Jeremiah Bible Notes Chapters 1-2

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Jeremiah's calling 1:1-19
Collection of discourses 2:1-33:26

First oracles 2:1-6:30
Sermon at the Temple 7:1-8:3
Various accusations 8:4-10:25
Successes in Jeremiah's life 11:1-13:27
Drought and other catastrophes 14:1-15:21
Warnings and promises 16:1-17:18
Observing the Day of Rest 17:19-27
Lessons about the clay vessel 18:1-20:18
Oracles against kings, prophets and the people 21:1-24:10
The Babylonian exile 25:1-29:32
The book of consolation 30:1-33:26

Historical appendex 34:1-35:19

Warning to Zedekiah 34:1-7
The manumission of the slaves revoked 34:8-22
Symbol of the Rechabites 35:1-19

Jeremiah's trials and sufferings 36:1-45:4

Jehoiachim and the scrolls 36:1-32
Siege and fall of Jerusalem 37:1-40:6
Gedaliah and his assassin 40:7-41:18
The flight to Egypt 42:1-43:7
Jeremiah in Egypt 43:8-44:30
Words of consolation to Baruch 45:1-5

Oracles against neighboring nations 46:1-51:64

Against Egypt 46:1-28
Against the Philistines 47:1-7
Against Moab 48:1-47
Against the Ammonites 49:1-6
Against Edom 49:7-22
Against Damascus 49:23-27
Against Kedar and Hazor 49:28-33
Against Elam 49:34-39
Against Babylonia 50:1-51:64

Historical Appendix 52:1-34

Zedechiah's kingdom 52:1-3
Siege and fall of Jerusalem 52:4-27
Summary of three deportations 52:28-30
Jehoiachim's release from prison 52:31-34

BABYLON(HBH)

Babylon is a country, sometimes called Babylonia, and the major city within that country. Babylon dominated the Near Eastern political scene at several points between 3000 BC and 539 BC. For the Bible student Babylon is most famous as the nation that took Judah into exile in 586 BC and that destroyed Jerusalem. In Hebrew the name Babylon is closely related to the Hebrew word for Babel (Gen. 10:10; 11:9).

Babylon's origins are lost in archaeological levels below the current water line at the ancient city site located about fifty miles south of modern Baghdad. Shortly after 2000 BC, about the time of Abraham, Babylon's history becomes available for modern study. Amorite kings, such as the famous Hammurabi (about 1792-1750), brought the city to international dominance.

Hittite kings destroyed the city of Babylon, ending this babylonian dynasty about 1595 BC. A period of which we know little ensued under the rule of Kassite kings.
About 1350 BC Babylon's kings were important enough to correspond with Egyptian kings. Their correspondence shows trouble brewing to the north from Assyria. The Elamites' conquest ended this stage of Babylon's history about 1160 BC. A brief renewal under Nebuchadnezzar (about 1124-1103 BC) gave way to two hundred years of darkness and weakness. Chaldeans and other nomadic tribes settled much of Babylonia. Shortly after 900 BC Assyria gained control of Mesopotamia, including Babylon. The Assyrians often allowed Babylonian kings to reign as their vassals, paying tribute.

By 721 BC Marduk apal-iddina (called Merodach-Baladan in the OT), a Chaldean, ruled Babylon. In 710 BC Sargon II of Assyria forced Marduk-apal-iddina to flee to his allies in Elam. He returned to Babylon at Sargon's death in 705 and apparently sent messengers to Hezekiah (II Kgs 20:12-19; Isa 39_. Sennacherib of Assyria regained control in 703 BC, finally destroyeing the city of Babylon in 689 BC in response to revolts backed by Elam.

Nabopolassar, a Chaldean chief, established Babylonian independence in 626 BC. In 612 with the help of the Medes he destroyed Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. Pharaoh Neco of Egypt marched to Assyria's defense but failed to drive back the babylonians in 609 BC. Nebuchadnezzar, the crown prince, led Babylon to decisive victory over Egypt at Carchemish in 605 BC (compare Jer. 46:2-12).

When he became king, Nebuchadnezzar forced Jehoiakim of Judah to pay tribute as his vassal in 603 BC. Temporary Egyptian victory in 601 encouraged Jehoiakim to rebel (compare II Kings 24:1-2). Finally, Babylon retaliated and forced Judah's new young king Jehoiachin to surrender on March 16, 597 BC. Many Judeans were exiled to Babylon (II Kings 24:6-12).

Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah as Judah's king, but he, too, rebelled in 590 BC, only to be defeated in 586. This defeat resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple and the exile of the leading citizens to Babylon (see Jer. 37:4-10; 52:1-30; II Kings 25:1-21).

Nebuchadnezzar's death inaugurated Babylon's gradual fall though several kings followed him: Awel-marduk, the Evil-Merodach of II Kings 25:27-30 (561-560 BC); Neriglissar (560-558 BC); Labashi-Marduk (557 BC); and Nabonidus (556-539 BC). Nabonidus apparently tried to replace Babylon's god Marduk with the moon god Sin and moved to Tema in the Arabian Desert for ten years, leaving his son Belshazzar in charge (compare Dan 5:1). Babylon's population became discouraged and welcomed the invasion of Cyrus of Persia, letting him into the city gates without opposition in 539 BC.

