Johanan

Johanan is a name borne by several men across the Old Testament, most prominently a captain who led Judah's military remnant after the fall of Jerusalem and ultimately took that remnant down to Egypt against the prophet Jeremiah's word. The name also surfaces in royal, priestly, military, and post-exilic genealogies, naming a firstborn son of Josiah, a Davidic descendant in the line of Elioenai, two priests in the high-priestly chain, two of David's Gadite warriors at Ziklag, an Ephraimite chief in the days of Ahaz, a returned exile under Ezra, the post-exilic high priest of Nehemiah's day, and a son-in-law tied to Nehemiah's adversary Tobiah.

Johanan the Son of Kareah at Mizpah

After Nebuchadnezzar deported Judah, Gedaliah the son of Ahikam was set as governor over the people who remained, and the surviving captains of the forces gathered to him at Mizpah, "Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men" (2 Kings 25:23). Gedaliah swore to them "Don't be afraid because of the slaves of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you⁺" (2 Kings 25:24). Jeremiah's parallel notice expands the roster to include Johanan's brother: "Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men" (Jer 40:8).

Warning Gedaliah Against Ishmael

Out in the open country Johanan learned of a plot. He and the captains came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and asked, "Do you know that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your soul?" (Jer 40:14). Gedaliah did not believe them. Johanan then drew Gedaliah aside privately and offered to remove the threat himself: "Let me go, I pray you, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man will know it: why should he take your soul, that all the Jews who are gathered to you should be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?" (Jer 40:15). Gedaliah refused: "You will not do this thing; for you speak falsely of Ishmael" (Jer 40:16).

The Pursuit of Ishmael

Ishmael's plot succeeded, and Mizpah's company was carried off captive. "But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon" (Jer 41:11-12). When the captives "saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, then they were glad" (Jer 41:13), and "all the people who Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah" (Jer 41:14). Ishmael himself escaped: "But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the sons of Ammon" (Jer 41:15).

Seeking the Prophet's Word

After the rescue the whole remnant turned to Jeremiah. "Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, came near, and said to Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we pray you, our supplication be presented before you, and pray for us to Yahweh your God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes see us: that Yahweh your God may show us the way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do" (Jer 42:1-3).

Refusing the Word and Going Down to Egypt

When Jeremiah delivered Yahweh's answer that the remnant must remain in Judah, Johanan turned from petitioner to spokesman of refusal. "Then Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, You speak falsely: Yahweh our God has not sent you to say, You⁺ will not go into Egypt to sojourn there; but Baruch the son of Neriah sets you on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captive to Babylon" (Jer 43:2-3). The narrator then registers the disobedience plainly: "So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, didn't obey [the Speech of] Yahweh, to dwell in the land of Judah" (Jer 43:4). Johanan and the captains "took all the remnant of Judah, that had returned from all the nations where they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah; the [able-bodied] men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every soul who Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah; and they came into the land of Egypt; for they didn't obey [the Speech of] Yahweh: and they came to Tahpanhes" (Jer 43:5-7).

Johanan Firstborn of Josiah

In the Davidic genealogy of 1 Chronicles, "the sons of Josiah" are listed as "the firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum" (1 Chr 3:15). Of the four sons named there, this Johanan stands first.

Johanan in the Line of Elioenai

Further down the post-exilic Davidic line in 1 Chronicles 3, a Johanan appears among the seven sons of Elioenai: "Hodaviah, and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Akkub, and Johanan, and Delaiah, and Anani, seven" (1 Chr 3:24).

Johanan in the High-Priestly Genealogy

In the Aaronic genealogy of 1 Chronicles 6, a Johanan stands between two Azariahs: "Ahimaaz begot Azariah, and Azariah begot Johanan, and Johanan begot Azariah (it is he who executed the priest's office in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem)" (1 Chr 6:9-10).

Johanan Among David's Warriors at Ziklag

Two men named Johanan appear among the warriors who joined David at Ziklag. The first is listed with the Benjamite-Judahite contingent: "Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty, and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite" (1 Chr 12:4). The second is listed eighth among the Gadite captains who crossed over to David in the wilderness stronghold: "Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth" (1 Chr 12:12).

Johanan the Ephraimite Chief

In the days of Ahaz a Johanan is named as the father of one of the Ephraimite heads who confronted the army returning from war against Judah: "Then certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war" (2 Chr 28:12).

Johanan the Returned Exile

Among those who returned with Ezra "of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males" (Ezra 8:12).

Johanan the Post-Exilic High Priest

When Ezra mourned over the trespass of the returned community, "Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and he spent the night there, he ate no bread, nor drank water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity" (Ezra 10:6). The same priestly name appears in the high-priestly succession in Nehemiah, where the form is shortened to Johanan: "As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, there were recorded the heads of fathers' [houses]; also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian. The sons of Levi, heads of fathers' [houses], were written in the Book of the Chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib" (Neh 12:22-23). The same chapter, two verses earlier, names this generation of the succession with the alternate form Jonathan: "Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua" (Neh 12:11).

Johanan Tied to Tobiah

In the catalog of opposition during Nehemiah's wall-building, a Jehohanan is named as a son of Tobiah the Ammonite: "For there were many in Judah sworn to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as wife" (Neh 6:18).