Why does King Zedekiah make a covenant with the people of Jerusalem to set their Hebrew slaves free?

The scene for this passage in Jeremiah 34:8–22 has been set by Jeremiah 34:1–7. The Babylonian siege of Jerusalem had begun in 589/588 BC and would ultimately last until the middle of 587 BC when the city finally fell. The Lord has clearly called on Zedekiah, and the people, to not resist Nebuchadnezzar, but to rather submit to him. In doing so, they would be submitting to the Lord.

It is under these siege conditions that Zedekiah makes a covenant with the people of Jerusalem to set all the Hebrew slaves in the city free. The use of the word ibri, translated as Hebrew is significant because that is how the people of Israel referred to themselves when they were subject to slavery, as in Egypt or when they were dominated by the Philistines¹. It is also the name that is used in the Lord’s covenant with Israel to describe how Hebrew slaves were to be set free after six years (Exodus 21:1–4; Deuteronomy 15:12). The book of Leviticus also described how, during the year of Jubilee, there was to be a proclamation of liberty for all slaves (Leviticus 25:10). The same Hebrew word, deror is used to describe the covenant Zedekiah makes with the people of Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty for all their Hebrew slaves. Zedekiah is clearly attempting to implement an aspect of the Lord’s covenant stipulations that had long been neglected in the land. What is not clear is why he would do so, or why the people obeyed the covenant he made by setting their slaves free. It is possible that Zedekiah is trying to bring about reforms in the land to try and win the Lord’s favour and avoid destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. There may have been more pragmatic reasons such as believing that slaves would be more likely to help defend the city if they were set free, or that owners would have fewer mouths to feed under the crushing siege². In the past, when a ruler of Israel made a covenant with all the people it was a very positive sign of commitment to the Lord (see Joshua 24:25; 2 Kings 23:3; 2 Chronicles 15:12)³. However, in this instance it was not a sign of the king or the people committing themselves to the Lord as the next few verses show.