🔼The name Jehoiakim: Summary
- Meaning
- Yahu Raises Up
- Etymology
- From (1) יהו (yahu), the name of the Lord, and (2) the verb קום (qum), to rise up or stand.
🔼The name Jehoiakim in the Bible
There's only one man named Jehoiakim in the Bible, although two contracted forms occur as well: Jokim and Joiakim.
Jehoiakim is the son and successor of king Josiah of Judah, and his mother is called Zebidah. His name was actually Eliakim but Pharaoh Neco, who had deposed and imprisoned king Jehoahaz, changed it to Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:34-36, spelled יהויקם in Jeremiah 27:1 only). And if his subjection to the Pharaoh wasn't enough, king Nebuchadnezzar swoops in and subdues Jehoiakim for another three years. His son Jehoiachin assumes the throne after he dies, which happened after he was taken to Babylon according to 2 Chronicles 36:6 and Daniel 1:2, although the prophet Jeremiah foretold for him a donkey's burial out of the gates of Jerusalem (22:19).
Jeremiah foretold some more things too, and had Baruch pen them down and read them in public. King Jehoiakim became so upset by this that he cut Jeremiah's scroll to pieces and burned it (36:23).
🔼Etymology of the name Jehoiakim
The name Jehoiakim consists of two elements, the first one being the appellative יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHWH, or Yahweh.
The second part of the name comes from the verb קום, meaning to rise or stand up:
קום
Verb קום (qum) means to stand or rise up, both literally (getting up from sitting or erecting some statue) or figuratively (establishing someone in some office). Noun קימה (qima) means a rising up, noun תקומה (tequma), denotes an ability or power to stand, and noun מקום (maqom) describes some set location, place to stand or station.
Noun קמה (qoma) or קומה (qoma) means height or highness and noun קים (qim) describes someone who rises up against someone (an adversary or enemy). Noun קיממיות (qommiyut) means uprightness. Noun קמה (qama) denotes standing grain. And noun יקום (yequm) denotes substance or existence.
🔼Jehoiakim meaning
For a meaning of the name Jehoiakim, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh Raises Up and BDB Theological Dictionary offers the similar Yah Raiseth Up. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes The Lord Will Set Up.