Jeremiah (of Libnah)

Biblical Record

This figure appears only in passages that introduce the mothers of the kings of Judah. When Jehoahaz the son of Josiah comes to the throne, 2 Kings 23:31 records, "his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah." Second Kings 24:18 and Jeremiah 52:1 introduce the mother of King Zedekiah in the same words.

According to these records, he was King Josiah's father-in-law and the maternal grandfather of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. Apart from his name and his hometown of Libnah, the text says nothing about his occupation or deeds. Libnah was a town in the western lowland of Judah (the Shephelah).

Significance Within the Bible

When introducing the kings of Judah, 2 Kings frequently records the name of the king's mother along with her family. This man's name was preserved in keeping with that practice. The mother of Jehoiakim was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah (2 Kings 23:36). These records therefore show that Jehoahaz and Zedekiah were full brothers born of the same mother, whereas Jehoiakim had a different mother. The New Testament does not mention this figure.

Interpretation and Questions

The prophet Jeremiah, who was active in the same period, was the son of Hilkiah, a priest from Anathoth (Jeremiah 1:1). The two are generally regarded as different people who simply share the same name. Confusion arises especially easily in Jeremiah 52:1, where this namesake appears within the very book of Jeremiah that bears the prophet's name.

Libnah is recorded as one of the towns given to the descendants of Aaron (Joshua 21:13). On this basis some have speculated that he may have come from a priestly family, but the text does not say so directly. Nor is there any evidence that he is the same person as the other men named Jeremiah who appear in 1 Chronicles and elsewhere.

In the Korean Church

This figure seems seldom to be treated on his own in sermons or Sunday school. He is mentioned mainly when readers of 2 Kings or Jeremiah need to distinguish him from the prophet Jeremiah.