Jeremiah 37
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“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” — John 5:39
1And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.
CHAPTER 37
Jr 37:1-21. Historical Sections, Thirty-seventh through Forty-fourth Chapters. The Chaldeans Raise the Siege to Go and Meet Pharaoh-hophra. Zedekiah Sends to Jeremiah to Pray to God in Behalf of the Jews: in Vain, Jeremiah Tries to Escape to His Native Place, but Is Arrested. Zedekiah Abates the Rigor of His Imprisonment.
1. Coniah--curtailed from Jeconiah by way of reproach.
whom--referring to Zedekiah, not to Coniah (2Ki 24:17).
Coniah; i.e. Jehoiachin (see on Jer_22:24). Whom Nebuchadrezzar … made king. Zedekiah, not Jehoiachin, is referred to (see 2Ki_24:17).
2But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.
2. Amazing stupidity, that they were not admonished by the punishment of Jeconiah [Calvin], (2Ch 36:12, 14)!
3And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us.
3. Zedekiah ... sent--fearing lest, in the event of the Chaldeans overcoming Pharaoh-hophra, they should return to besiege Jerusalem. See on Jr 21:1; that chapter chronologically comes in between the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth chapter. The message of the king to Jeremiah here in the thirty-seventh chapter is, however, somewhat earlier than that in the twenty-first chapter; here it is while the issue between the Chaldeans and Pharaoh was undecided; there it is when, after the repulse of Pharaoh, the Chaldeans were again advancing against Jerusalem; hence, while Zephaniah is named in both embassies, Jehucal accompanies him here, Pashur there. But, as Pashur and Jehucal are both mentioned in Jr 38:1, 2, as hearing Jeremiah's reply, which is identical with that in Jr 21:9, it is probable the two messages followed one another at a short interval; that in this Jr 37:3, and the answer, Jr 37:7-10, being the earlier of the two.
Zephaniah--an abettor of rebellion against God (Jr 29:25), though less virulent than many (Jr 29:29), punished accordingly (Jr 52:24-27).
And Zedekiah the king sent. This was Zedekiah's second embassy to Jeremiah. His request on the former occasion bad been for a prophecy; on the present it was for an "effectual fervent prayer," such as Hezekiah's embassy asked of Isaiah (Isa_37:6). But the issue was to be very different from that in the case of Sennacherib's invasion! Jehucal. The same man appears in Jer_38:1, among those who brought about the imprisonment of Jeremiah. Zephaniah. The high priest's deputy, mentioned again in Jer_21:1; Jer_29:25; Jer_52:24.
4Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.
4. Jeremiah ... not put ... into prison--He was no longer in the prison court, as he had been (Jr 32:2; 33:1), which passages refer to the beginning of the siege, not to the time when the Chaldeans renewed the siege, after having withdrawn for a time to meet Pharaoh.
Now Jeremiah came in and went out, etc. Had he been a prisoner, an embassy of high officials could not, with propriety, have been sent to him (comp. verse 17; Jer_38:14).
5Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
5. After this temporary diversion, caused by Pharaoh in favor of Jerusalem, the Egyptians returned no more to its help (2Ki 24:7). Judea had the misfortune to lie between the two great contending powers, Babylon and Egypt, and so was exposed to the alternate inroads of the one or the other. Josiah, taking side with Assyria, fell in battle with Pharaoh-necho at Megiddo (2Ki 23:29). Zedekiah, seeking the Egyptian alliance in violation of his oath, was now about to be taken by Nebuchadnezzar (2Ch 36:13; Eze 17:15, 17).
Then Pharaoh's army, etc.; rather, And Pharaoh's army had, etc.; as a further description of the circumstances under which the embassy was sent. The withdrawal of the Chaldeans seemed to offer a gleam of hope. The Pharaoh referred to was the Hophra of the Jews, the Apries of Herodotus, the Uah-ab-ra of the monuments. His interference was useless; indeed, Hophra was one of the most unfortunate of the Egyptian kings (see Jer_44:30).
6Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah saying,
7Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
7. shall return--without accomplishing any deliverance for you.
8And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
8. (Jr 34:22).
9Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
9. yourselves--Hebrew, "souls."
10For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
10. yet ... they--Even a few wounded men would suffice for your destruction.
Even if the Jews had defeated the whole Chaldean army, and there remained but a group of sorely wounded men, these in their weakness would be enabled to carry out God's sure purpose. But wounded men hardly brings out the force of the Hebrew; the word rendered "men" is emphatic, and expresses paucity of numbers, and that rendered "wounded" is, literally, pierced through.
For fear of, etc.; rather, because of.
11And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,
11. broken up--"gone up."
12Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.
12. Benjamin--to his own town, Anathoth.
to separate himself--Margin translates, "to slip away," from a Hebrew root, "to be smooth," so, to slip away as a slippery thing that cannot be held. But it is not likely the prophet of God would flee in a dishonorable way; and "in the midst of the people" rather implies open departure along with others, than clandestine slipping away by mixing with the crowd of departing people. Rather, it means, to separate himself, or to divide his place of residence, so as to live partly here, partly there, without fixed habitation, going to and fro among the people [Ludovicus De Dieu]. Maurer translates, "to take his portion thence," to realize the produce of his property in Anathoth [Henderson], or to take possession of the land which he bought from Hanameel [Maurer].