Babylon established a complex and sophisticated society, worshiping officially over a thousand gods, though only about twenty had stron gimportance. These included Anu, god of the heavens; Enlil, god of the earth; and Ea, god of the waters. During Babylon's political heydday, however, the major god was Marduk, patron god of the city of Babylon. Marduk was also called Bel, or lord (see Isa. 46:1; Jer. 50:2; 51:44). Other gods included Shamash, the sun god; Sin, the moon god; Ishtar, goddess of the morning and evening star. Ishtar was known as the Queen of Heaven (see Jer. 7:18; 44:17-19).

Archaeologists have uncovered thousands of Babylonian tablets, revealing many narrative texts such as the Enuma elish, the creation story, and the Gilgamesh Epic, the flood story.

For Jews and Christians, Babylon became synonymous with evil and the enemy above all enemies (see I Pet. 5:13; Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2).

JEREMIAH"S CALL (HBH)
For discussion of the heading (1:1-3), see the Introduction to Jeremiah. Before Jeremiah's conception and birth, the LORD had chosen him to be His prophet. When Jeremiah objected that he was too young and inarticulate for the task, the LORD assured him of His protective presence. The prophet's divinely appointed words would determine the destiny of nations.

Through a pun based on a vision, the LORD assured the prophet that the divine message spoken through him would be fulfilled. When Jeremiah identified an almond branch (Hebrew saqed), the LORD punned on its name, announcing that He was "watching" (Hebrew soqed) carefully to assure the realizatio of the prophetic word.

Through another vision, that of a boiling pot tilting southward, the LORD revealed that Jeremiah's message would be one of impending judgment. The boiling pot symbolized foreign armies that would invade the land from the north as instruments of judgments against GOD's idolatrous people.

The LORD exhorted Jeremiah to declare His word boldly and fearlessly, promising him protection from his hostile audience.

Jer. 1:1 Son of Hilkiah: Used to distinguish Heremiah from others of the same name, two of whom were his contemporaries (35:3; 52:1). Priests: Like Ezekiel, his younger contemporary, Jeremiah was prophet and priest at the same time. Anathoth: A city located approximately five km NE of Jerusalem, in the territory of Benjamin; the place of Jeremiah's birth. GOD instructed him to claim an inheritance in that city (32:7-9).

Jer. 1:2 Word of Jehovah: Jeremiah's favorite expression, utilized more than 50 times. Josiah was Judah's last good monarch; Jeremiah's ministry began in the thirteenth year of his reign.

Jer. 1:3 Jehoiachim: Royal name of Josiah's second son. His brother Jehoahaz was deposed by the pharoah Neco, and Jehoiachim was designated to occupy his place. The eleventh year of Zedechiah, Josiah's third son and the last king of Judah, coincided with the year 587 or 586 B.C. Fifth month: The month Ab (July-August).

Jer. 1:5 GOD's sovereignty was demonstrated by forming, sanctifying (setting apart) and ordaining (designating) Jeremiah as prophet to the nations (Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, Judah and others).

Jer. 1:6-8 See section 4 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Jeremiah.

Jer. 1:6-8 I don't know how to speak: Like Moses (Exod. 3:4), Jeremiah invokes his inability and inexperience (a child), but GOD's presence and support (I am with you) will help him overcome his personal limitations.

Jer. 1:9 Touched my mouth: Compare with Isaiah's experience (see Is. 6:7).

Jer. 1:9,10 See section 4 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Jeremiah.

Jer. 1:10 The Word of GOD and a dynamic and creative force through which His purpose is carried out (see Is. 55:10,11). Jeremiah repeatedly uses the verbs pull down, ruin or destroy, demolish, build and plant (see 18:7-9; 24:6; 31:28; 42:10).

Jer. 1:11,12 See section 4 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Jeremiah.

LITERARY RICHES

Jer. 1:12, shaqad; Strong #8245: Vigilant, alert, hastened, anticipated, insomniac, awake, in expectation, to be on the lookout. This verb appears 12 times, including Psalm 127:1: "If the LORD doesn't keep the city, the watchmen watch it in vain". In Jeremiah 31:28, GOD promises to watch out for his people with the purpose of planting and edifying. This reference can be better understood noting the linguistic Hebrew connection between shaqad ("state of vigilance") and shaqad ("almond tree"). In Hebrew thought, among all the trees, the almond is considered the "guard", because it blossoms early, that is, watches diligently, waiting for the opportunity to flourish. Therefore, in verses 11 and 12, the relationship is clear between the vision of the almond branch and its significance.

Jer. 1:13,14 A second vision is a boiling pot (judgment and calamity) in the north, because the majority of the invaders of Israel and Judah came from the north.

jer. 1:15,16 The Babylonians were the principal instruments utilized by GOD to punish His enemies (see Hab. 1:6) and they camped at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem (39:3). Judgment would come because of the violation of the covenant (against those who forsake me) and idolatry.

Jer. 1:17-19 See section 5 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Jeremiah.

Jer. 1:17 Gird up your loins: That is "prepare yourself" to enter into action. For something similar, see Exodus 12:11 and I Kings 18:46.

