CHRONOLOGY OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH. 279 



Thus from — 



Josiah's 12th to his 31st and the 3 months' reign of 



Jehoahaz indusive 20 years. 



Jehoiakim's 1st to his 11th and the 3 months' 



reign of Jehoiachim inclusive ... ... 11 ,, 



Zedekiah's 1st to the end of his 9th, when the 



siege began ... ... ... ... ... 9 „ 



That Zedekiah's first year was distinct from Jehoiakim's eleventh 

 is proved from Ezekiel xxxiii, 21, where the siege elsewhere said to 

 have ended in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, is said to have ended 

 far in the corresponding part of the twelfth year of Jehoiachim's 

 captivity. 



And that Jehoiakim's first year was distinct from Josiah's 31st is 

 proved by another figure given in Ezekiel i, and where the 

 narrative is introduced by the words " In the thirtieth year," and 

 this is further defined to be the fifth year of Jehoiachim's 

 captivity ; for by reckoning back in the same way we come to 

 Josiah's passover held in the eighteenth year of his reign, attended 

 by many of the remnant of Israel as well as by the Jews, and 

 described as the most striking one that had been held " since the 

 days of Samuel the prophet " ; thus : — 



From Josiah's 18th to his 31st and Jehoahaz's 



3 months' reign inclusive ... ... ... 14 years. 



Jehoiakim's 1st to his 11th inclusive ... ... 11 ,, 



Jeconiah's 1st to his 5th ... ... ... 5 „ 



29 in the 30 „ 



Having thus proved the accuracy of Ezekiel's sum total in these 

 two cases, let us assume that he is correct in his sum total of 390 

 years. This then will bring us to the beginning of the declension 

 under Jeroboam ; for throughout the history of the northern kingdom 

 his " sin with which he made Israel to sin " was never given up. 



Now we have every reason to judge that Jeroboam established 

 his corrupt worship of God in the first year of his reign. Not only 

 is no interval or lengthy event recorded between the secession and 



T 



