A MONTHLY TEACHING LETTER (Revised 2-14-2001)

 

Letter #10

 

This is the tenth in a series of teaching letters. If you have not received any of my previous teaching letters, please send $2.00 for each back issue you would like to have. These teaching letters are not just the average run-of-the-mill type of letter. If you really want to learn the Scripture�s deepest hidden truths, you will not want to miss any of these back issues. Because of the nature of these teaching letters, they will not go out of date, so you will want to keep them in a safe place where they won�t get lost. I have been getting quite a bit of response to these teaching letters recently, and in a very positive way. I appreciate all the kind comments many of you have been making about my work. I am beginning to realize I am making a bigger impact than I ever thought possible. Again, I want to thank all of you who are helping to keep this teaching ministry going financially. All of your donations and purchases are deeply appreciated! As I no longer have an income and now depend on Social Security, you can imagine how precious each donation is (regardless of the size).

 

Now Continuing the Topic:

JUST WHO IS THIS PATRIARCH JUDAH? (Part 10)

 

In my last teaching letter, I showed how the Samaritans were a mixture of 34 groups of ethnic peoples, many of which the Assyrians had placed in the old northern Kingdom of Israel after they took the Ten Tribes captive and displaced them from their land. I very carefully presented the history of the deportations by Assyria and Babylon proving that most of Judah went into Assyrian captivity while only the inhabitants of Jerusalem went into Babylonian captivity thus dividing the peoples of Judah. As a matter of fact, this division of the descendants of Judah was very extensive, as there were a whole series of divisions of the descendants of Judah and I will give you an overview of these divisions shortly. Then I returned to the subject of Nehemiah's second return to Jerusalem to deal with the race-mixing that was going on during his time with the Samaritans and the people of the land, some of whom were the nations of the Canaanites who were infused with the Cain satanic seed-line.. Then I showed you how, after Nehemiah expelled the half-breeds and the heathen, Sanballet and company built their own separate temple on Mount Gerizim.

 

Now to give you an overview of the divisions of the descendants of Judah:

 

(a)                Division between the children born to Judah and Bathshua, and the children born to Judah and Tamar, (see lessons #2 and #3).

(b)               Division between Judah and Joseph � Judah getting the Scepter and Joseph getting the Birthright.

(c)                Division among the families of Judah with the House of David becoming the kingly line.

(d)               Division of the House of Israel from the House of Judah.

(e)               0Division of Judah in captivity � most going into Assyrian captivity while the remainder in Jerusalem going into Babylonian captivity. (After the Assyrian campaign, only Jerusalem of all Judah remained.)

(f)                 Division among the Judah captives going into Babylonian captivity � some going earlier as good figs and some going later as bad figs.

(g)                Division among the Judah captives in Babylon � some returning to Jerusalem after 70 years to rebuild the walls and temple, while others staying in Babylon.

(h)               Division and separation forever of the seventy weeks nation from the rest of Israel and Judah (never to bear fruit again) when Yahshua cursed the fig tree, Matthew 21:19; Jeremiah 19:1, 10-11.

 

If you are not aware of all the details of these divisions in Judah, you are not prepared to identify the difference between a member of the Tribe of Judah and a �Jew!� (The term �Jew� is very confusing and inconsistent, which can mean different things to different people. Judah is an entirely different and distinct subject from that of the �Jew.�) I have already gone extensively into detail on some of these divisions in Judah, but there is still much to cover. At this time, I wish to return to some significant Samaritan history. You will have to learn to love history or you will never come to a full understanding of the Scriptures. I will try my best to present this history in a manner that becomes interesting and easy to understand.

 

A DEFINITION OF THE TERM, �JEW�

 

Before going any further, the term �Jew� should be defined. I use quotation marks properly in order to disown this term.  The usage of the term �Jew� or �Jews� was and is very fluid (not firm or fixed) inasmuch as it can mean many things to many people. It is generally used incorrectly for the Tribe of Judah, and, sometimes, even for the entire scope of the Hebrew people. Sometimes it is used only to indicate national origin, or a citizen of any race occupying the southern Kingdom of Judah. After the dispersal of the �Jews� from Jerusalem in 70 A.D., one was called a �Jew� who adhered to �Judaism� (a corrupted form of Hebrew tenets). Proselytes to the religion of Judaism which includes the tenets of the Talmud (or traditions of the elders) were and are properly called �Jews.� The Interpreter�s Dictionary of the Bible, volume E-J, page 898 further defines the term, �Jew�:

 

Today the term is even more fluid (not firm or fixed). There are Jews both by religion and by birth, by religion but not by birth, and by birth but not by religion. Race, nationality, physical type, language, culture, belief � none of these nor any combination of these will distinguish or identify the Jew. While it is without question that the Jews represent a clearly traceable continuum in the history of mankind, there is no least common denominator for the ... people who call themselves Jews.

