Midras Yeremia 22:19: Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Vayikra Rabbah & Sifrei Devarim

Why does not the Mishnah count Achaz among those who have no share in the world to come? R. Jeremia b. Aba said: "Because he was placed between two righteous men (Jotham, his father, and Hezekiah, his son)." And R. Joseph said: "Because he was bashed before the prophet Isaiah, as it is said (Isa. 7, 3) Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Achaz, thou, and She'arJashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field. Why is the washers' field mentioned? Because Achaz was ashamed to look at Isaiah, and according to some he hid his face when passing Isaiah, and according to still others, he inverted a fuller's basket over his head when he passed Isaiah [in order not to be recognized]." And why was Amon not reckoned? Because of the honor of his son, Yeshiyahu. If so, let them not include Manasseh, because of the honor of Hezekiah? There is a tradition that a son can save his father, but not a father his son, as we are taught (Deut. 32, 39) And no one can deliver out of My hands, which means that Abraham cannot save Ishmael, nor Isaac, Esau. Now, when we come to this theory it may be said that Achaz was not counted because of the honor of Hezekiah. But, the above question, why Jehoiakim was not counted, remains still unanswered? It is because of what was said by Chiya b. Abuya that on the head of Jehoiakim was written: This and something else, i.e., one revenge more will be taken from it. The grandfather of R. Preida found a skull in the gates of Jerusalem upon which was engraved: This and something else. He buried it once and twice, but it came out again. He then said it must be the skull of Jehoiakim, concerning whom it is written (Jer. 22, 19) He shall be buried with the burial of an ass. He dragged it about and cast forth beyond the gates of Jersualem. He then said to himself: "It is the skull of a king, and it must be properly treated." He wrapped it in a silk garment and put it in a chest. When his wife saw this she told her neighbors about it, and they said to her: "This must be the skull of his first wife, whom he does not want to forget." And she heated the oven and burned it. When he came home and found out what happened, he said: "This must have been meant by the words which were engraved upon it: This and something else."

