Yehozadak (יְהוֹצָדָק, H3087) is a theophoric name meaning 'YHWH is righteous' or 'the LORD has been righteous.' Composed of the divine name YHWH (יהוה) and tsadak (to be righteous/just). Jehozadak was the son of Seraiah the high priest who was executed by Nebuchadnezzar at the destruction of Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 6:14–15). He was taken into Babylonian captivity, and his son Joshua (Jeshua) became the first high priest of the restored community after the exile — a pivotal figure in Ezra and Haggai.
Jehozadak's life spans one of the most shattering moments in Israelite history: the destruction of Solomon's Temple and the beginning of the Babylonian exile. His father was killed; he himself was carried off in chains. Yet his name was a theological declaration: YHWH is righteous — even in this. This is not naive optimism but covenant faith tested in catastrophe. Lamentations 1:18 echoes this: 'The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command.' Jehozadak's son Joshua would return to Jerusalem as high priest, wearing filthy garments (Zechariah 3:3) — the defilement of exile — and being clothed in clean garments by God's grace. The lineage of Jehozadak thus becomes a story of righteousness lost, exile endured, and restoration given — a pattern pointing to the high priestly work of Jesus.