Who was the last king of the Southern Kingdom?

• A. Jehoiakim
• B. Zedekiah
• C. Jehoiachin
• D. Athaliah

Answer: (B)

The last king of the Southern Kingdom refers to the final ruler of Judah before its exile to Babylon. Zedekiah fits that role because he was the last king to sit on Judah’s throne before Jerusalem fell and the kingdom ceased to exist as an independent nation. He was originally named Mattaniah, a son of Josiah, and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon installed him as a vassal and later renamed him Zedekiah. His reign ended when he revolted against Babylon, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the people being carried into exile. That sequence makes him the final king of Judah. By contrast, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin ruled earlier during the Babylonian period, and Athaliah was a queen, not a king, ruling Judah even earlier in its history.