 

The �clearly traceable continuum� and �common denominator� described here is the infusion of the Cain satanic seed-line blood through intermarriage with one or more of them? The main topic of our study is how this satanic blood spread among various peoples developing the �generation� (# 1081 gennema �race�) of vipers, Matthew 12:34) called �Jews� today. The proper definition, therefore, for a �Jew� is: one who has in some measure the slightest amount of satanic blood of Cain flowing in his veins no matter what else he may otherwise be called. A Judahite of the Tribe of Judah is not a �Jew�, and a �Jew� is not a Judahite or a pureblooded descendant of Jacob.

 

SAMARITANS UNDER JOHN HYRCANUS

 

We are going to skip all the way from the building of the temple at Mount Gerizim by the Samaritan Sanballat (about 420 B.C.), to its final destruction by John Hyrcanus (about 110 B.C.). This covers a period of about 310 years, and many things can happen in that long a span of time. Compare our own history for the last 310 years and you will have to agree, for it would take us back to 1689. Some do not agree with the 420 B.C. figure for the building of the temple at Gerizim, as some place it after Alexander the Great. This couldn�t be because we have to consider that Jerusalem was under Persian rule at this time. Grecian rule under Alexander didn't come until much later. There was something very interesting which happened during the reign of John Hyrcanus.

 

The area occupied by Judah was becoming so small, and the number of Judeans were becoming so few, John Hyrcanus decided upon a new and devastating policy � he would expand the territory of Judea and force the peoples he conquered to become proselytes to Israelite tenets (most writers wrongly say to �become Jews�). He first made an expedition against Syria taking the city of Medaba after about six months. After this he took Samega and the surrounding places. Besides these, he then turned toward Shechem and Gerizim and the nation of the Cutheans (another name for Samaritans) who dwelt at the temple which had been build by Sanballat for the sake of Manasseh (the high priest), his son-in-law. Next, I am going to quote from Josephus, book 13, chapter 9, part of #1 (you will have to excuse the way he uses the term �Jew�):

 

Hyrcanus took also Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea (Edom), and subdued all the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would circumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision, and the rest of the Jewish ways of living; at which time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews.

 

This expedition against the Edomites happened about one year after Hyrcanus� subjection of the Samaritans and the destruction of their temple. It is obvious that the Samaritans were already practicing a corrupted form of Israelite tenets and maybe even circumcision, so it isn't recorded in history that Hyrcanus enforced his tenets (whatever tenets he was keeping at that time) as a requirement upon them also. What Hyrcanus did do to the Samaritans was to destroy their temple at Mount Gerizim and treat them quite badly; so no doubt, they might have reverted to the temple at Jerusalem where they had been refused admission to worship earlier during Nehemiah's time. If the Edomites were invited to join, surely anyone accepting the tenets of the Jerusalem Temple were welcome. Only the Samaritans who continued to worship on Mount Gerizim would continue to be hated and not accepted by the Judeans. How can we tell this is probably what happened? You have to realize, if this was done, it opened the door to the 34 ethnic peoples which made up the Samaritans (which included the descendants of Cain) to become proselytes of the Judeans. Remember how in lesson #8, I explained how the Assyrians had a policy of mixing the people? It seems that John Hyrcanus had a policy of making proselytes of his conquered peoples. Perhaps if John Hyrcanus didn�t accept the Samaritans as proselytes, his son, Aristobulus I, did. If Hyrcanus and his son Aristobulus 1 practiced the tenets of what was called, �the traditions of the elders�, it could properly be called �Judaism.� Reading from The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 3, page 351:

 

Aristobulus I (104-103 B.C.) is said by Josephus to have taken the title of king. He conquered Galilee and forced the Gentile inhabitants to become Jews.

 

Now let's go to Josephus, book 13, chapter 11, and the last few lines of part 3.

