Hamutal

Biblical Record

Hamutal appears in three passages: 2 Kings 23:31, 2 Kings 24:18, and Jeremiah 52:1. All three verses belong to accession notices that give the name and hometown of the mother of a newly enthroned king of Judah. Hamutal is introduced as "the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah." Libnah was a town in the western lowlands of Judah (the Shephelah).

According to 2 Kings 23:31, Hamutal was the mother of Jehoahaz, who came to the throne at the age of twenty-three after the death of King Josiah. Jehoahaz reigned for three months before Pharaoh Necho of Egypt deposed him and carried him off to Egypt (2 Kings 23:33–34). According to 2 Kings 24:18 and Jeremiah 52:1, Hamutal was also the mother of Zedekiah, who became king at twenty-one and reigned for eleven years. Zedekiah's original name was Mattaniah; Nebuchadnezzar changed his name when he made him king (2 Kings 24:17).

The mother of Jehoiakim, who reigned between these two kings, is recorded as Zebudah (2 Kings 23:36). Jehoahaz and Zedekiah were therefore full brothers, while Jehoiakim was their half brother, sharing only their father. The Bible says nothing about how Hamutal herself lived or how her life ended.

Significance Within the Bible

The books of Kings and Chronicles frequently record the name of a king's mother when introducing a king of Judah, and Hamutal's name has been preserved through this convention. Both of her sons reigned during the final years of the southern kingdom of Judah. One was carried off to Egypt, and the other to Babylon. Hamutal is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debates

• Distinction from the prophet Jeremiah: Hamutal's father Jeremiah is generally understood to be a different person from the prophet Jeremiah of Anathoth, because the text specifically identifies him as being "of Libnah."
• Connection with Ezekiel 19: Ezekiel 19 is a lament concerning a "lioness" who raised young lions. In this lament, one cub is taken to Egypt and another to Babylon. Some commentators identify the lioness with Hamutal and read the two cubs as Jehoahaz and Zedekiah (or Jehoiachin). Other interpreters see the lioness as representing the royal house of Judah or the nation as a whole. None of these interpretations is stated explicitly in the text.
• Status of the king's mother: Some scholars hold that the king's mother held a recognized public position in the monarchy of Judah. However, there is no record of what role, if any, Hamutal actually played.

In the Korean Church

Hamutal is rarely treated as a separate subject in sermons or Sunday school. She is usually mentioned only briefly, as a king's mother, when the last kings of Judah in 2 Kings or the historical background of the book of Jeremiah is being explained.