Jehoiakim took the throne at the age of twenty-five and reigned for eleven years between 609 and 598 BCE..
Josiah's younger son Jehoahaz (or Shallum) was proclaimed king on the death of his father, but after three months (609 BCE) the pharaoh Necho II deposed him and replaced him with the eldest son, Eliakim, who adopted the name Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was exiled to Egypt, where he died.
Jehoiakim ruled originally as a vassal of the Egyptians, paying a heavy tribute. He is known for burning the manuscript of one of the prophecies of Jeremiah. When the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians at Carchemish (605 BCE) he changed allegiances, paying tribute to Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon. After three years, with the Egyptians and Babylonians still at war, he switched back to the Egyptians and ceased paying the tribute, an act which ultimately resulted in the Siege and Fall of Jerusalem of 597 BCE and the subsequent deportation to Babylon of many Israelite nobles and others. Jehoiakim died at this time and was succeeded by this son Jeconiah, (also known as Jehoiachin), who reigned for only three months.