Jehoiada

Biblical Account

Jehoiada is a priest of the Temple in Jerusalem who appears in 2 Kings 11–12 and 2 Chronicles 22–24. Second Chronicles 24:6 calls him the high priest. According to 2 Chronicles 22:11, his wife was Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram. Second Kings 11:2 calls the same woman Jehosheba.

When Ahaziah, king of Judah, died, his mother Athaliah killed the entire royal family and ruled the kingdom herself. Jehosheba, however, rescued Ahaziah's young son Joash, who grew up hidden in the temple for six years (2 Kings 11:1–3). In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned the commanders of the guard, showed them Joash, and stationed guards around the temple. He then crowned Joash, anointed him, and made him king, and Athaliah was put to death (2 Kings 11:4–16). Second Chronicles 23 gives a fuller account, noting that the Levites and the heads of families took part.

Jehoiada then led the king and the people in making a covenant that they would be the LORD's people, and he also established a covenant between the king and the people. The people tore down the house of Baal and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal (2 Kings 11:17–18). Joash became king at the age of seven. Second Kings 12:2 records that he did what was right "all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him."

When repairs to the temple were delayed, Jehoiada set up a chest with a hole bored in its lid to collect offerings (2 Kings 12:9). Second Chronicles adds that he took two wives for Joash (2 Chronicles 24:3). He died at the age of 130 and was buried among the kings in the city of David because he had done good toward God and toward His house (2 Chronicles 24:15–16).

Significance Within the Bible

Second Chronicles portrays Jehoiada's death as a turning point. After he died, Joash listened to the princes of Judah and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. When Jehoiada's son Zechariah rebuked them, he was stoned to death in the temple court at the king's command. Second Chronicles observes that Joash did not remember the kindness Jehoiada had shown him (2 Chronicles 24:17–22).

Jehoiada himself is not named in the New Testament. However, many interpreters identify this Zechariah with the "Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple" mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:51. Because the Hebrew Bible ends with 2 Chronicles, the phrase "from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias" is read as encompassing all the martyrs of the Old Testament.

Interpretations and Debates

• "Son of Barachias" in Matthew: Matthew 23:35 calls Zechariah "son of Barachias." Interpreters are therefore divided over whether to identify him as the son of Jehoiada, as the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 1:1), or as someone else. Proposed explanations include an error arising in scribal transmission and the view that Jehoiada had another name.
• Differences between the two accounts: Second Kings emphasizes the role of the guard, while 2 Chronicles places greater emphasis on the role of the Levites and on Joash's apostasy. This is often explained as a difference in the perspectives of the two books.
• Age: Some accept the record of his age of 130 as it stands, while others consider it difficult to reconcile with chronological calculations.
• Others of the same name: Jehoiada the father of Benaiah (2 Samuel 8:18) and the priest Jehoiada mentioned in Jeremiah 29:26, among others, should be distinguished from this Jehoiada. Opinions differ on whether the figure in Jeremiah is the same person.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, Jehoiada is commonly presented as a mentor in the faith who protected and nurtured the next generation. The story of Joash's downfall after Jehoiada's death is frequently used to teach the need for a faith that stands on its own rather than one that depends on others. The chest he made to collect temple offerings is also cited in sermons on offerings.