 

He (Aristobulus I) was called a lover of the Grecians; and had conferred many benefits on his own country, and made war against Ituraea, and added a great part of it to Judea, and compelled the inhabitants, if they would continue in that country, to be circumcised, and to live according to the Jewish laws. He was naturally a man of candour, and of great modesty, as Strabo bears witness in the name of Timagenes: who says thus: � �This man was a person of candour, and very serviceable to the Jews, for he added a country to them, and obtained a part of the nation of the Itureans for them, and bound them to them by the bond of the circumcision of their genitals.�

 

Again, with this reference, you have to take the word �Jew� and �Jewish laws� the way the writer intended them, as Josephus never heard of the word �Jew� during his time. You can see very clearly that like father like son. This new policy to proselytize the heathen was a radical change from that adopted by Ezra and Nehemiah. I know I have had to go the long way around on this one to prove that the Samaritans became proselytes, but I believe you can see the evidence is very strong that they did. How many of the Samaritans might have become proselytes, can only be guessed at. It is my personal persuasion under the circumstances, because it was the policy of both the father and the son, that many of the Samaritans did become proselytes. Let�s next take a look at this place called �Ituraea� and see what that is all about. From Insight On The Scriptures, volume 1, page 1238 we get the following information:

 

ITURAEA (It-u-rea�a). A small territory of varying and undefined boundaries located northeast of the Sea of Galilee. The name Ituraea is thought to derive from Ishmael�s son Jetur, whose descendants residing east of the Jordan were defeated by the Israelites. Gen. 25:15, 16; 1Chr. 1:31; 5:18-23) Toward the close of the second century B.C., the Maccabean king Aristobulus 1 successfully warred against Ituraea and added much of its territory to Judea. To remain in the country, the inhabitants of Ituraea had to submit to circumcision and obey  Jewish Laws (Jewish Antiquities, XIII, 318 [xi, 3]). Later Ituraea was one of the territories comprising the tetrarchy of Philip, inherited from his father Herod the Great. Luke 3:1.

 

It�s a little hard to identify these Ituraeans, but they certainly were not Israelites. The more we learn about these Judean proselytes, the stranger they appear. There is one thing for sure � not everyone who is circumcised is necessarily a son of the Covenant! Now let�s talk about some of Judah�s divisions � let�s start with the division of the good figs and bad figs of Judah (#6 above).

 

THE DIVISION OF THE GOOD FIGS AND THE BAD FIGS OF JUDAH.

 

This Seventy Weeks Nation is a part of the bad figs. As a matter of fact, it is well referred to as the �bad fig nation.� Even though some good figs came through this nation like Yahshua and his ancestral line along with John the Baptist and his family line, nevertheless, it is and was a bad fig nation. We find the Scripture about the good and bad figs in Jeremiah chapter 24. Let�s read this passage at this time:

 

1 The Lord shewed me, and behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of  Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou Jeremiah? And I said, Figs: the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten they are so evil. 4 Again the word of the Lord came unto me saying, 5 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Isreal; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. 6 For I will set my eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be  my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. 8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: 9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whether I will drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

 

Some, when they read verse 8, think that Zedekiah was a bad fig, that he had some Canaanite satanic blood in him and would receive the curse of the Canaanite Judeans because he was to go to Babylon with the bad figs. There was some bad blood in the king line of Judah all right, but Zedekiah was not one of them. When I say bad blood, I mean Cain satanic seed-line blood. At this time, we will trace just how that bad blood got into the royal line of the House of David.

 

BAD BLOOD GETS INTO THE KING LINE OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID

 

For this story, we must take into consideration the life and aspirations of Jezebel. Because this is a well known story, I am not going to go into any particular detail of all the evil things she did. To pick up some of her background, I am going to quote from Unger�s Bible Dictionary, page 590:

 

Jezebel ... (perhaps, non-cohabited, unhusbanded). the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre and Sidon, and queen of Ahab. Her father had formerly been a priest of Astarte, but had violently dispossessed his brother Phelles of the throne.