GUILTY JUDAH'S DOWNFALL Jer. 2:1-24:10 (HBH)
These chapters contain several judgment oracles against GOD's people, as well as many of the prophet's emotionally charged prayers to and dialogues with the LORD. The major theme of the section is sinful Judah's coming downfall, yet glimpses of future restoration also appear.

Jer. 2:1-3:5 GOD Accuses His Unfaithful People (HBH) Israel's history was one of apostasy. Early Israel had faithfully followed the LORD and enjoyed His protection. Later generations turned to idols, forgot the LORD's mighty deeds, and defiled the land GOD had graciously given them. Even the priests, civil leaders, and prophets abandoned the LORD.

Unlike pagans, who maintained loyalty to their worthless gods, Israel exchanged their glorious GOD and His blessings for useless idols. Conssequently they suffered humiliation at the hands of foreigners. Still they sought protective alliances with these same nations.

The LORD compared rebellious and idolatrous Israel to a prostitute and to a good grapevine turned wild. Their guilt was like an irremovable stain in the sight of GOD. In their frantic pursuit of false gods they were like a skittish female camel dashing about or a lusty female donkey pursuing a mate. Idolatry can only result in shame. The people's idols would prove futile in the coming crisis.

Despite their unfaithfulness, the people claimed to be innocent and accused the LORD of treating them unfairly. In response the LORD pointed to their blatant rebellion and shameless acts of idolatry throughout the land.

Jer. 2:2 Faithfulness: The Hebrew word connotes loyalty and love. Espousal: The Sinai covenant is compared to a marriage vow, and GOD is called Israel's husband (see Is. 54:5; Ezek. 16:1-14; Hosea 2:16).

Jer. 2:3 Holy: As in 1:5 the central idea is having been set apart for Jehovah.

Jer. 2:6,7 The exodus from Egypt, the wandering through the desert and the conquest of the Promised Land, are mentioned as proofs of GOD's grace and mercy, but Israel contaminated the land, making it ceremonially unclean (see 3:1,2,9).

Jer. 2:8 Those encharged with leadership roles, priests, pastors and prophets, disobeyed because they didn't consult the LORD.

Jer. 2:9-13 In no other civilization has the like been seen, neither in Chittim (representing the western cultures), nor in Kedar (representing the eastern cultures), that is, the madness of people who forsake the fountain of living water, that only GOD can supply (see 17:13; Psa. 36:9; Is. 55:1; John 4:10-14), for broken cisterns. The ability to construct cisterns from which no water was allowed to escape, utilizing mortar, enabled the Israelites to establish themselves in places where no natural sources of water existed.

Jer. 2:15 Lion cubs: Figuratively designates the Assyrians who destroy the land and tear down its cities.

Jer. 2:16 Memphis: Capital of lower (northern) Egypt. Taphnes: Fortress in the Egyptian frontier, also known as Baal-zeton (in Greek, "Daphnai"), in the delta region, about 45 km (27 miles) southwest of modern Port Said. They break: Rather "they rape", in the sense of shaving the head, which was a symbol of misfortune.

Jer. 2:18 History shows that Israel alternatively sought aid from Assyria and Egypt. Nile (Hebrew, Sichor): Refers to the easternmost arm of the river, which flows to the Mediterranean Sea. It may constitute the southwestern boundary of the Israeli territory (see Josh. 13:3). The term is Egyptian and means "waters from Horus".

Jer. 2:18 CISTERN (Manners & Customs of the Bible by James M. Freeman; pub. 1972 by Logos International)
"They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." The dryness of the summer months in Palestine, and the absence of large rivers, together with the scarcity of springs in many places, make it necessary to collect into cisterns the rains which fall, and the waters which fill the small streams in the rainy season. This has been the custom in that land from very early times. These cisterns are either dug in the earth or cut out of the soft limestone rock, and are of several kinds. Sometimes a shaft is sunk like a well, and the bottom widened into the shape of a jug. Excavations of this sort combine the characters of cisterns and wells, since they not only receive the rain which is conducted into them, but the water which percolates through the limestone. Another kind consists of chambers excavated out of the rock, with a hole in the roof. Again, an excavation is made perpendicularly, and the roof arched with masonry. Some are lined with wood or cement, while others are left in their natural state.

They are sometimes entirely open at the top, and are then entered by steps, or, in the case of large ones, (and some are very large,) by flights of stairs. Where they are roofed, a circular opening with a curb is at the top, and a wheel, with a rope and bucket, is provided. This is referred to in Ecclesiastes 12:6, "The wheel broken at the cistern". Jerusalem is abundantly supplied with water by means of cisterns, and during all its long and terrible sieges has never suffered for want of a supply.

It is to these different kinds of receptacles for water that the prophet refers in the text. Though with proper care the water may be kept sweet for a time, it is often in a filthy condition, not to be compared to the pure water from living fountains, and at any time the cisterns are liable to become "broken", and to lead. See also II Kings 18:31; Isaiah 36:16.

Jer. 2:20-3:5 Jeremiah utilizes numerous figures to describe the Judean rebellion: an unruly ox (v.20), a wild vine (v.21), a stain that doesn't come out (v.22), a dromedary, a wild ass (verses 23,24), and a thief (v.26).

