Elnathan
“God has given”
Summary
A prominent official in Jerusalem during Jehoiakim's reign who was grandfather of King Jehoiachin and who both served the king's will and interceded for Jeremiah's prophecy; also the name of three men sent by Ezra.
☩Grandfather of Jehoiachin
Elnathan of Jerusalem was the father of Nehushta, who became the queen-mother when her son Jehoiachin reigned. He is probably the same Elnathan son of Achbor who appears prominently in Jeremiah's narratives. When the prophet Urijah fled to Egypt to escape King Jehoiakim's wrath, Elnathan was sent to bring him back—a mission that resulted in Urijah's execution. Yet the same Elnathan later interceded with Jehoiakim not to burn Baruch's scroll containing Jeremiah's prophecies, showing a complex character who both served royal will and retained some fear of God's word.
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Elnathan," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.George Morrish, "Elnathan," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Elnathan," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).