How old was Jehoiachin when he became king?

Historical Background

Jehoiachin was a descendant of King David, reigning near the end of the period of the Judean monarchy. His father, Jehoiakim, ruled under the shadow of expanding Babylonian power led by King Nebuchadnezzar. By the time Jehoiachin ascended to the throne, the kingdom of Judah was already under intense pressure from Babylon, culminating in the eventual exile of many Judeans to Babylon (2 Kings 24:10–12). Understanding Jehoiachin’s age at accession clarifies not only historical timelines but also the reliability of the biblical text.

Biblical References to Jehoiachin’s Accession

Two primary passages address Jehoiachin’s age at the beginning of his reign:

• 2 Kings 24:8:

“Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem.”

• 2 Chronicles 36:9:

“Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the sight of the LORD.”

Both passages in the Berean Standard Bible agree that Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he assumed the throne. This consistency helps clarify a longstanding question: Was Jehoiachin eight or eighteen at his coronation? Some manuscripts in the Hebrew tradition record “eight,” but the weight of evidence—in both the earliest textual witnesses and other historical accounts—strongly supports “eighteen.”

Textual Variations in 2 Chronicles 36:9

The variation arises primarily in some Hebrew manuscripts that record Jehoiachin’s age as eight in 2 Chronicles 36:9. Several factors highlight why “eighteen” is the best-supported reading:

1. Harmony with 2 Kings 24:8: The earlier biblical writing of 2 Kings states “eighteen.” Where 2 Chronicles appears to conflict in certain manuscripts, the older or more accurate texts also read “eighteen,” maintaining consistency across Scripture.

2. Ancient Translational Evidence: Early translations, such as certain Greek versions (the Septuagint, where preserved), generally align with “eighteen” rather than “eight.” Although differences exist in some later copies and traditions, the majority attestation and coherence with 2 Kings suggest “eighteen.”

3. Likelihood of Scribal Error: In Hebrew, numerical figures can be especially susceptible to copying and scribal slips. Copyists might have inadvertently dropped or misread part of the word for “eighteen” (שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה) to create “eight” (שְׁמוֹנֶה). Additionally, the parallel accounts and the overall historical circumstances favor the older age.

Historical and Contextual Considerations

1. Babylonian Chronicles: External sources, such as the Babylonian Chronicles, document Nebuchadnezzar’s campaigns and the siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC. While these records do not explicitly provide Jehoiachin’s age, they do depict a time when Judean kings, including Jehoiachin, were engaged in formal negotiations and political dealings with Babylon. The role Jehoiachin played—surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar and being taken captive—aligns far more realistically with an eighteen-year-old monarch than with a child of eight (cf. 2 Kings 24:12).

2. Josephus’s Account: The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, although writing centuries after these events, likewise interprets Jehoiachin’s reign in a way that presupposes a king old enough to manage the immediate crisis with the Babylonians. Josephus, in his work Antiquities of the Jews (Book 10), refers to Jehoiachin as coming to the throne in his teens, not as a child.

3. Internal Evidence of Jehoiachin’s Actions: During his brief three-month-and-ten-day reign (2 Chronicles 36:9), Jehoiachin not only inherited a throne under Babylonian threat but also was referred to as doing “evil in the sight of the LORD.” This language suggesting moral choice and political maneuvering is more coherent if he was a late teenager or young adult.

Harmonizing the Passages

Because Scripture remains our final authority and upholds a cohesive testimony, the most coherent explanation is that Jehoiachin was indeed eighteen years old at the time of his accession. Variations in some manuscripts of 2 Chronicles 36:9 appear to stem from scribal transcription errors rather than an actual contradiction within the biblical text.

Some interpreters have proposed other solutions, such as a co-regency starting when Jehoiachin was eight. However, given that 2 Kings 24:8 and the best manuscripts of 2 Chronicles 36:9 both explicitly say “eighteen,” the simplest and most reliable conclusion is that the original text intended “eighteen.” Co-regency theories, though conceivable, are not strictly necessary to resolve the question. The consistency of these parallel passages in more authoritative manuscripts affirms that Jehoiachin assumed full kingship at eighteen.

Conclusion

Scripture in 2 Kings 24:8 and 2 Chronicles 36:9 presents a unified picture: Jehoiachin ascended the throne at the age of eighteen. Manuscript evidence, linguistic studies, and historical context reinforce that the “eight years old” reading found in a few manuscripts is best understood as a copying slip. Consequently, Jehoiachin’s short reign occurred when he was old enough to be recognized as a full monarch, not merely a child.

His age at accession, therefore, stands at eighteen, a detail underscored by the synergy of biblical texts, corroborating extrabiblical records, and the testimony of faithful manuscript transmission.