צִדְקִיָּ֫הוּ

From the study of Jeremiah 21:1

Range of meaning

A name built on tsedeq/tsedaqah (right order, justice, loyalty to obligations) plus the divine name: 'YHWH is my righteousness' or 'my justice is YHWH'.

Against the English

English 'Zedekiah' hides the meaning. A Judean hearer would have heard 'YHWH-is-my-justice' every time the name was spoken.

Used elsewhere in the period

Nebuchadnezzar gave him this throne name in 597 BCE, when he replaced Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:17). The same collection ends with the promise of a coming king called YHWH tsidqenu, 'YHWH is our righteousness' (Jer 23:5–6), which most commentators read as a deliberate play on Zedekiah's name.

From the study of Jeremiah 34:8

Range of meaning

A personal name: 'YHWH is my righteousness/justice' (ṣedeq means right order or justice). Nebuchadnezzar gave the name to Mattaniah when he made him a vassal king in 597 BC (2 Kgs 24:17).

Against the English

English readers see only a name and miss what it means.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Kgs 24:17–25:7; Jer 21; 37–39. Many scholars hear a play on the name in the promised king 'YHWH is our righteousness' (YHWH ṣidqēnû, Jer 23:6).

From the study of Jeremiah 37:3

Range of meaning

A name made from tsedeq ('rightness, justice, the right order of things') and -yāhû (Yahweh): 'Yahweh is my righteousness/justice'.

Against the English

In English it is only a name, and the meaning is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Nebuchadnezzar changed the king's birth name, Mattaniah, to Zedekiah when he made him a vassal (2 Kings 24:17). Renaming a vassal showed the overlord's authority. Jeremiah 23:5–6 promises a future righteous king called YHWH tsidqēnû, 'Yahweh our righteousness'. Many commentators see this as a deliberate play on Zedekiah's name, though the text does not say so outright.