 

We should give immediate attention to where Jezebel was from (Tyre and Sidon)!!!!! For this I will quote from Insight On The Scriptures, volume 2, page 940:

 

SIDON (Si�don), SIDONIANS (Si-do�ni-ans). Canaan�s firstborn son Sidon was the progenitor of the Sidonians. The seaport town of Sidon was named after their forefather, and for many years it was the principal city of the Phonecians as the Greeks called the Sidonians. Today the city is known as Saida. A colony of Sidonians also settled about 35 km (22 mi) south of Sidon and called the place Tyre. In time Tyre surpassed Sidon in many respects, but she never completely lost her identity as a Sidonian settlement. The king of Tyre was sometimes called �The king of the Sidonians� (1 Ki. 16:31), and frequently Tyre and Sidon are mentioned together in prophecy (Jer. 25:22; 27:3; 47:4; Joe. 3:4; Zec. 9:2). Between the two cities was Zarephath, �which belongs to Sidon.� ... Originally Sidon was considered the north limit of the Canaanite nations (Gen. 10:19).

 

This story opens up another can-of-worms and we will have to consider it before we go on. We will now have to deal with the name Canaan. Again we will use information from Insight On The Scriptures, volume 1, page 399:

 

CANAAN (Ca�naan) [Merchant Land; Land of the Tradesman], CANAANITE (Ca�naan-ite). The fourth-listed son of Ham and grandson of Noah (Ge. 9:18; 10:6; 1 Ch. 1:8). He was the progenitor of 11 tribes who eventually inhabited the region along the eastern Mediterranean between Egypt and Syria, thereby giving it the name �the land of Canaan.� (Ge. 10:15-19; 1 Ch. 16:18).

 

Following the incident regarding Noah�s drunkenness, Canaan came under Noah�s prophetic curse foretelling that Canaan would become the slave of both Shem and Japheth (Ge. 9:20-27). Since the record mentions only that �Ham the father of Canaan saw his father�s nakedness and went telling it to his two brothers outside�, the question arises as to why Canaan rather than Ham became the object of the curse.

    

I won�t tell you the conjecture that Insight On The Scriptures goes on to comment concerning this story of Canaan. The story is the same as Reuben when he looked on the nakedness of his father�s wife. I went into a lot of detail and referred to Reuben's cohabitation in Teaching Letters #2 & 3. To comprehend this passage, you have to understand that Noah�s nakedness was his wife. In other words, Ham violated Noah�s wife and to that union was born Canaan who was cursed by Noah. That is why the other children of Ham were not cursed, only Canaan. Being a child of incest, he was automatically an outcast of the family. And being an outcast, he could not marry with the other members of the family, therefore Canaan married with the satanic seed of Cain and that is why the Canaanites are listed with the ten nations of Genesis 15:19-21. In other words, Jezebel was a Canaanite Jewess! (a bad fig) Now that we know this, let's look further into Jezebel�s evil charades. We really aren�t going to get into all the evil this woman did. As an evil satanic seed of Cain, she did that which came natural to her. Like some of the other �evil seed of Cain�, she managed to have some little �serpents� by her husband Ahab. We will go back to Insight On The Scriptures, volume 2, page 76 for more of the story:

 

In the course of time Ahab died and was succeeded first by Jezebel�s son Ahaziah (a serpent seed) who ruled for two years, and then by another of her (serpent seed) sons, Jehoram who ruled for the next 12 years before Ahab�s dynasty ended (1 Ki. 22:40, 51-53; 2 Ki. 1:17; 3:1). During the reigns of these sons, Jezebel now in the role of queen mother, continued to influence the land with her fornications and sorceries (2 Ki. 9:22). Her influence was even felt in Judah to the south, where her wicked daughter Athaliah, who married Judah�s king, perpetuated the Jezebel spirit in that southern kingdom for another six years after her mother�s death � 2 Ki. 8:16-18, 25-27; 2 Ch. 22:2, 3; 24:7.

 

We can see from this that the northern Kingdom had two kings that were descendants of Cain, so let�s take a look and see what was happening in the southern Kingdom. The reference this time will be from Insight Into The Scriptures, volume 1, page 209:

 

ATHALIAH (Ath-a-li�ah). ... Queen of Judah, daughter of King Ahab of Israel and his wife Jezebel; granddaughter of Omri (2 Ki. 8:18, 26). She was the sister of Israel�s King Jehoram, and sister or half sister of the other 70 sons of Ahab, all of whom Jehu ordered killed (2 Ki. 3:1, 2; 10:1-9). Athaliah was given in a marriage of political expediency to Jehoram, the eldest son of Jehoshaphat of Judah (2 Ki. 8:25-27; 2 Ch. 18:1). She was the mother of Ahaziah, who in time became king of Judah.

