takes control — deposing one king, installing another, renaming him to assert ownership. The liberation story is unraveling.
There's a pattern here that's painfully relevant. When you drift from what anchored you — when a nation forgets the God who freed it, when a person wanders from the identity that grounded them — you don't stay independent. You just get a new master. Judah's rejection of God didn't lead to freedom; it led to Pharaoh picking their kings.
The name change is the most telling detail. Necho renames Eliakim to Jehoiakim — he defines who this king is. When you let someone or something other than God define your identity, it doesn't matter if the new name sounds spiritual. The issue isn't the label; it's who's doing the labeling.
Jehoahaz dies in Egypt. The people's chosen king ends his life in the very land his ancestors escaped. Sometimes the most devastating consequence of unfaithfulness isn't something dramatic — it's the quiet return to a bondage your forebears already paid the price to leave.
What freedoms have previous generations won for you that you might be drifting back from? And who or what is doing the naming in your life — defining your identity and your direction?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign,.... And therefore must be two years older than his…
In the room of Josiah his father - Not “in the room of Jehoahaz his brother;” the phrase is intended to mark the fact,…
Turned his name to Jehoiakim - These names are precisely the same in signification: Eliakim is God shall arise;…
Jerusalem saw not a good day after Josiah was laid in his grave, but one trouble came after another, till within…
Eliakim … and turned his nameto Jehoiakim We can hardly think that this change was made by Pharaoh. He probably insisted…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture