This article closes my series on Jesus’ genealogies, looking at Matthew 1, Luke 3, and related aspects of the Old Testament record at the time of the Babylonian exile. Today, we’ll look at “Jeconiah’s Curse,” from Jeremiah 22, and its relevance to the descent of Christ.
If you haven’t yet read the previous articles (The Genealogies of Christ — Summary, with links), this one may be of limited value. Also, this one is long for a blog post! Get comfortable and grab a cup of coffee! 🙂
This is a summary (for the sidebar menu) of a series of posts on the genealogies of Christ in Matthew and Luke, and some related aspects of the Biblical record, particularly around the time of the Babylonian exile.
The Genealogies of Christ — Two Genealogies — A discussion of the two different genealogies in Matthew and Luke, why we are given both of them, and some of their interesting features.
Zerubbabel and the Genealogies of Christ — This post looks at the intersection (at Salathiel and Zerubbabel) of the two genealogies, and notes the importance of Zerubbabel in Christ’s lineage.
Rations for Jehoiachin — This article discusses several clay tablets found in Babylon which name Jehoiachin / Jeconiah, a key figure in the lineage of Christ. Not only do these tablets provide external evidence consistent with the Biblical record, they also give interesting information about Jeconiah’s sons — of particular interest since he appears in the genealogy of Christ found in Matthew.
Jeconiah’s Age and the Genealogies of Christ — In this article, we brought together the Biblical evidence with the archaeological clues we have, and found they point in the same direction. Jeconiah’s sons (and almost certainly his grandsons) in the line of Christ were his own biological children — which brings us to “Jeconiah’s Curse.”
The Genealogies of Christ and “Jeconiah’s Curse” — An article looking at God’s declaration of judgment in Jeremiah 22 and its possible relevance to the genealogy of Christ, and examining whether this is really a curse on Jeconiah, or if it would be better known as “Zedekiah’s Curse.” This article closes with some concluding thoughts on the genealogies.
We can’t go to Heaven the way we are.
I Corinthians 15:50
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Death is an enemy. But by God’s grace, which turns enemies into allies and defeats into glorious conquests, death is the promise of our change.
Yesterday, I posted one of our favourite hymns, I Need Thee, Precious Saviour! As I said, we sing it to a tune that was originally arranged for “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers!” — another hymn we didn’t know, and chose for inclusion in our hymnbook based on its words alone.
When we compiled our hymnbook, we included a hymn that was chosen, not because any of us had ever heard it before, but simply because we liked the words. It quickly became a favourite.
This series began with The Genealogies of Christ — Two Genealogies on the two listings in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. It continued with Zerubbabel and the Genealogies of Christ on the “crossing” of the genealogies. Rations for Jehoiachin dealt with evidence from a clay tablet discovered in Babylon about the last king of Judah in the line of Christ. This post looks at a few more details about Jehoiachin / Jeconiah.
Babylonian ration tablet naming Jeconiah. Pergamum Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins. Used by kind permission
This tablet is one of four known as “Jehoiachin’s Ration Tablets.” They not only confirm aspects of the Biblical record, they clarify some interpretive questions which might be more difficult without their evidence — including some details of the genealogies of Christ, a topic on which I’ve been writing.
This artefact is in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin, but I include it in my British Museum series because (like others in the series) it is an archaeological find relevant to Scripture. But please don’t look for it when you visit London!
Mind Renewers 