 

Like her mother Jezebel, Athaliah egged on her husband, Jehoram, to do what was bad in Yahweh�s eyes during his eight-year reign (1Ki. 21:25; 2 Ch. 21:4-6). And like her mother, Athaliah wantonly shed the blood of the innocent. When her wicked son Ahaziah died after a one-year reign, she killed off all the others of the royal line, except the infant Jehoash, who had been hidden by the high priest and his wife, who was Jehoash�s aunt. Thereupon Athaliah installed herself as queen for six years, 905-899 B.C. (2 Ch. 22:11, 12). Her sons robbed Yahweh�s temple of the holy things and offered them up to Baal � 2 Ch. 24:7. When Jehoash reached seven years of age, God-fearing High Priest Jehoiada brought the lad out of secrecy and crowned him rightful heir to the throne. Hearing the tumult, Athaliah rushed to the temple and seeing what was happening, cried �Conspiracy! Conspiracy!� High Priest Jehoiada ordered her taken outside the temple grounds  to be executed at the horse gate of the palace; she was perhaps the last of Ahab�s abominable house.

 

If Athaliah had succeeded in killing Jehoash, that would have been the last of the House of David. The above events were taking place about 280 years before Zedekiah. These events show that bad blood in the form of Cain�s descendants had worked themselves into the king lines of both Ephraim and Judah, but because of Jehoash the line of David survived. How can we be sure that it was indeed the blood of Cain that had surfaced in Jezebel and her daughter? To understand the full significance of this we will go to Ezekiel 28:1-19:

 

1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am  a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: 3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: 4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: 5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: 6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; 7 Behold I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against thy beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. 8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. 9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God?  But thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. 10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God, 11 Moreover (This is not all, there is more to come.), the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius. topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, the gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so:  thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and nevershalt thou be any more.

 

ZEDEKIAH WAS NOT A �BAD FIG�

 IN THE SENSE OF BEING FROM CAIN�S SATANIC SEED-LINE

 

The only way this can be proven is by checking out Zedekiah�s genealogy. We will check this out as thoroughly by Scripture as we can. Let�s start by quoting from Insight On The Scriptures, volume 2, page 1226:

 

ZEDEKIAH ... Son of Josiah by his wife Hamutal; last of the Judean kings to reign at Jerusalem. Upon his being constituted vassal king, his name was changed by Babylon King Nebuchadnezzar from Mattaniah to Zedekiah. During the 11 years of his reign, Zedekiah �continued to do what was bad in Yahweh�s eyes�� 2 Ki. 24:17-19; 2 Ch. 36:10-12; Jer. 37:1; 52:1,2.

 

MATTANIAH (volume 2, page 351) A son of King Josiah and the uncle of King Jehoiachin. He was put on the throne of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who changed his name to Zedekiah � 2 Ki. 24:15-17.

 

HAMUTAL (Insight On The Scriptures, volume 1, page 1027) (Ha-mu�tal) [possibly, Father-in-Law Is Dew]. Daughter of �Jeremiah from Libnah�; wife of King Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz and Mattaniah (Zedekiah), both of whom reigned as kings over Judah � 2 Ki. 23:30, 31; 24:17, 18; Jer. 52:1.

 

Again, in another article from The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia and Scripture Dictionary, page 756, we get the following on the name, Hamutal:

 

HAMUTAL... (Hebrew... kinsman of the dew), daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, wife of king Josiah, and mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, kings of Judah.

 

From this, we know that Zedekiah�s mother, Hamutal, had a typical Hebrew name meaning kinsman as fresh as the morning dew. Have you ever gone out early in the morning and observed the sun shining on the dew? � with millions of droplets of dew shining like gems of crystal? � each drop of dew being pure, without contamination, representing purity of race? This is a name for an Israelite, not a race-mixed rotten fig �Jew.�

 

JEREMIAH FROM LIBNAH (Insight On The Scriptures, volume 2, page 30) A man of the town of Libnah, a priestly city. He was the father of King Josiah�s wife Hamutal, who was the mother of King Jehoahaz and Zedekiah (Mattaniah). � 2Ki. 23:30, 31; 24:18; Jer. 52:1; Jos. 21:13; 1Ch. 6:57.

 

Joshua 21:13

 

Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs.

 

The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 3, page 921 says this of Libnah: It, (Libnah) later became a Levitical city, i.e. a city assigned exclusively to the priest and Levites for their places of residency in Palestine (Jos. 21:13; 1 Chron. 6:57). If this is true, Zedekiah�s mother, Hamutal, was from the tribe of Levi. In order to cover all bases, let�s take a look at Josiah, Zedekiah�s father.

 

JOSIAH (Insight On The Scriptures, volume 2, pages 117-118) Son of Judean King Amon by Jedidah the daughter of Abaiah (2 Ki. 22:1) Josiah had at least two wives, Hamutal and Zebidah (2 Ki. 23:31, 34,36) Of his four sons mentioned in the Bible, only the firstborn, Johanan, did not rule as king over Judah � 1Ch. 3:14,15.

 

After the assassination of his father and the execution of the conspirators, eight-year-old Josiah became king of Judah (2 Ki. 21:23, 24, 26; 2Ch. 33:25). Some six years later Zebidah gave birth to Josiah�s second son, Jehoiakim (2 Ki. 22:1; 23:36). In the eighth year of his reign, Josiah sought to learn and to do Yahweh�s will (2 Ch, 34:3). It was also about this time that Jehoahaz (Shallum), Josiah�s son by Hamutal was born � 2 Ki. 22:1; 23:31; Jer. 22:11. ... About four years later( after the long procrastinated Passover) Josiah became father to Mattaniah (Zedekiah) by his wife Hamutal, � 2Ki. 22:1; 23:31, 34, 36; 24:8, 17, 18.

 

Also, we find more on Josiah�s mother and grandfather from The Interpreter�s Dictionary of the Bible, volume E-J, page 997:

 

His (Josiah�s) mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath (cf. Josh 15:39).

 

Then, if you will go to this reference in Joshua, you will find many of the old line Judah families listed from verses 21 to 62, so Josiah�s mother was from the pure tribe of Judah and there were no bad figs among Josiah�s mother�s side of the house. This can also be found in II Kings 22:1 which says:

 

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother�s name was  Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

 

Now, back to quoting from: Insight On The Scriptures, volume 2, page 1221:

 

ZEBIDAH (Ze-bi�dah) [from a root meaning �endow�]. A wife or concubine of King Josiah and mother of King Jehaoikim. Zebidah was the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah � 2 Ki. 23:34, 36.

 

AMON  (Insight On The Scriptures, volume 1, page 96) A king of Judah (661-660 B.C.), and son of wicked King Manasseh. He began to rule at the age of 22 and followed the idolatrous course of his father�s earlier years. The bad conditions described at Zephaniah 1:4; 3:2-4 doubtless were developing at this time. After two years on the throne, he was murdered by his own servants. �The people of the land [�am ha-�a�rets]� put the conspirators to death, placed his son Josiah on the throne, and buried Amon in �the garden of Uzza� (2 Ki. 21:19-26; 2 Ch. 33:20-25). The genealogy of Jesus includes his name. � Mt. 1:10

 

While Amon was not a very good king of Judah, nevertheless he was a pure descendant of the house of David of the Tribe of Judah. I have now covered every possibility that Zedekiah may have somehow had some bad satanic blood of Cain, and there is no way he could have any. If Zedekiah was of unpure blood, then, Yahshua the Messiah�s pure line is in doubt. Why is it so important to prove Zedekiah�s bloodline? For if Zedekiah was of pure blood, so too was Tea Tephi and her sister, whom Jeremiah the prophet removed from old Palestine and placed in Ireland and Spain respectively.

 

THE RECORDED BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR THE PERIOD OF ZEDEKIAH AND THE GOOD AND BAD FIGS

 

It is always a good idea to get the historical background surrounding the topic we are considering. For the historical background of Jeremiah chapter 24, we must go to 2 Kings 24:10-17 which reads as follows:

 

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. 12 And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. 13 And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king�s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. 14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king�s mother, and the king�s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father�s brother king in his stead and changed his name to Zedekiah.

 

This brings up an interesting situation. After the good king Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo, his son by Hamutal, Jehoahaz was put on the throne by the people of the land. Jehoahaz ruled for three months and then was taken prisoner to Egypt where he died. This left three sons of Josiah who could become king. The next son of Josiah to become king of Judah was Jehoiakim who was mothered by Zebidah. Jehoiakim ruled 11 years and was not considered a very good king; actually a very defiant king. Finally, as we read the story in the above Scripture, Jehoiakim�s son, Jehoiachin, was carried off to Babylon with many mighty men of war, smiths and craftsmen along with his immediate family as Jehoiakim, his father, had evidently died during Nebuchadnezzar�s siege of Jerusalem. This left two sons of Josiah who could be put on the throne of Judah, Johanan or Zedekiah. For some reason, Nebuchadnezzar chose Zedekiah. Nebuchadnezzar really didn�t care which one was king as long as he got his tribute. What�s important to notice here is, Nebuchadnezzar had only two choices if he wanted to stay with the usual king line, and this was the normal way they set up vassal kings at that time. There is more detail to this story, so let�s go to Insight On The Scriptures, volume 1, page 1269:

