WILL SALASBIBLICAL RESEARCH & CHRONOLOGY

RESEARCH CONNECTION · KINGDOMS & CAPTIVITY

Jehoiakim — The Scroll Burned, the Word Remained

Follow Jeremiah’s scroll before Jehoiakim, the king’s attempt to burn it, and the rewriting of the words he tried to destroy.

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The scroll reaches the king

Jeremiah’s words were written by Baruch and eventually read before Jehoiakim. As columns were read, the king cut the scroll with a scribe’s knife and cast the pieces into the fire until the scroll was consumed.

SCRIPTURE · Jeremiah 36

The response is striking beside Josiah. Josiah heard the Book of the Law and tore his clothes. Jehoiakim heard the scroll and cut it. The record says the king and his servants were not afraid and did not tear their garments.

Burning the scroll did not end the word

After the first scroll was burned, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah again. Another scroll was taken, Baruch wrote the former words again at Jeremiah’s instruction, and many similar words were added.

FOLLOW THE CONNECTION

The physical scroll could be cut and burned. The word it carried was not erased by the king’s action. This is one of the clearest late-Judah examples of the project’s recurring theme: rulers change, kingdoms change, but the word continues.

Compare Josiah’s response to the word →

Continue toward Jerusalem’s fall →

Read: Jeremiah 36 · Jeremiah 45

Study it for yourself

Read the passages in context and follow the connection across the record. The research page is a guide back into the source, not a replacement for it.

Don’t take my word for it. Study it for yourself.