Evil-merodach אֱוִיל מְרֹדַךְ
King of Babylon; released Jehoiachin from prison.
Who is Evil-merodach in the Bible?
Evil-merodach was a king of Babylon who ruled from 562 to 560 BC and was the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar II. In the 37th year of the exile of Judah's former king Jehoiachin, Evil-merodach released him from prison and showed him remarkable kindness, speaking favorably to him and giving him a seat of honor above other captive kings in Babylon (2 Kings 25:27-28; Jeremiah 52:31-32). He also provided Jehoiachin with regular food allowances for the remainder of his life (2 Kings 25:29-30; Jeremiah 52:33-34). This act of mercy toward the exiled king represents the only biblical account of Evil-merodach's reign and signals a shift in Babylon's treatment of Judah's captured leadership, offering a glimmer of hope to the exiled Jewish people.
Biography
Evil-merodach was a king of Babylon who reigned from 562 to 560 BC. He was the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian king who had conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem. In the 37th year of the exile of Jehoiachin, the former king of Judah, Evil-merodach showed him kindness by releasing him from prison (2Ki.25.27; Jer.52.31). He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon (2Ki.25.28; Jer.52.32). Evil-merodach also provided Jehoiachin with regular food allowances for the rest of his life (2Ki.25.29-30; Jer.52.33-34). This act of mercy toward the exiled king of Judah is the only event recorded in the Bible about Evil-merodach's reign.
In Scripture
2 biblical books ; 1 with study content2 Kings 1 verse
- 2 Kings 25:27
"On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison."
Jeremiah 1 verse
- Jeremiah 52:31
"On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison."
Study Jeremiah →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | אֱוִיל מְרֹדַךְ |
Encyclopedia Article
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain) Evil-merodach
ar II, king of Babylon. The Babylonian form of the name is Amelu- Marduk, that is, "man of Marduk." About 30 contract tablets dated in this reign have been found. They show that Evil-merodach reigned for two years and about five months. He is said by Berosus to have conducted his government in an illegal and improper manner, and to have been slain by his sister's brother, Nergalshar-ucur, who then reigned in his stead. Evil- merodach is said in 2Ki 25:27-30 and in the parallel passage in Jer 52:31-34 to have taken Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from his prison in Babylon, where he seems to have been confined for 37 years, to have clothed him with new garments, to have given him a seat above all the other kings, and to have allowed him to eat at the king's table all the days of his life. It is an undesigned coincidence, that may be worthy of mention, that the first dated tablet from this reign was written on the 26th of Elul, and Jer 52:31 says that Jehoiachin was freed from prison on the 25th of the same month.
R. Dick Wilson
Occurs twice in English Versions
(1) 1Pe 2:1 it is the translation of katalalia, "a speaking against," rendered "backbiting" in <ref osisRef="Bi