 

Daniel�s account (1:1, 2) states that Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem and laid siege to it and that Jehoiakim, along with some of the temple utensils, was given into the Babylonian king�s hand. However the account at 2 Kings 24:10-15 describes the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and shows that Jehoiakim�s son Jehoiachin, whose reign lasted only three months and ten days, was the one who finally capitulated and went out to the Babylonians. It therefore appears that Jehoiakim died during the siege of the city, perhaps in the early part thereof. Yahweh�s prophecy through Jeremiah (22:18.19; 36:30) indicated that Jehoiakim was not to receive a decent burial; his corpse was to lie unattended outside the gates of Jerusalem, exposed to the sun�s heat by day and the frost by night. Just in what way Jehoiakim was given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar� (Dan. 1:2) is not revealed.

 

If it was Jehoiachin that went into Babylonian captivity instead of Jehoiakim, it puts a whole different light on this story. We have to consider, we are talking about the lineage of Yahshua the Messiah with these personages. The two sons of Josiah who were in the direct lineage would have been the sons mothered by Zebidah, Jehoiakim and Johanan. I have checked several other reference books, and they all say essentially the same thing as the paragraph above. In fact, there exist Babylonian tablets (chronicles) that have been discovered by archaeologists which confirm the above. If the above paragraph is true, Jehoaikim is left out of the genealogy of the line of Yahshua in Matthew where he rightly belongs (even though being a very bad king). The Interpreter�s Dictionary of the Bible, volume E-J, page 812 gives a short comment concerning this:

 

In the genealogy in Matthew 1:11-12 Jechoniah (Jehoiachin) is given as the son of Josiah, the name of Jehoiakim being absent from the list.

 

You can see from this, we have problems with the genealogy of Yahshua our Redeemer. This is not the only problem we have with His genealogies, and I will be addressing some of them as I go along. Also the 14�s do not add up correctly with Jehoiakim left out. Possibly he should be the last of the second fourteen, in series II. While we are on the subject of Jehoiachin, let�s see what we can find out about him. The last thing we know, he was taken into Babylonian captivity along with his family. One thing we should clear up is his different names as recorded in Scripture. Besides being called Jehoiachin, he is called Jechoniah, Jeckonias and Coniah. When he was taken to Babylon, he was put in prison probably with the idea of leaving him there until he died. Then another king came along by the name of Evil-merodach (worshiper of Marduk) who succeeded Nebuchadnezzar on the Babylonian throne. Evil-meridach extended kindness to Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, by releasing him from his prison confinement after 37 years of exile. This is also confirmed by archaeological evidence. The story is found in 2 Kings 25:27-30 and Jeremiah 52:31-34. Let�s now read the first passage only, as both passages read nearly the same :

 

27 And it came to pass in the seventh and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; 28 And he spake kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon; 29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. 30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.

 

King Jehoiachin is credited with having a son by the name of Shealthiel. It is not known whether this son was born before or after his 37 year incarceration in Babylon. For information on this we will go to The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 5, page 379:

 

SHEALTIEL ... (1 Chron 3:17; Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27). The eldest son of King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) of Judah... and the father of Zerubbabel the leader of the first group of returners from the Babylonian Captivity, and governor of postexilic Judah under the Persian King Darius I (Ezra 3:2; Neh. 12:1). The apparent discrepancy between 1 Chronicles 3:19 and Matthew 1:12 where the Masoretic Text of the Chronicles reference makes Pedaiah (a brother of Shealtiel) the father of Zerubbabel, has been explained by the possibility that Shealtiel, being childless, adopted Zerubbabel the son of his brother Pedaiah, or perhaps that Zerubbabel was born to the widow of the childless Shealtiel as a result of the levirate marriage according to which the child would be legally the son of Shealtiel. It has also been conjectured that the reference in 1 Chronicles 3:19 is to another Zerubbabel, a cousin of the son of the same name in Matthew 1:12.

 

 

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