As soon as communication with the outside world was possible, Jeremiah took the opportunity of going to his native country, to obtain something or other which he could only obtain "thence." The Authorized Version says that his object was to separate himself thence. But
(1) the rendering is linguistically untenable; and
(2) the assumed object is incongruous with the circumstances and Character of Jeremiah, who was neither inclined to seek safety in isolation nor had any motive at present for doing so. The only safe rendering is, to claim his share thence. Whether there was just then a reallotment of communal lands must be left undecided; this would, however, be the most plausible hypothesis, if we could be sure that the present was a sabbatical year. The additional words, in the midst of the people, would then acquire a special significance. The "people" would be the representatives of families who had an equal right to allotments with Jeremiah.
13And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.
13. ward--that is, the "guard," or "watch."
Hananiah--whose death Jeremiah predicted (Jr 28:16). The grandson in revenge takes Jeremiah into custody on the charge of deserting ("thou fallest away," Jr 38:19; 52:15; 1Sa 29:3) to the enemy. His prophecies gave color to the charge (Jr 21:9; 38:4).
The gate of Benjamin; i.e. the gate looking northwards towards Benjamin (comp. Jer_20:2; Jer_38:7; Zec_14:10). It appears to be the same as the gate of Ephraim (2Ki_14:13; Neh_8:16). Thou fallest away, etc. Perhaps an allusion to Jeremiah's declaration (Jer_21:9) that "he that falleth away to the Chaldeans … he shall live,"
14Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
15Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
15. scribe--one of the court secretaries; often in the East part of the private house of a public officer serves as a prison.
The princes were wroth with Jeremiah. As Graf has pointed out, the princes, who had evinced their respect for Jeremiah on former occasions (Jer_26:1-24; Jer_36:1-32) had probably shared the captivity of Jehoiachin; Zedekiah's "princes" would be of a lower origin and type, and ready (like the judges in the French "terror") to accept any charge against an unpopular person without proper examination. The house of Jonathan the scribe. "Scribe," i.e. one of the secretaries of state. The house of Jonathan seems to have been specially adapted for a prison, as the next verse shows. Chardin, the old traveller, remarks, "The Eastern prisons are not public buildings erected for that purpose, but a part of the house in which the criminal judges dwell. As the governor and provost of a town, or the captain of the watch, imprison such as are accused in their own houses, they set apart a canton of them for that purpose when they are put into these offices, and choose for the jailor the most proper person they can find of their domestics" (Chardin).
16When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
16. dungeon ... cabins--The prison consisted of a pit (the "dungeon") with vaulted cells round the sides of it. The "cabins," from a root, "to bend one's self."
Into the dungeon, and into the cabins. The former word undoubtedly implies an underground excavation. The latter is of more uncertain signification. It most probably means "vaults;" but it may mean "curved posts"—something analogous to stocks (see on Jer_20:2).
17Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
17. secretly--Zedekiah was ashamed to be seen by his courtiers consulting Jeremiah (Joh 12:43; 5:44; 19:38).
thou shalt be delivered--Had Jeremiah consulted his earthly interests, he would have answered very differently. Contrast Jr 6:14; Is 30:10; Eze 13:10.
Meantime the Chaldean army has returned, and reinvested the city. Zedekiah, in his anxiety, sends for Jeremiah privately to his palace. Thou shalt be delivered, etc. (comp. Jer_32:3, Jer_32:4; Jer_34:2, Jer_34:3).
18Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?
18. What--In what respect have I offended?
19Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
19. Where are now your prophets--The event has showed them to be liars; and, as surely as the king of Babylon has come already, notwithstanding their prophecy, so surely shall he return.
20Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.
20. be accepted--rather, "Let my supplication be humbly presented" (see on Jr 36:7), [Henderson].
lest I die there--in the subterranean dungeon (Jr 37:16), from want of proper sustenance (Jr 37:21). The prophet naturally shrank from death, which makes his spiritual firmness the more remarkable; he was ready to die rather than swerve from his duty [Calvin].
21Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
21. court of the prison--(Jr 32:2; 38:13, 28).
bakers' street--Persons in the same business in cities in the East commonly reside in the same street.
all the bread ... spent--Jeremiah had bread supplied to him until he was thrown into the dungeon of Malchiah, at which time the bread in the city was spent. Compare this verse with Jr 38:9; that time must have been very shortly before the capture of the city (Jr 52:6). God saith of His children, "In the days of famine they shall be satisfied" (Psa 37:19; Is 33:16). Honest reproof (Jr 37:17), in the end often gains more favor than flattery (Pr 28:23).
Court of the prison; rather, court of the watch (as Jer_32:2). A piece of bread; literally, a circle (i.e. round cake) of bread. This is mentioned elsewhere in descriptions of poverty (1Sa_2:36; Pro_6:26); but as the ancient Oriental bread was not our delicate white bread, it was a real "staff of life." The Syrian peasants still eat cakes of coarse meal, of about the thickness of parchment, and equal in size to a large plate (Orelli's 'Travels'). The bakers' street. Probably the several trades were confined to special quarters and streets. In Cairo each trade has still its own bazaar (saddlers, carpets, hardware, goldsmiths, sweetmeats, etc.).
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