Jer. 2:20 Although Judah vowed to observe the commandments of the LORD, who delivered them from their yoke and their bonds, they have offered sacrifices upon every high place and under every tree, where the pagans offered worship to their gods. By doing so, they comitted adultery like a harlot.

Jer. 2:21 GOD has planted Judah like a choice vine, but it degenerated (see Is. 5:1-7).

Jer. 2:22 Nitre and soap are a mineral and a vegetal alkali, respectively. The sin of Judah can only be washed by means of repentance, not with soap.

Jer. 2:23 The valley: Probably the valley of Hinnom where children were sacrificed to worship Moloch. The dromedary here is a camel that gallops astray.

Jer. 2:24 The wild ass was an animal that lived free, unable to be domesticated (see Job 39:5-8) and was accustomed to the desert. Smells the wind (KJV-snuffeth up the wind): Indicates anxious pursuit. His masters don't need to go in pursuit of him; he will find them.

Jer. 2:25 Keep your feet: Implies not depending on shoes to run behind strangers, whether they be gods, foreigners or both.

Jer. 2:26 The thief is ashamed: When he is captured, not so much because he has been doing evil, but for having been discovered. For the rulers to whom this alludes, see verse 8.

Jer. 2:27 A log (KJV-stock) and a stone (or sacred pillar) was used in pagan worship. The Israelites were ordained to destroy them (Deut. 12:2,3), but many times they joined these practices (Judges 2:11-15).

Jer. 2:30 Your sword devoured your prophets: An example is found in 26:20-23. See also Nehemiah 9:26; Matthew 23:35.

Jer. 2:32 Forgotten: Compare verse 2 where GOD reminds them (see 18:15).

Jer. 2:36 Egypt and Assyria: See verses 15-18.

Jer. 2:37 Your hands upon your head: Ancient reliefs show captives with their hands tied to their head. Those in whom you trusted: Assyria and Egypt.

Jer. 2:37 HANDS ON THE HEAD (Manners & Customs of the Bible by James M. Freeman; pub. 1972 by Logos International)
"Thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head." This is an Oriental mode of expressing great grief, and is thought by some to signify that the heavy hand of God's affliction is resting on the mourner. This was one of the tokens of mourning adopted by Tamar after the cruel maltreatment she received from Amnon. See II Samuel 13:19. There is in the British Museum a sculptured slab representing Egyptian mourners at a funeral, with their hands on their heads. According to Roberts, this is a common mode of expressing grief in India. "When people are in great distress they put their hands on their head, the fingers being clasped on the top of the crown. Should a man who is plunged into wretchedness meet a friend, be immediately puts his hands on his head to illustrate his circumstances. When a person hears of the death of a relation or friend he forthwith clasps his hands and places them on his head. When boys have been punished at school, they run home with their hands on the same place." - Oriental Illustrations, p. 461.

JEREMIAH, THE PROPHET OF JUDAH'S DARKEST HOUR ("Exploring the Old Testament" by C. E. Demaray, PhD, Donald S. Metz, D.R.E. and Maude A. Stuneck, PhD; edited by W. T. Purkiser, PhD; published 1967 by Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City)
Jeremiah is one of the most colorful figures in Hebrew history. This is partly due to the fact that we know more about his personality and character than those of any other of the Old Testament prophets. His book abounds in biographical material. Unlike Amos, who tells us only of his occupation and of his call, or Hosea, of whom we know only the tragic story of his married life, and in even greater contrast to such men as Nahum and Zephaniah, who tell us nothing about themselves, Jeremiah literally pours out his mind and soul for us to see.

Called of GOD when but "a child" (Jer. 1:6), Jeremiah spent nearly a half-century endeavoring, by every means possible, to win his people back to repentance and faith in GOD, that they might, through heeding the inspired warnings of GOD's prophet, escape the doom that threatened them. Dr. Kyle Yates says:

Tragically he stood in the main stream of rushing humanity warning the heedless throng of the certain destruction awaiting them. Madly they rushed on into death and exile over the struggling form of the faithful messenger of GOD. In all of these trying hours GOD sustained and strengthened His prophet.

Like Isaiah, Jeremiah belonged to the upper class and was able to command the respect of kings and men of official rank. The fact that he was able to maintain the services of an amanuensis or scribe and to buy real estate (Jer. 32:6-15; 36:4-8; etc.) indicates that he was a man of some means. From the general tenor of his book it is clear also that he was a person of education and culture, thoroughly acquainted with the history of his nation, local and international politics, foreign cults and practices, and the deeper matters of divine revelation. Most important of all, he was a man who was filled with a sense of the urgency of his mission. When he was tempted to give up his ministry under the stress of fierce persecution, he found that the compulsion within himself more than outweighed the opposition which came from without.

If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in His name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot

The period of Jeremiah's ministry is clearly indicated by references to the kings Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah, and to the fall of Jerusalem. The date of the prophet's call is given in Jer. 1:2 as the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign, or 626 B.C. Since he was still prophesying after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (cc. 40-44), his ministry must have lasted more than forty years. During the first eighteen years of this period he was aiding the good king Josiah in his attempt to win the people back to the worship of Jehovah. The remainder of the forty years was spent chiefly in the courts of the two wicked sons of Josiah who reigned during this time, Jehoiakim (608-597 B.C.) and Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.). It was during these reigns that the great opposition arose, which we shall describe in a later section.

