Home › Glossary › Letter J

Jehoiakim

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

King of Judah who resisted Babylon and burned Jeremiah’s scroll

Detailed Definition
Installed by Egypt, Jehoiakim taxed heavily and opposed prophets. His death was dishonorable. In poetry, Jehoiakim represents arrogance, the futility of resisting divine word, and the tragic consequences of silencing truth-tellers.
Example
Example in poetry:
In John Milton’s "Paradise Lost," Jehoiakim’s burning of Jeremiah’s scroll (Jeremiah 36) illustrates resistance to truth; In William Cowper’s hymns, Jehoiakim’s death “dragged and cast beyond the gates” warns against rejecting prophecy; In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s "The Seraphim," Jehoiakim symbolizes the tyrant who silences God’s word; In George Herbert’s "The Church-porch," Jehoiakim’s defiance models spiritual hardening; In John Keble’s "Lyra Apostolica," Jehoiakim represents the ruler who chooses destruction; In Christina Rossetti’s "The World," Jehoiakim’s scroll consumed by fire prefigures enduring word.
Additional Notes
Jehoiakim: King of Judah who burned Jeremiah’s scroll (Jeremiah 36); rebellious vassal of Babylon. In poetry, Jehoiakim symbolizes the rejection of prophetic word, the futility of destroying truth, and the arrogance of power. His burial “like a donkey” (Jer 22:19) is a stark image—ideal for poems on censorship, divine memory, or the permanence of the spoken word.
Also Known As
Jehoiakim king of Judah Eliakim
Skip to main content