2 Kings 24
The account of the final years of the southern kingdom following Josiah's death and leading to Judah's subjugation by Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar represents the inexorable movement toward the exile and the enactment of the covenant curse that has been threatened throughout the narrative of 2 Kings. The chapter opens with the brief notice of Josiah's son Jehoahaz's reign and his capture by Pharaoh Neco. The chapter describes the Babylonian invasion under Nebuchadnezzar, who comes against Judah and besieges Jerusalem; Jehoiakim becomes a tributary of Babylon for three years, then rebels, yet Nebuchadnezzar responds with the dispatch of various forces to harass Judah. Jehoiakim dies and is succeeded by his son Jehoiachin, who reigns for only three months before surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar. The chapter records that Jehoiachin is taken captive to Babylon along with his mother, his wives, his officials, and the craftsmen and smiths of the city. The theological significance lies in the recognition that the curses threatened throughout 2 Kings are now beginning to be enacted.
2 Kings 24:6
So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors; and his son Jehoiachin succeeded him — Jehoiakim dies (or is perhaps removed from power) and his son Jehoiachin succeeds him. The formula 'slept with his ancestors' traditionally indicated peaceful death, though Jehoiakim may have been deposed or died during siege conditions.
2 Kings 24:1
During his reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him — Jehoiakim's reign transitions from Egyptian to Babylonian vassalage. Nebuchadnezzar (נְבוּכַדְנֶּצַּר, *Nevuchadnetzar*), Babylon's great king, emerges as the dominant power, replacing Egypt's hegemon. Jehoiakim's rebellion after three years of tributary vassalage indicates his inability to sustain submission to imperial demands. This rebellion precipitates the Babylonian siege and conquest.
2 Kings 24:2
The LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Arameans, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites; he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken by his servants the prophets — the formula 'The LORD sent against him' (וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוָה עָלָיו, *way-yishlach YHWH alav*) attributes even the Babylonian conquest to divine agency. The coordinated assault by Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite bands (perhaps vassals of Babylon or regional allies) represents the judgment promised through prophets. The phrase 'according to the word of the LORD... that he had spoken by his servants the prophets' indicates that the exile is not merely military conquest but fulfillment of prophetic judgment.
2 Kings 24:3
Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove it out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, all that he had done, — the theological interpretation traces the exile to Manasseh's apostasy. The phrase 'at the command of the LORD, to remove it out of his sight' (עַל־פִּי יְהוָה הָיָה לְהָסִיר אֶת־יְהוּדָה, *al-pi YHWH hayah le-hasir et-Yehudah*) indicates that the exile is divinely purposed judgment. The attribution to 'the sins of Manasseh, all that he had done' establishes that even Josiah's comprehensive reform could not reverse the trajectory established by the longest-reigning, most wicked king.