2 Kings 24:17

17 And the king of Babylon causeth Mattaniah his father's brother to reign in his stead, and turneth his name to Zedekiah.

2 Kings 24:17 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 24:17

And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother
king in his stead
The third son of Josiah, ( 1 Chronicles 3:15 )

and changed his name to Zedekiah;
for the same reason the king of Egypt changed the name of Eliakim, ( 2 Kings 23:34 ) to signify his subjection to him; though some think it was to put him in mind of the justice of God, as the name signifies, that would overtake him, should he be treacherous to him, and rebel against him; so the Jewish Midrash.

2 Kings 24:17 In-Context

15 And he removeth Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the mother of the king, and the wives of the king, and his eunuchs, and the mighty ones of the land -- he hath caused a removal to go from Jerusalem to Babylon,

16 and all the men of valour seven thousand, and the artificers and the smiths a thousand, the whole [are] mighty men, warriors; and the king of Babylon bringeth them in a captivity to Babylon.

17 And the king of Babylon causeth Mattaniah his father's brother to reign in his stead, and turneth his name to Zedekiah.

18 A son of twenty and one years [is] Zedekiah in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah,

19 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah according to all that Jehoiakim did,