25:27–30 There is, however, an epilog. It concerns Jehoiachin, carried off to Babylon in 24:15, and now, many years later, released . . . from prison and given a seat of honor . . . at the king’s table. It is a tailpiece that has provoked some debate. It might be taken simply as the final nail in the coffin that the authors have so skilfully been preparing for Israel throughout the preceding chapters. Solomon’s glory has departed to Babylon. The empire has dissolved. The Babylonian king has destroyed Solomon’s city, his palace and his temple; he controls Solomon’s empire, and he possesses all Solomon’s wealth. Now Solomon’s last-surviving successor (so far as we know) sits, amply provided for, at the Babylonian table: the great symbol of imperial power (1 Kgs. 4:27). He sits; he eats; and …