The Book of Jeremiah is difficult to outline satisfactorily, since the messages recorded and the incidents narrated do not follow either a topical or a chronological order. In general the first thirty-three chapters, except chapter one, which relates the call of the prophet, are composed of warnings and predictions concerning the approaching doom of the city. The next twelve chapters (34-45) are largely historical and biographical, recounting events which happened before and after the destruction of Jerusalem, and giving many graphic details of the persecutions suffered by Jeremiah. Chapters 46-51 contain predictions concerning the fate of foreign powers. tThe last chapter (52) is a historical appendix, virtually equivalent to II Kings 24:17-25:30, giving in review a brief account of the rebellion o Zedekiah, the destruction of the city, and the deportation of the people to Babylon.

The PROPHESIES OF JEREMIAH (Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

Introduction

1. The Times of Jeremiah

It was in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, b.c. 629, that Jeremiah was called to be a prophet. At that time the kingdom of Judah enjoyed unbroken peace. Since the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's host before the gates of Jerusalem in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, b.c. 714, Judah had no longer had much to fear from the imperial power of Assyria. The reverse then sustained before Jerusalem, just eight years after the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel, had terribly crushed the might of the great empire. It was but a few years after that disaster till the Medes under Deïoces asserted their independence against Assyria; and the Babylonians too, though soon reduced to subjection again, rose in insurrection against Sennacherib. Sennacherib's energetic son and successor Esarhaddon did indeed succeed in re-establishing for a time the tottering throne. While holding Babylon, Elam, Susa, and Persia to their allegiance, he restored the ascendency of the empire in the western provinces, and brought lower Syria, the districts of Syria that lay on the sea coast, under the Assyrian yoke. But the rulers who succeeded him, Samuges and the second Sardanapalus, were wholly unable to offer any effective resistance to the growing power of the Medes, or to check the steady decline of the once so mighty empire. Cf. M. Duncker, Gesch. des Alterth. i. S. 707ff. of 3 Aufl. Under Esarhaddon an Assyrian marauding army again made an inroad into Judah, and carried King Manasseh captive to Babylon; but, under what circumstances we know not, he soon regained his freedom, and was permitted to return to Jerusalem and remount his throne (2Ch. 33:11-13). From this time forward the Assyrians appeared no more in Judah. Nor did it seem as if Judah had any danger to apprehend from Egypt, the great southern empire; for the power of Egypt had been greatly weakened by intestine dissensions and civil wars. It is true that Psammetichus, after the overthrow of the dodecarchy, began to raise Egypt's head amongst the nations once more, and to extend his sway beyond the boundaries of the country; but we learn much as to his success in this direction from the statement of Herodotus (ii. 157), that the capture of the Philistine city of Ashdod was not accomplished until after a twenty-nine years' siege. Even if, with Duncker, we refer the length of time here mentioned to the total duration of the war against the Philistines, we are yet enabled clearly to see that Egypt had not then so far recovered her former might as to be able to menace the kingdom of Judah with destruction, had Judah but faithfully adhered to the LORD its GOD, and in Him sought its strength. This, unhappily, Judah utterly filed to do, notwithstanding all the zeal wherewith the godly King Josiah laboured to secure for his kingdom that foremost element of its strength.

In the eighth year of his reign, "while he was yet young," i.e., when but a lad of sixteen years of age, he began to seek the GOD of David his father; and in the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places and Astartes, and the carved and molten images (2Ch. 34:3). He carried on the work of reforming the public worship without intermission, until every public trace of idolatry was removed, and the lawful worship of Jahveh was re-established. In the eighteenth year of his reign, upon occasion of some repairs in the temple, the book of the law of Moses was discovered there, was brought and read before him. Deeply agitated by the curses with which the transgressors of the law were threatened, he then, together with the elders of Judah and the people itself, solemnly renewed the covenant with the LORD. To set a seal upon the renewal of the covenant, he instituted a passover, to which not only all Judah was invited, but also all remnants of the ten tribes that had been left behind in the land of Israel (2 Kings 22:3-23:24; 2 Chron 34:4-35:19). To Josiah there is given in 2Kings 23:25 the testimony that like unto him there was no king before him, that turned to Jahveh with all his heart, all his soul, and all his might, according to all the law of Moses; yet this most godly of all the kings of Judah was unable to heal the mischief which his predecessors Manasseh and Amon had by their wicked government created, or to crush the germs of spiritual and moral corruption which could not fail to bring about the ruin of the kingdom. And so the account of Josiah's reign and of his efforts towards the revival of the worship of Jahveh, given in 2Kings 23:26, is concluded: "Yet Jahveh ceased not from His great wrath wherewith He was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations wherewith Manasseh provoked Him; and Jahveh said: Judah also will I put away from my face as I have put away Israel, and will cast off this city which I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall dwell there."