Another matter, “and a woman, if her bloody discharge will flow.” Who fulfilled the mitzva of [separating from a woman at the time of her] discharge? It was Yekhonyahu son of Yehoyakim. They say that when Nebuchadnezzar ascended to destroy Jerusalem, he ascended and encamped at Daphne at Antioch, and the Great Sanhedrin descended to greet him. They said to him: ‘Has the time arrived for this house to be destroyed?’ He said to them: ‘No. But Yehoyakim rebelled against me. Give him to me and I will go.’ They came to Yehoyakim and said to him: ‘Nebuchadnezzar wants you.’ He said to them: ‘Is this how one acts? Does one disregard one life in favor of another life? Do [you] disregard my life in order to sustain your lives? It is written: “You shall not deliver a slave to his master”’ (Deuteronomy 23:16). They said to him: ‘Did your ancestor not do so to Sheva ben Bikhri?’³⁹See II Samuel Chapter 20. Since he did not heed them, they rose, took him, and lowered him to [Nebuchadnezzar].
How did they lower him? Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Eliezer ben Rabbi Natan said: They lowered him alive, just as it says: “They placed him in a cage with hooks [baḥaḥim]” (Ezekiel 19:9); “alive [baḥayim]” is written.⁴⁰The word as written in this verse is baḥaḥim. Some suggest that the midrash derives the connection between “with hooks [baḥaḥim]” and “alive [baḥayim]” from the fact that in Ezekiel 29:4 the word hooks [ḥaḥim] is written with two yods, such that it could be read ḥaḥayim (HaTirosh). Rabbi Shimon said: They lowered him to him dead, just as it says: “So that his voice would be heard no longer” (Ezekiel 19:9). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: I will uphold the statement of both of them. They lowered him alive, but he was delicate and he died at their hands.
What did Nebuchadnezzar do to him? Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says: He took him and brought him around to all the cities of Judah, and he sat and judged him in a show trial and executed him. He tore open a donkey and placed him in it. That is what is written: “He will be buried in the burial of a donkey” (Jeremiah 22:19). Rabbi Neḥemya said: He took him and brought him to all the cities of Israel and executed him. He would cut from him [pieces of flesh the size of] olive bulks and cast them to the dogs. That is what is written: “He will be buried in the burial of a donkey.” Where is a donkey buried, is it not in the innards of a dog?
It is he whom the prophet castigates and says: “The rest of the matters of Yehoyakim, and everything that he did” (II Kings 24:5).⁴¹Some suggest that the reference should be to the following verse: “The rest of the deeds of Yehoyakim, and his abominations that he performed, and that which was found about him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah” (II Chronicles 36:8) (Rashash). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: There were three amora’im;⁴²Three amora’im offered interpretations as to the actions he performed that are alluded to in the phrase “and that which was found about him” – see previous footnote. one said that he wore diverse kinds, one said that he pulled his foreskin,⁴³He attempted to conceal that he was circumcised. one said that he had a tattoo engraved on his flesh.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is that he consorted with his mother, his daughter-in-law, and his father’s wife, as Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The truth of the matter is that he entered the entrance through which he had emerged. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: It is that he settled biraniyot in Jerusalem. What are biraniyot? Empty [bairan] and bound [tzairan], as he would kill the husbands, ravage the wives, and place their money in the royal treasury. That is what is written: “He ravished its widows” (Ezekiel 19:7).
Once Nebuchadnezzar killed him, he crowned his son, Yekhonya, in his stead and descended to Babylon. All the citizens of Babylon emerged to laud him. They said to him: ‘What did you do?’ He said to them: ‘Yehoyakim rebelled against me. I killed him and crowned his son Yekhonya in his stead.’ They said to him: ‘The parable says: Do not raise a good puppy from a bad dog, and a bad puppy from a bad dog, all the more so.’ Immediately, he heeded them and ascended and encamped at Daphne at Antioch. The Great Sanhedrin descended to greet him. They said to him: ‘Has the time arrived for this house to be destroyed?’ He said to them: ‘No. However, the one whom I crowned, give him to me and I will go on my way.’ They went and said to Yekhonya: ‘Nebuchadnezzar wants you.’ What did he do? He stood and collected all the keys to the Temple and ascended to the rooftop. He said: ‘Master of the universe, since we did not merit to be treasurers before You; until now we have been faithful custodians before You, from here on, here are Your keys before You.’ Two amora’im; one said,a sort of fiery hand descended and took them from him, and one said, from the moment that he threw them, they did not descend again. What were the youths of Israel doing? They were ascending to their rooftops and falling and dying. That is what is written: “A prophecy of the Valley of Vision: What, indeed, is with you, that you all went up to the roofs?” (Isaiah 22:1).
What did Nebuchadnezzar do? He took him and incarcerated him in prison. Anyone who was incarcerated in his days would never emerge from there, based on: “Who never released his prisoners homeward” (Isaiah 14:17). Yehoyakhin⁴⁴Yehoyakhin, Yekhonya, and Konya are all varieties of the same name and refer to the same individual. was exiled and the Great Sanhedrin was exiled with him. That is what is written: “Is [this man Konya] a despised, shattered idol [ha’etzev]?” (Jeremiah 22:28). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Like this bone [ka’etzem] with marrow, that once you shatter it, it is not good for anything…until “She’altiel” (I Chronicles 3:17). The Holy One blessed be He consulted [shaal] with His supernal court and they annulled His oath.⁴⁵See Vayikra Rabba 10:5.
At that moment, the Great Sanhedrin convened to deliberate and said: In our day, the kingdom of the House of David will cease, in whose regard it is written: “His throne will be as the sun before Me” (Psalms 89:37). What shall we do? Let us go and appease Gadelet,⁴⁶Gadelet was the nursemaid of Nebuchadnezzar’s queen’s nursemaid. and Gadelet [will appease] the queen, and the queen [will appease] the king. They went and appeased Gadelet, and Gadelet, the queen, and the queen, the king.
What was the name of Nebuchadnezzar’s wife? Rav Huna said: Her name was Shemiram. Rabbi Avin said: Her name was Shemiramot. The Rabbis say: Her name was Shemiraam, because she was born in thunder.
When Nebuchadnezzar came to consort with her, she said to him: ‘You are a king; is Yekhonya not a king? You seek your position; does Yekhonya not seek his position?’⁴⁷Yekhonya, as a king, deserves to be treated with some degree of respect, even in prison. In particular, he should be granted his position, meaning conjugal rights. Immediately he issued a decree and they gave him his wife. How did they lower her to him? Rabbi Shabetai said: They lowered her to him through the skylights. The Rabbis say: They opened the roof and lowered her to him. When he came to consort with her, she said to him: ‘I saw [blood] like a red rose.’⁴⁸She experienced menstrual bleeding. He withdrew from her. Immediately, she went, counted, became purified, and immersed.
The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘In Jerusalem you did not fulfill the mitzva of discharge, but now you are fulfilling it, as it is stated: “You too, for the blood of your covenant, I have released your prisoners from the pit” (Zechariah 9:11). You remembered that blood of Sinai;⁴⁹The blood of the covenant (see Exodus 24:8). therefore, “I have released your prisoners.”’⁵⁰Yehoyakhin was eventually released (see II Kings 25:27–28). Rabbi Shabetai said: He did not move from there until the Holy One blessed be He granted him atonement for him of all his iniquities. Regarding that moment it says: “All of you is fair, my love, and there is no blemish in you” (Song of Songs 4:7). A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: “Return, wayward children, I will heal your deviances” (Jeremiah 3:22).

Variantly: "and the wrath of the L-rd will burn against you, and He will hold back the heavens and there will not be rain … then you will go lost quickly (into exile)." After all the afflictions that I bring upon you, I will exile you. Sore is exile over and against all, as it is written (Ibid. 29:27) "And the L-rd drove them off from their land in wrath and fury and great rage, and He cast them into a different land as this day." And (Jeremiah 15:2) "And it shall be, if they say to you: Where shall we go? Then you shall say: Thus said the L-rd: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such are for famine, to famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity." And (Amos 7:17) "Therefore, thus says the L-rd: Your wife will be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, and your lands will be divided by line, and you will die in an unclean land, and Israel will go into captivity from off his land." And (Jeremiah 22:10) "Do not weep for the dead one, and do not bemoan him. But weep for the one that goes (into exile), for he will return no more to see the land of his birth." "Do not weep for the dead one": This is Yehoyakim, king of Judah. What is written of him? (Ibid. 22:19) "The burial of an ass will he be buried, dragged and cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem.