And the sons of Josiah. — The regular succession by primogeniture ceases with Josiah.
The firstborn Johanan (Iahweh bestowed) never ascended the throne of his fathers. He may have died early. He is not to be identified with Jehoahaz, who was two years younger than Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:31; 2 Kings 23:36), and therefore could not have been the firstborn of Josiah.
The second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. — The order of succession to the throne after Josiah was this: — First, Shallum (= Jehoahaz, 2 Kings 23:30; comp. Jeremiah 22:11); then Jehoiakim (= Eliakim, 2 Kings 23:34; Jeremiah 22:18); then Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakini (= Jehoiachin, Jeremiah 22:24); and, lastly, Zedekiah (= Mattaniah, 2 Kings 24:17),
The third Zedekiah. — Zedekiah was much younger than Shallum. Shallum was twenty-three when he came to the throne, which he occupied eleven years. Zedekiah succeeded him at the age of twenty-one (2 Kings 23:31; 2 Kings 24:18). The order of 1 Chronicles 3:15 is not wholly determined by seniority any more than by the actual succession. If age were considered, the order would be Jehoiakim, Shallum, Zedekiah; if the actual succession, it would be, Shallum, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah. The order of the text may have been influenced by the two considerations — (1) That Jehoiakim and Zedekiah each enjoyed a reign of eleven years, while Shallum reigned only three months; (2) That Shallum and Zedekiah were full brothers, both being sons of Hamutal, whereas Jehoiakim was born of another of Josiah’s wives, viz., Zebudah.