Jehucal

Jehucal (Hebrew: יְהוּכַל) also known as Jucal, was a royal official in the court of King Zedekiah of Judah (c. 597-587 BCE). He is mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible.

Jehucal is identified as the son of Shelemiah. He was sent by King Zedekiah, along with the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, to plead with the prophet Jeremiah to intercede with God on behalf of Judah when the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem (Jeremiah 37:3). This occurred during a period when the Babylonian army had temporarily withdrawn from Jerusalem due to the approach of an Egyptian force.

Later, Jehucal is again mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah as one of the officials who urged King Zedekiah to put Jeremiah to death because Jeremiah's prophecies were discouraging the soldiers and undermining the morale of the people (Jeremiah 38:1-6). Along with other officials, including Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, and Pashhur son of Malchiah, Jehucal was instrumental in having Jeremiah thrown into a cistern, a pit with muddy water, in an attempt to silence him. The intention was for Jeremiah to die in the cistern.

The discovery of two bullae (clay seals) in archaeological excavations in Jerusalem in 2005 and 2008, bearing the inscription "Belonging to Jehucal son of Shelemiah son of Shovi," is significant. These seals provide extra-biblical corroboration for the existence of Jehucal as a high-ranking official in Jerusalem during the reign of Zedekiah. These artifacts strengthen the historical reliability of the biblical narrative.