JAAZANIAH
“Jehovah listens.”
(a) Chief of some scattered bands of the army, after the collapse of Judah, he was the son of Hosaiah the Maacathite. He went to Mizpah to pay homage to Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor of Judah after the conquest of Jerusalem (Jer. 40:7, 8).
Jaazaniah took no part in the murder of Gedaliah; It seems that he made great efforts to seize the criminals and hand them over, but they took refuge in Moab.
He was part of those who begged the prophet Jeremiah to consult God if he approved the project of emigration of the remnant of the Israelites, who wanted to go to Egypt (Jer. 42: 1).
It seems that in Jer. 43:2 the name Azariah is an alteration of that of Jaazaniah or Jezaniah (cf. 2 Kings 25:23; Jer. 40:7, 8; 42:1; 43:2).
(b) He rechabitates that he refused to drink wine (Jer. 35:3).
(c) Elder given to idolatry (Ez. 8:11).