What Does Jeremiah 22:24 Mean?

(24) **Coniah the son of Jehoiakim.**—The grammatical structure of the sentence fixes the original utterance of the message, now reproduced, at a time when Coniah was actually king, during his short three months’ reign. The name of this prince appears in three forms :—(1) The abbreviated Coniah, as here and in Jeremiah 37:1 : this was probably the name by which he was known before he was proclaimed as king. (2) Jeconiah, with slight variations, in Jeremiah 24:1; Jeremiah 27:20, and elsewhere. (3) Jehoiachin, also with varied spelling—probably the regal title assumed on his accession (Jeremiah 52:31; Ezekiel 1:2). The meaning of the name “Jehovah establishes” is constant in all the forms. In 2Kings 24:8 he is said to have been eighteen years old when he began to reign. In 2Chronicles 36:9 the age is given as eight. The latter is obviously an error of transcription. His reign lasted for three months only. There is probably a touch of scorn, as in the case of Shallum, in the prophet’s use of the earlier name instead of that which he had assumed as king. **The signet upon my right hand.**—The seal-ring was, as in Haggai 2:23, the symbol of kingly power (Genesis 41:42; Esther 3:10; Esther 8:2), authenticating every edict, and was therefore the type of all that was most precious. (Comp. Song of Solomon 8:6.)