The corpus of the Former Prophets concludes with a scene of changing clothes, as the fate of Jehoiachin king of Judah at the hands of Evil-merodach of Babylon is related. What are the personal, and national, implications of this one-off experience for the king, prior to the acknowledgment of his ongoing provision?
This paper will seek to place 2 Kgs 25:27-30 into the broader trope of clothing in the Former Prophets. We will give attention to the characterisation of Jehoiachin as well as of Judah as communicated in this brief vignette. Specifically, we will examine the question of the agency of the re-clothing of Jehoiachin: was it Evil-merodach who re-clothed him, or did Jehoiachin re-clothe himself? Following on from this, we will explore the implications for the trajectory of Jehoiachin’s identity, and consider the appearance of clothing in other character final-scenes in the Former Prophets.
Drawing upon work on clothing imagery from the beginning of the Former Prophets, in the book of Joshua, we will also consider the implications upon national identity revealed through Jehoiachin’s change of wardrobe. Is there indeed an element of freedom and restoration being communicated, or rather a further demonstration of being dominated by a foreign power? Are Jehoiachin’s enhanced personal benefits and the national status of Judah aligned, or are they in fact inverse reflections of one another?
This paper will employ elements of literary/narrative criticism, along with discourse analysis, attention to the interpretive significance of the Masoretic accents, and intertextual concerns as we pursue determining the narrative significance of the clothing reference in this pericope.