15 The sons of Josiah: the firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Of the sons of Josiah, Johanan, "the first-born," who is mentioned in this place only, must, it would seem, have died before his father, or with him at Megiddo; and Shallum (also called Jehoahaz, marginal note and reference) was considerably older than Zedekiah, and was consequently the third, and not the fourth, son. He is perhaps assigned the fourth place here by way of intentional degradation. Compare Jeremiah 22:10-12; Ezekiel 19:3-4.
And the sons of Josiah [were], the (e) firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum.
(e) So called because he was preferred for the royal dignity before his brother Jehoiakim who was the elder.
And the sons of Josiah were, the firstborn Johanan,.... Of whom we nowhere else read; he probably died before his father Josiah:
the second Jehoiakim: whose name was Eliakim, changed for the former by the king of Egypt, when, he deposed his younger brother, and set him on the throne, 2-Kings 23:24.
the third Zedekiah; whose name was Mattaniah, but changed by the king of Babylon, when he placed him on the throne in the room of his brother's son, 2-Kings 24:17,
the fourth Shallum: the same with Jehoahaz, who was first made king in the room of his father; but reigning so short a time, and making so mean a figure, is mentioned last, see Jeremiah 22:11.
Zedekiah--called the son of Josiah (compare Jeremiah 1:3; Jeremiah 37:1), but in 2-Chronicles 36:19 he is described as the brother of Jehoiachin, who was the son of Jehoiakim, and consequently the grandson of Josiah. Words expressive of affinity or relationship are used with great latitude in the Hebrew.
Shallum--No king of this name is mentioned in the history of Josiah's sons (2Ki. 14:1-29; 2Ki. 23:1-37), but there is a notice of Shallum the son of Josiah (Jeremiah 22:11), who reigned in the stead of his father, and who is generally supposed to be Jehoahaz, a younger son, here called the fourth, of Josiah.
Shallum - Which most conceive to be the same who is called Jehoahaz, 2-Kings 23:30.
*More commentary available at chapter level.