And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem: The king of Egypt is again referred to without his name, but his name is given later. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version insert the proper name “Neco” here for the sake of clarity. His brother refers to the brother of Joahaz, not the brother of Neco. Eliakim was perhaps two years older than Joahaz (see the comments on 2Chr 36.1). Judah and Jerusalem may be rendered “Jerusalem and the rest of Judah.”

And changed his name to Jehoiakim: Neco did this to show that the king of Judah was subject to him. But the Hebrew names Eliakim and Jehoiakim are very similar in meaning. Eliakim means “God raises up,” and Jehoiakim means “Yahweh raises up.”

But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt as Jeremiah had prophesied (Jer 22.11-12). See also Ezek 19.1-4. The translation should avoid the possible misunderstanding that Jehoahaz was the brother of Neco. He was the brother of Jehoiakim. The verb carried should not be taken too literally. New Living Translation provides a helpful model for this whole sentence, saying “Then Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt as a prisoner.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .