156 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTSimprecation have their own ambiguity. Jehoiachin was made king after the
death of Jehoiakim, and he together with the queen mother ruled Judah for
only three months, after which they surrendered the city to Nebuchadrezzar.
Jeremiah told them to do so (13:18-20). Jehoiachin and others were then ex-
iled to Babylon, and Zedekiah was made king. Was then Jehoiachin king, or
was he not? He is reckoned among Judah's last kings in 2 Kgs 24:8-15, por-
trayed as a king in exile in 2 Kgs 25:27-30, and placed securely in the Davidic
line in later Jewish tradition (cf. 1 Chr 3: 17-19, where he is followed by Zerub-
babel, who, according to Hag 2:23, was a seal on the finger of Yahweh; also
Matt 1:11-12 in the NT); however, like Jehoahaz, who also sat on the throne
for a brief three months, Jehoiachin goes unmentioned in the superscription of
Jer 1:1-3. Jehoiachin receives a harsh word in the present oracle, correspond-
ing to the bad wrap-ups given in 2 Kgs 24:9 and 2 Chr 36:9.
As I live. Hebrew ~ay->anf. This divine self-asseveration occurs also in 46:18;
Zeph 2:9; and often in Ezekiel, e.g., Ezek 5: 11; 14: 16, 18, 20; et passim. In
Deut 32:40 it appears in the form ~ay >anokf lif<olam, "As I live forever." Only
Yahweh can swear by himself (see Note for 49:13).
Coniah. Hebrew konyahD.. A shortened form of Jehoiachin (2 Kgs 24:6, 12)
occurring also in 37:1 and 1 Chr 3: 1; not a pre-accession name or a name of
disparagement (pace Kim]:ii; Calvin). The king's name also appears in the OT
as "Jeconiah" (yekonyahD. in 24:1; yekonya in 27:20 [Q]; 28:4; 29:2; Esth 2:6;
and 1 Chr 3: 16, 17). Honeyman ( 1948: 16) notes seven different spellings of the
name in the Hebrew Bible. The name has turned up also on the Lachish and
Arad ostraca (see Appendix I). For a "Coniah" mentioned in Lachish Letter #3,
see Note for 37:5.
a seal on my right hand. Hebrew Mtam <al-yad yemfnf. Seals were used
throughout the ANE by kings, scribes, and other prominent citizens to authen-
ticate letters, documents, and the like (32:10; 1 Kgs 21:8; Esth 8:9-10), being
comparable to the seals of today's notaries public. One impressed them in wax
or prepared clay (Job 38: 14). Ancient seals were equivalent to one's signature,
and also protected the sealed items from being tampered with. They could be
hollowed-out cylinders hung on cords around the neck (Gen 38: 18, 25; Song
8:6), as was the custom in Assyria and Babylonia, or stones fixed in rings worn
on the finger, which was the practice in Egypt (cf. Gen 41:42) and later in Per-
sia (Esth 3: 10). The seal here is on a ring; therefore, it is a "signet" or "signet
ring." If a king was wearing it, the ring was likely made of gold, on which was
fixed an oval-shaped onyx, jasper, or other precious stone (Exod 39:6). Inscrip-
tions on the stones were made by engravers (Exod 28:11). Seals could also be
made from clay or scarabs ( = dead dung beetles), the latter being the oldest
type of seal common in Egypt. The king could himself wear the seal or give it
to another to act on his behalf. In times of royal transition, the king's seal might
also be given to an interim person until a new king was on the throne ( 1 Mace
6:15; Josephus, Ant xx 32). Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring (Gen 41:42).
Similarly, the Persian king entrusted his signet ring to Haman, then later to
Mordecai (Esth 3: 1 O; 8:2). Both practices-the entrusting of a king's seal to an-