Joiakim is the name of a priest mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Deuterocanonical books The deuterocanonical books, meaning 'of, pertaining to, or constituting a second canon', collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be canonical books of the Old Testament by the Catholic Chur ...

, and in later extra-biblical sources. Reconstructing his role in history is complicated by a variety of claims made in these texts. The chronology of Joiakim's tenure as priest has been the subject of dispute, as has the question of whether Joiakim was high priest. The Hebrew Bible, which mentions Joiakim only in the

Book of Nehemiah The Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible largely takes the form of a first-person memoir by Nehemiah, a Hebrew prophet and high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and the ...

, Chapter 12, does not call him "high priest," though

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

does use the term for him. The mystery surrounding the identity of Joiakim is rather convoluted. There are some conflicts between early sources on Joiakim. In addition, while the history of

Antiq. 11:121
mentions Joiakim (or "Joacim"), it does not include many details regarding his identity or role.

Hebrew Bible and Deuterocanonical literature

In the

Nehemiah Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...

, Joiakim is identified as the son of

Joshua the High Priest Joshua the son of Jehozadak ( ''Yəhōšūaʿ''), was the first High Priest during the reconstruction of the Jewish Temple after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity. Life In the common List of High Priests of Israel, Joshua se ...

. In verse 12 the expression "days of Jehoiakim" is used to denote a particular time period, and in verse 26 the "days of Jehoiakim" is equated with the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Interpreters have disagreed as to whether this language implies that Joiakim was regarded as the high priest by the author of Nehemiah. However, "this list is artificial and problematic, but its existence reflects the importance of priests and Levites in this period."New Oxford Annotated Bible In 1

Esdras The name "Esdras" is found in the title of four texts (entitled Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras in most English versions) attributed to, or associated with, the prophet Ezra. The naming convention of the four books of Esdras differs betwee ...

3:9; 5:5, a Joiakim is referred to as the son of

Zerubbabel Zerubbabel ( from ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a governor of the Achaemenid Empire's province of Yehud Medinata and the grandson of Jeconiah, penultimate king of Judah. He is not documented in extra-biblical documents, and is considered ...

. The Esdras genealogy of Zerubbabel's sons is considered to be highly confused. 1

Chronicles Chronicles may refer to: * Books of Chronicles in the Bible * Chronicle, chronological histories * ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis * ''The Chronicles of Prydain'', a novel series by Lloyd Alexander. * ''Holinshed's Chro ...

does not mention Joiakim as son of Zerubbabel, and there is no reference to Joiakim's role as a priest.

Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

4:6-7; 4:8; 4:14; 15:8 names a Joiakim as a

High Priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...

who hold religious and military authority. It is unclear whether the Jehoiakim mentioned in Judith is intended to be the same individual referred to in Nehemiah 12. Because there is no evidence that a high priest would exercise such a wide range of powers, some scholars believe that the Joiakim of Judith may be a pseudonym for a person from either the

Hasmonean dynasty The Hasmonean dynasty (; ''Ḥašmōnāʾīm''; ) was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during the Hellenistic times of the Second Temple period (part of classical antiquity), from BC to 37 BC. Between and BC the dynasty rule ...

period, the time of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

, or as a "representative figure of the priesthood in general." The traditional Roman Catholic view is that the book dates to the reign of

Manasseh of Judah Manasseh (; Hebrew: ''Mənaššé'', "Forgetter"; ''Menasî'' 'me-na-si-i'' ''Manasses''; ) was the fourteenth king of the Kingdom of Judah. He was the oldest of the sons of Hezekiah and Hephzibah (). He became king at the age of 12 and re ...

and he left many of his affairs to the high priest either during his captivity or after his repentance. An additional chapter to the book of Daniel mentions a Joiakim as the husband of Susanna, a very rich man living in

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

and the most honored Jew of them all. However, according to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, it appears that this Joiakim is not connected to other Joaikims in the Bible (confirmed by Josephus).

Josephus

Joiakim may have aided in the rebuilding of the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

, if he was a son of Joshua. Joiakim is also labeled as a contemporary of

Ezra Ezra ( fl. fifth or fourth century BCE) is the main character of the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen'') in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, t ...

Joiakim and Esdras may even have worked alongside on another, filling the Priestly role; Joiakim is called the "High Priest" while Ezra is referred to as the "Principal Priest of the People". Due to the prominent role of Ezra, as evidenced in Ant. 11:12
11:158
theories have been suggested that Ezra replaced Joiakim as High Priest. Josephus concluded the following, "And it was his zra'sfate, after being honoured by the people, to die an old man to be buried with great magnificence in Jerusalem. About the same time also died the high priest Joakeimos, whom his son Eliashib succeeded in the high priesthood The combination of

1 Esdras 1 Esdras (), also Esdras A, Greek Esdras, Greek Ezra, or 3 Esdras, is the ancient Greek Septuagint version of the biblical Book of Ezra in use within the early church and among many modern Christians with varying degrees of canonicity. 1 Esdra ...

and the way Josephus interpreted certain biblical passages, led him to believe Joiakim and Ezra were contemporaries. Josephus also took liberties to fill in the gaps between Ezra 6 and 7, "in which one jumps from the reign of

Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

(522-486 BCE) to that of

Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I (, ; ) was the fifth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, from 465 to December 424 BC. He was the third son of Xerxes I. In Greek sources he is also surnamed "Long-handed" ( ''Makrókheir''; ), allegedly because his ri ...

(465-424 BCE), by relating the Ezra story to the days of the intervening monarch Xerxes. For this maneuver, he found support in Nehemiah 12, which seems to make Ezra the contemporary of the second high priest Joiakim who very likely served during Xerxes' reign."

Patrilineal Ancestry

As per 1 Chronicles chapter 5

Notes

References

{{High Priests of Judaism 5th-century BCE high priests of Israel Book of Nehemiah people