Eliakim | |
|---|---|
 Elikim in stained glass window:TheTree of Jesse, 1934 (detail), byGustave Ladon [nl]. North transept, Church of Our Lady of Pamele,Oudenaarde, East Flanders, Belgium | |
| Patrilineal ancestor of Jesus | |
| Venerated in |
|
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Feast | Feast of the Holy Fathers: Sunday before the feast of the Nativity, falling 18–24 December (together with the other ancestors of Jesus) |
Eliakim appears in theGenealogy of Jesus according toMatthew as a son ofAbihud or Abiud and the father ofAzor according to the accounts of Matthew (1:13). He is the Grandson ofZerubbabel, and a descendant of theDavidic Line.
Eliakim is venerated as a saint by theEastern Catholic and Orthodox Church as aHoly Patriarch and celebrated during the second part of theSunday of the Holy Fathers between 18 and 24 of December.[1]
Eliakim is present in churches namely Padova Church of St. Francesco and the most known is the painting of Eliakim in theSistine Chapel delineated byMichelangelo.
According toMatthew 1:1–17, Eliakim, was the son ofAbihud and the father of Azor.[2] Therefore, he is of theDavidic Lineage. He is also not to be confused with the Eliakim of Luke's Genealogy whose son is Jonam and father is Melea. Like any other generations afterZerubbabel, he was not mentioned in theOld Testament through the Davidic Lineage.Robert H. Gundry suggests that Matthew simply made up these names in order to fill up the space between the return from the exile and the time ofChrist.[3] Gundry conjectures that his name can refer to a priest from thetribe of Levi, namely Eliezer. Eliezer (Eliakim) succeeded Abihu (Abihud) as priest shortly after his death. According to Gundry,Matthew modifies the name once again due to the fittingness of the name to the figure's ancestor.[3] Some scholars speculate that the names of Eliakim's era were merged.
It is unknown when Eliakim died or when he was born because he is briefly even mentioned in theBible only as being the son of Abihud and the father of Azor.