The kingdom of Israel had come to utter ruin in consequence of its apostasy from the LORD its GOD, and on account of the calf-worship which had been established by Jeroboam, the founder of the kingdom, and to which, from political motives, all his successors adhered. The history of Judah too is summed up in a perpetual alternation of apostasy from the LORD and return to Him. As early as the time of heathen-hearted Ahaz idolatry had raised itself to all but unbounded ascendency; and through the untheocratic policy of this wicked king, Judah had sunk into a dependency of Assyria. It would have shared the fate of the sister kingdom even then, had not the accession of Hezekiah, Ahaz's godly son, brought about a return to the faithful covenant GOD. The reformation then inaugurated not only turned aside the impending ruin, but converted this very ruin into a glorious deliverance such as Israel had not seen since its exodus from Egypt. The marvellous overthrow of the vast Assyrian host at the very gates of Jerusalem, wrought by the angel of the LORD in one night by means of a sore pestilence, abundantly testified that Judah, despite its littleness and inconsiderable earthly strength, might have been able to hold its own against all the onsets of the great empire, if it had only kept true to the covenant GOD and looked for its support from His almighty hand alone. But the repentant loyalty to the faithful and almighty GOD of the covenant hardly lasted until Hezekiah's death. The heathen party amongst the people gained again the upper hand under Hezekiah's son Manasseh, who ascended the throne in his twelfth year; and idolatry, which had been only outwardly suppressed, broke out anew and, during the fifty-five years' reign of this most godless of all the kings of Israel, reached a pitch Judah had never yet known. Manasseh not only restored the high places and altars of Baal which is father had destroyed, he built altars to the whole host of heaven in both courts of the temple, and went so far as to erect an image of Asherah in the house of the LORD; he devoted his son to Moloch, practised witchcraft and soothsaying more than ever the Amorites had done, and by his idols seduced Israel to sin. Further, by putting to death such prophets and godly persons as resisted his impious courses, he shed very much innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem therewith from end to end (2 Kings 21:1-16; 2Ch. 33:1-10). His humbling himself before GOD when in captivity in Babylon, and his removal of the images out of the temple upon his return to Jerusalem and to his throne (2Ch. 33:11., 2Ch. 33:15.), passed by and left hardly a trace behind; and his godless son Amon did but continue his father's sins and multiply the guilt (2Ki. 21:19-23; 2Ch. 33:21-23). Thus Judah's spiritual and moral strength was so broken that a thorough-going conversion of the people at large to the LORD and His law was no longer to be looked for. Hence the godly Josiah accomplished by his reformation nothing more than the suppression of the grosser forms of idol-worship and the restoration of the formal temple-services; he could neither put an end to the people's estrangement at heart from GOD, nor check with any effect that moral corruption which was the result of the heart's forsaking the living GOD. And so, even after Josiah's reform of public worship, we find Jeremiah complaining: "As many as are thy cities, so many are thy gods, Judah; and as many as are the streets in Jerusalem, so many altars have ye made to shame, to burn incense to Baal" (Jer. 2:28; Jer. 11:13). And godlessness showed itself in all classes of the people. "Go about in the streets of Jerusalem," Jeremiah exclaims, "and look and search if there is one that doeth right and asks after honesty, and I will pardon her (saith the LORD). I thought, it is but the meaner sort that are foolish, for they know not the way of Jahveh, the judgment of their GOD. I will then get me to the great, and will speak with them, for they know the way of Jahveh, the right of their GOD. But they have all broken the yoke, burst the bonds" (Jer. 5:1-5). "Small and great are greedy for gain; prophet and priest use deceit" (Jer. 6:13). This being the spiritual condition of the people, we cannot wonder that immediately after the death of Josiah, unblushing apostasy appeared again as well in public idolatry as in injustice and sin of every kind. Jehoiakim did that which was evil in the eyes of Jahveh even as his fathers had done (2Ki. 23:37; 2Ch. 36:6). His eyes and his heart were set upon nothing but on gain and on innocent blood, to shed it, and on oppression and on violence, to do it, Jer. 22:17. And his successors on the throne, both his son Jehoiachin and his brother Zedekiah, walked in his footsteps (2Ki. 24:5, 2Ki. 24:19; 2Ch. 36:9, 2Ch. 36:12), although Zedekiah did not equal his brother Jehoiakim in energy for carrying out evil, but let himself be ruled by those who were about him. For Judah's persistence in rebellion against GOD and His law, the LORD ceased not from His great wrath; but carried out the threatening proclamation to king and people by the prophetess Hulda, when Josiah sent to consult her for himself, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of the newly found book of the law: "Behold, I bring evil in this place, and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: because that they have forsaken me, and burnt incense to other gods, to provoke me with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath is kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched" (2Ki. 22:16.).

This evil began to fall on the kingdom in Jehoiakim's days. Josiah was not to see the coming of it. Because, when he heard the curses of the law, he humbled himself before the LORD, rent his raiment and wept before Him, the LORD vouchsafed to him the promise that He would gather him to his fathers in peace, that his eyes should not look on the evil GOD would bring on Jerusalem (2Ki. 22:19.); and this pledge GOD fulfilled to him, although they that were to execute GOD's righteous justice were already equipped, and though towards the end of his reign the storm clouds of judgment were gathering ominously over Judah.

