Jozadak

Name

The Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) renders this man's name in two ways. In Ezra and Nehemiah it appears as Jozadak, while in 1 Chronicles, Haggai, and Zechariah it appears as Jehozadak. The Hebrew text likewise uses both a longer and a shortened form, and the two names refer to the same person. (The King James Version uses Jozadak, Jehozadak, and, in Haggai and Zechariah, Josedech.) The name is commonly interpreted to mean "the LORD is righteous." His son's name follows the same pattern, appearing as "Jeshua" in Ezra and Nehemiah and as "Joshua" in Haggai and Zechariah.

Biblical Record

Scripture says almost nothing about Jozadak's own life. His name appears mainly in genealogies and in passages introducing his son.

• Priestly genealogy: 1 Chronicles 6 lists the high-priestly line descending from Aaron through Eleazar and at its close records that "Seraiah begat Jehozadak" (1 Chronicles 6:14). It then states that Jehozadak "went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (1 Chronicles 6:15).
• Death of his father Seraiah: According to 2 Kings 25:18–21 and Jeremiah 52:24–27, after the fall of Jerusalem the high priest Seraiah was brought to the king of Babylon and executed at Riblah. Jozadak was not executed at that time but is recorded as having been taken into captivity.
• Father of Jeshua: In the accounts of the return from exile, he is repeatedly named in the phrase "Jeshua the son of Jozadak" (Ezra 3:2, 3:8, 5:2, 10:18). Haggai and Zechariah likewise speak of "Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest" (Haggai 1:1, 1:12, 2:2, 2:4; Zechariah 6:11).
• Grandson Joiakim: Nehemiah 12:26 mentions "Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak."

Significance Within Scripture

Jozadak is the link between the high-priestly family before the fall of Judah and the priesthood reestablished after the return. His father Seraiah was executed when the temple was destroyed, and his son Jeshua, together with Zerubbabel, returned from exile, built the altar, and led the rebuilding of the temple. For this reason, Scripture's repeated mention of his name is understood to show that the high priest of the returned community stood in the legitimate line of Aaron. Jozadak's lifetime spans the entire period of the Babylonian exile. The New Testament does not mention him directly.

Interpretive Questions

• Was he high priest? Scripture does not say that Jozadak served as high priest. Because he lived in exile after the temple was destroyed, there is no record of his actually exercising the office. Some commentaries regard him as the genealogical heir to the high priesthood, but this is an interpretation rather than something the text states directly.
• Life in exile: Scripture does not say how he lived in Babylon or when he died. Nor does the text indicate whether his son Jeshua was born in Babylon.
• Dating: His deportation is generally placed at the time of the fall of Jerusalem, although scholars calculate the exact year differently.

In the Korean Church

Jozadak is rarely the focus of sermons. Most readers encounter him in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles or in Ezra while reading through the Bible, or in the phrase "Joshua the son of Jehozadak" when Haggai or Zechariah is preached. Because the name appears in two forms, people sometimes ask whether both refer to the same person, and Bible studies may explain that Jeshua and Joshua, like Jozadak and Jehozadak, are the same individuals.