Jeconiah

Jeconiah (Hebrew: יְכָנְיָה‎, meaning "God will fortify (his people)"; Greek: Ιεχονιας; Latin: Joachin), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin (Hebrew: יְהֹויָכִין‎ ; Greek: Ιεχονιας; Latin: Joachin), was a king of Judah who was dethroned by the King of Babylon in the 6th Century BCE and was taken into captivity. Most of what is known about Jeconiah is found in the Hebrew Bible. After many excavations in Iraq, records of Jeconiah's existence have been unearthed, such as the Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets. These tablets were excavated near the Ishtar Gate in Babylon and have been dated to c. 592 BC. Written in Cuneiform, they mention Jeconiah ("Ia-'-ú-kinu") and his five sons as recipients of food ration in Babylon. Comparing Babylonian records with date references found in Hebrew biblical texts, the length of Jeconiah's captivity can accurately be determined. To some extent, even the dating of the Fall of Jerusalem can be established to 597 BCE.