While Josiah was labouring in the reformation of public worship, there had taken place in Central Asia the events which brought about the fall of the Assyrian empire. the younger son of Esarhaddon, the second Sardanapalus, had been succeeded in the year 626 by his son Saracus. Since the victorious progress of the Medes under Cyaxares, his dominion had been limited to the cradle of the empire, Assyria, to Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Cilicia. To all appearance in the design of preserving Babylonia to the empire, Saracus appointed Nabopolassar, a Babylonian by birth and sprung from the Chaldean stock, to be governor of that province. This man found opportunity to aggrandize himself during a war between the Medes and the Lydians. An eclipse of the sun took place on the 30th September 610, while a battle was going on. Both armies in terror gave up the contest; and, seconded by Syennesis, who governed Cilicia under the Assyrian supremacy, Nabopolassar made use of the favourable temper which the omen had excited in both camps to negotiate a peace between the contending peoples, and to institute a coalition of Babylonia and Media against Assyria. To confirm this alliance, Amytis, the daughter of Cyaxares, was given in marriage to Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar; and the war against Assyria was opened without delay by the advance against Nineveh in the spring of 609 of the allied armies of Medes and Babylonians. But two years had been spent in the siege of that most impregnable city, and two battles had been lost, before they succeeded by a night attack in utterly routing the Assyrians, pursuing the fugitives to beneath the city walls. The fortification would long have defied their assaults, had not a prodigious spring flood of the Tigris, in the third year of the war, washed down a part of the walls lying next the river, and so made it possible for the besiegers to enter the city, to take it, and reduce it to ashes. The fall of Nineveh in the year 607 overthrew the Assyrian empire; and when the conquerors proceeded to distribute their rich booty, all the land lying on the western bank of the Tigris fell to the share of Nabopolassar of Babylon. But the occupation by the Babylonians of the provinces which lay west of the Euphrates was contested by the Egyptians. Before the campaign of the allied Medes and Babylonians against Nineveh, Pharaoh Necho, the warlike son of Psammetichus, had advanced with his army into Palestine, having landed apparently in the bay of Acco, on his way to war by the Euphrates with Assyria, Egypt's hereditary enemy. To oppose his progress King Josiah marched against the Egyptian; fearing as he did with good reason, that if Syria fell into Necho's power, the end had come to the independence of Judah as a kingdom. A battle was fought in the plain near Megiddo; the Jewish army was defeated, and Josiah mortally wounded, so that he died on the way to Jerusalem (2Ki. 23:29.; 2Ch. 35:20.). In his stead the people of the land raised his second son Jehoahaz to the throne; but Pharaoh came to Jerusalem, took Jehoahaz prisoner, and had him carried to Egypt, where he closed his life in captivity, imposed a fine on the country, and set up Eliakim, Josiah's eldest son, to be king as his vassal under the name of Jehoiakim (2Ki. 23:30-35; 2Ch. 36:1-4). Thereafter Necho pursued his march through Syria, and subject to himself the western provinces of the Assyrian empire; and he had penetrated to the fortified town of Carchemish (Kirkesion) on the Euphrates when Nineveh succumbed to the united Medes and Babylonians. - Immediately upon the dissolution of the Assyrian empire, Nabopolassar, now an old man no longer able to sustain the fatigues of a new campaign, entrusted the command of the army to his vigorous son Nebuchadnezzar, to the end that he might wage war against Pharaoh Necho and wrest from the Egyptians the provinces they had possessed themselves of (cf. Berosi fragm. in Joseph. Antt. x. 11. 1, and c. Ap. i. 19). In the year 607, the third year of Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar put the army entrusted to him in motion, and in the next year, the fourth of Jehoiakim's reign, b.c. 606, he crushed Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish on the Euphrates. Pursuing the fleeing enemy, he pressed irresistibly forwards into Syria and Palestine, took Jerusalem in the same year, made Jehoiakim his dependant, and carried off to Babel a number of the Jewish youths of highest rank, young Daniel amongst them, together with part of the temple furniture (2Ki. 24:1; 2Ch. 36:6.; Dan. 1:1.). He had done as far on his march as the boundaries of Egypt when he heard of the death of his father Nabopolassar at Babylon. In consequence of this intelligence he hastened to Babylon the shortest way through the desert, with but few attendants, with the view of mounting the throne and seizing the reins of government, while he caused the army to follow slowly with the prisoners and the booty (Beros. l.c.).

