Bible Person

Evil-merodach

Meaning: the fool of Merodach; the fool grinds bitterly · Male · 2 cross references

Evil-merodach is the Babylonian king who succeeds Nebuchadnezzar and later releases Jehoiachin from long imprisonment. He belongs to the imperial setting in which Judah's exile continues yet begins to show small signs of mercy. First appears in 2 Kgs 25:27.1

AI summary: Evil-merodach matters because the cross references place him at the final note of Kings and at the close of Jeremiah's historical narrative, where Jehoiachin is unexpectedly lifted up. His act does not end the exile, but it introduces a fragile sign that the Davidic line is not forgotten. Taken together, the material presents Evil-merodach as a foreign king whose kindness becomes a small but significant turn toward hope at the end of Judah's catastrophe.1

Central Figure

Evil-merodach

Meaning: the fool of Merodach; the fool grinds bitterly

Merodach’s man, the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (2 Kings 25:27; Jer.