Neco appointed Josiah’s second son as king instead of Jehoahaz. Thus, he was in fact no more than a vassal of the Egyptian king. This is also apparent from the change of name: Eliakim became Jehoiakim by order of the pharaoh. Thus, this king also appears in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles 3:15.
We see here that God’s punitive intervention goes so far as to determine the naming in the genealogy; a pagan king wrote
a piece of the Bible, as a scar to warn later Bible readers. It is a miracle that the heathen king gave a name that refers to Yahweh; for Jehoiakim means Yahweh will raise up.
This is different with Joseph, who was also given a different name by a Pharaoh (see Genesis 41:45). That change was from a name that referred to Yahweh (Joseph means may Yahweh add another son to me
) to a name in which the Egyptian life
resounds, thus imposing the pagan view of life and death on the person of Joseph.
34 Et Pharaon Néco établit roi Eliakim, fils de Josias, à la place de Josias, son père, et il changea son nom en celui de Jojakim. Il prit Joachaz, qui alla en Egypte et y mourut.