This, the first taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, is the commencement of the seventy years of Judah's Chaldean bondage, foretold by Jeremiah in Jer. 25:11, shortly before the Chaldeans invaded Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim; and with the subjection of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar's supremacy the dissolution of the kingdom began. For three years Jehoiakim remained subject to the king of Babylon; in the fourth year he rebelled against him. Nebuchadnezzar, who with the main body of his army was engaged in the interior of Asia, lost no time in sending into the rebellious country such forces of Chaldeans as were about the frontiers, together with contingents of Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites; and these troops devastated Judah through out the remainder of Jehoiakim's reign (2Ki. 24:1-2). But immediately upon the death of Jehoiakim, just as his son had mounted the throne, Nebuchadnezzar's generals advanced against Jerusalem with a vast army and invested the city in retribution for Jehoiakim's defection. During the siege Nebuchadnezzar joined the army. Jehoiachin, seeing the impossibility of holding out any longer against the besiegers, resolved to go out to the king of Babylon, taking with him the queen-mother, the princes of the kingdom, and the officers of the court, and to make unconditional surrender of himself and the city. Nebuchadnezzar made the king and his train prisoners; and, after plundering the treasures of the royal palace and the temple, carried captive to Babylon the king, the leading men of the country, the soldiers, the smiths and artisans, and, in short, every man in Jerusalem who was capable of bearing arms. He left in the land only the poorest sort of the people, from whom no insurrectionary attempts were to be feared; and having taken an oath of fealty from Mattaniah, the uncle of the captive king, he installed him, under the name of Zedekiah, as vassal king over a land that had been robbed of all that was powerful or noble amongst its inhabitants (2Ki. 24:8-17; 2Ch. 36:10). Nor did Zedekiah either keep true to the oath of allegiance he had sworn and pledged to the king of Babylon. In the fourth year of his reign, ambassadors appeared from the neighbouring states of Edom, Ammon, Moab, Tyre, and Sidon, seeking to organize a vast coalition against the Chaldean supremacy (Jer. 27:3; Jer. 28:1). Their mission was indeed unsuccessful; for Jeremiah crushed the people's hope of a speedy return of the exiles in Babylon by repeated and emphatic declaration that the Babylonian bondage must last seventy years (Jer. 27-29). In the same year Zedekiah visited Babylon, apparently in order to assure his liege lord of his loyalty and to deceive him as to his projects (Jer. 51:59). But in Zedekiah's ninth year Hophra (Apries), the grandson of Necho, succeeded to the crown of Egypt; and when he was arming for war against Babylon, Zedekiah, trusting in the help of Egypt (Eze. 17:15), broke the oath of fealty he had sworn (Eze. 17:16), and tried to shake off the Babylonian yoke. But straightway a mighty Chaldean army marched against Jerusalem, and in the tenth month of that same year established a blockade round Jerusalem (2Ki. 25:1). The Egyptian army advanced to relieve the beleaguered city, and for a time compelled the Chaldeans to raise the siege; but it was in the end defeated by the Chaldeans in a pitched battle (Jer. 37:5.), and the siege was again resumed with all rigour. For long the Jews made stout resistance, and fought with the courage of despair, Zedekiah and his advisers being compelled to admit that this time Nebuchadnezzar would show no mercy. The Hebrew slaves were set free that they might do military service; the stone buildings were one after another torn down that their materials might serve to strengthen the walls; and in this way for about a year and a half all the enemy's efforts to master the strong city were in vain. Famine had reached its extremity when, in the fourth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the Chaldean battering rams made a breach in the northern wall, and through this the besiegers made their way into the lower city. The defenders withdrew to the temple hill and the city of Zion; and, when the Chaldeans began to storm these strongholds during the night, Zedekiah, under cover of darkness, fled with the rest of his soldiers by the door between the two walls by the king's garden. He was, however, overtaken in the steppes of Jericho by the pursuing Chaldeans, made prisoner, and carried to Riblah in Coele-Syria. Here Nebuchadnezzar had his headquarters during the siege of Jerusalem, and here he pronounced judgment on Zedekiah. His sons and the leading men of Judah were put to death before his eyes; he was then deprived of eyesight and carried in chains to Babylon, where he remained a prisoner till his death (2Ki. 25:3-7; Jer. 39:2-7; Jer. 52:6-11). A month later Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the king of Babylon's guard, came to Jerusalem to destroy the rebellious city. The principal priests and officers of the kingdom and sixty citizens were sent to the king at Riblah, and executed there. Everything of value to be found amongst the utensils of the temple was carried to Babylon, the city with the temple and palace was burnt to the ground, the walls were destroyed, and what able-bodied men were left amongst the people were carried into exile. Nothing was left in the land but a part of the poorer people to serve as vinedressers and husbandmen; and over this miserable remnant, increased a little in numbers by the return of some of those who had fled during the war into the neighbouring countries, Gedaliah the son of Ahikam was appointed governor in the Chaldean interest. Jeremiah chose to stay with him amidst his countrymen. But three months afterwards Gedaliah was murdered, at the instigation of Baalis the king of the Ammonites, by one Ishmael, who was sprung from the royal stock; and thereupon a great part of the remaining population, fearing the vengeance of the Chaldeans, fled, against the prophet's advice, into Egypt (Jer. 40-43). And so the banishment of the people was now a total one, and throughout the whole period of the Chaldean domination the land was a wilderness.

Judah was now, like the ten tribes, cast out amongst the heathen out of the land the LORD had given them for an inheritance, because they had forsaken Jahveh, their GOD, and had despised His statutes. Jerusalem, the city of the great King over all the earth, was in ruins, the house which the LORD had consecrated to His name was burnt with fire, and the people of His covenant had become a scorn and derision to all peoples. But GOD had not broken His covenant with Israel. Even in the law - Lev. 26 and Deut. 30 - He had promised that even when Israel was an outcast from his land amongst the heathen, He would remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not utterly reject the exiles; but when they had borne the punishment of their sins, would turn again their captivity, and gather them together out of the nations.