2 Chronicles 36 · a question people ask
Was Jehoiachin eight or eighteen when he began to reign?
2 Chronicles says, "Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem" (36:9). 2 Kings says, "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months" (2 Kings 24:8). The two books give different ages, and one gives "three months and ten days" where the other gives "three months". They agree that he reigned in Jerusalem, that "He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight" (36:9; 2 Kings 24:9), and that he was taken to Babylon (36:10; 2 Kings 24:15). The introduction to 2 Chronicles sets 36:9 beside 2 Kings 24:8, and 2 Kings 24's honest question asks the same thing. These notes quote both books as they stand and don't try to fit them together.
The verses
“Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight. At the return of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the valuable vessels of the LORD’s house, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.”
“Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, according to all that his father had done.”
“He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the chief men of the land. He carried them into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.”