Jeremiah Bible Notes Chapters 40-47

Jer. 40:7--41:15 Turmoil in the Land (HBH) During the Babylonian invasion some of the soldiers and men of Judah had managed to avoid capture. They came to Gedaliah, who promised them safety and encouraged them to return to their agricultural pursuits and serve the king of Babylon. Judean refugees from the surrounding countries returned as well and resumed life in their homeland.

However, all was not well. One of the army officers, Johanon son of Kareah, informed Gedaliah that the king of the Ammonites, who was anti-Babylonian in sentiment (compare 27:3; Ezek. 21:18-32), wanted the governor dead and had already sent another of Judah's army officers, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, to do the job. Gedaliah refused to believe this report and declined Johanon's offer to kill Ishmael.

Sometime later (41:1 gives the month, but not the year), Ishmael and ten other men visited Gedaliah in Mizpah. During a meal they suddenly arose and killed Gedaliah, as well as the Judean and Babylonian soldiers who were present. The next day eighty men passed by on their way to Jerusalem to mourn over the temple and present offerings at its ruins. Ishmael enticed them into the city, where he then slaughtered seventy of the eighty (the ten who were spared promised him provisions) and threw their bodies into a cistern. Taking the residents of Mizpah as hostages, he set out for Ammon. When Johanon heard the news, he and his men pursued Ishmael and overtook him in Gibeon. The hostages were rescued, but Ishmael and eight of his men escaped.

LITERARY RICHES

Jer. 40:4 released (KJV-loosed), patach; Strong #6605: To open, liberate, unbind, make free, unchain. This verb appears around 150 times. It often refers to opening the hand, the eyes or the mouth; or opening a book, a door, or a window. Occasionally patach signifies "liberating or untying" (Psa. 102:20). The substantive petach, which is related to this verb, means "door" or "entrance", and is applied here to the dor of the tabernacle and the entrance to the house, cave or city. Hosea 2:15 promises that the valley of Achor will be renamed the door of hope, or petach tiqvah. In this passage Jeremiah is granted full liberty or freedom from his chains.

Jer. 40:6 Gedaliah son of Ahicam: See the note for 26:24.

Jer. 40:6 Mizpah: City located about 12 km (7.2 mi.) north of Jerusalem on the Plain of Benjamin , near Geba and Ramah, which became the capital of Judah shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem.

Jer. 40:7-41:15 Turmoil in the Land (Holman Bible Handbook; David S. Dockery, General Editor; pub. by Holman Bible Publishers)
During the Babylonian invasion some of the soldiers and men of Judah had managed to avoid capture. They came to Gedaliah, who promised them safety and encouraged them to return to their agricultural pursuits and serve the king of Babylon. Judean refugees from the surrounding countries returned as well and resumed life in their homeland.

Jer. 40:10 Take the wine, the summer fruits and the oil: Grapes, figs and olives are part of the fruits of spring, usually harvested in August and September.

Jer. 41:1-3 See II Kings 25:25.

Jer. 41:1 In the seventh month, exactly two months after the fall of Jerusalem, Gedaliah was assassinated. As it doesn't say the year, this can only be considered a presumption, and some think that the events that are related require much more time, perhaps several years. They ate bread together: A host was obligated by law to protect his guests, and this is how they repaid his good faith (see Gen. 19:2-8; Judges 19:22-24). This violation of protocol is cited in other Scriptural passages (see Judges 4:21; II Sam. 13:28,29; and possible Psa. 41:9).

Jer. 41:7 A cistern: An appropriate place for burying bodies.

Jer. 41:8 BURIED TREASURES (Manners & Customs of the Bible by James M. Freeman; pub. 1972 by Logos International)
"We have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey."

It is a very ancient custom in many parts of the East to store grain in large pits or cisterns, dug in the ground for the purpose. In Syria these cisterns are sealed at the top with plaster, and covered with a deep bed of earth to keep out vermin. They are cool and dry and tight. Among the Moors the custom is to have a thick layer of straw on the bottom and a lining of straw on the sides. They cover the mouth with a stone, and sometimes build over it a small pyramid of earth to shed the rain. Very often, however, after closing the mouth, they cover the place with sod so skillfully that none but the initiated can tell where the pit is. Shaw says that in Barbary there are sometimes two or three hundred of these grain-pits together, the smallest of them holding four hundred bushels.

Burder (Oriental Literature, No. 621) gives a quotation from Chenier, a French traveler, who says that among the Moors the fathers of wealthy families fill a granary of this kind at the birth of every child, and empty it when the child becomes an adult and is married. He knew of corn which had been kept in such pits for twenty-five years and was still fit for use, though it had lost its whiteness.

They are doubtless the kind of places referred to in the text, where the treasures of wheat were kept. David also had "storehouses in the field". (I Chron. 27:25) Besides these subterranean granaries there were also barns. See note on Genesis 41:48.
In like manner oil is sometimes kept in jars buried in the ground; and jars of honey might easily be kept in a similar manner. The ten men referred to in the text who sought to purchase their lives of Ishmael, had concealed their treasures in the field so that no one should rob them.

Some suppose that the "cellars of oil" belonging to David were merely places where oil jars were buried. See I Chronicles 27:28.

Other treasures besides those mentioned in the text are frequently buried in the East. See note on Matthew 13:44.

Jer. 41:9 The same one that King Asa had made: As part of a fortification against Baasha, Asa dug cisterns to accumulate water in case of siege.

Jer. 41:12 The great pool that is in Gibeon: Maybe the same reservoir that is spoken of in II Samuel 2:13.

Jer. 41:16-43:17 Jeremiah's Message to the Survivors (Holman Bible Handbook; David S. Dockery, General Editor; pub. by Holman Bible Publishers)
Fearing reprisal from the Babylonians for the death of Gedaliah, Johanon and the people of Mizpah started toward Egypt. However, before leaving the land, they asked Jeremiah to seek the LORD's will on their behalf and promised to obey His directions. After inquiring of the LORD, Jeremiah told them to stay in the land and promised that GOD would cause the Babylonian king to treat them mercifully. He warned that if they disobeyed and fled to Egypt, disaster would overtake them. Jeremiah's warning fell on deaf ears. Johanon and others accused him of collaborating with Barush in an effort to hand them over to the Babylonians for punishment. With flagrant disregard for the LORD's command, the group fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch with them.

Jer. 42:1 Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah: Perhaps the same as Jezaniah (40:8) and Azariah (43:2).

Jer. 42:5,6 The remnant promised to obey the voice of Jehovah, whatever the mandate may be. But when this contradicts what they had already decided to do, they reject the divine message that Jeremiah communicates.

Jer. 42:10 See 1:10; 31:28.

Jer. 42:16 The sword: See the note for 43:11.

LITERARY RICHES

Jer. 42:17 dwell, gur; Strong #1481: To remain in some place, to reside temporarily, inhabit as a foreigner among other people, to be a foreign guest in a determined land. Gur signifies having a status of temporary residence. Here Jeremiah warns his compatriots to avoid the plan to temporarily live in Egypt, because it would bring tragic failure. From gur comes the substantive ger, which means "foreigner, stranger or foreign resident". This word appears about 90 times, principally in the Law of Moses, where GOD repeatedly emphasizes the rights of the resident "strangers". Exodus 23:9 indicates the sympathy that his people should feel toward those who dwell as strangers in their land. Notice the instructions and humble words of David in I Chronicles 29:15.

Jer. 42:20 Why did you make your souls wander?: The Hebrew verb means to commit an error and its intent is to explain that "they commited a grave error at risk of their lives". The equivocation was promising absolute obedience to the Word of GOD in hopes that their desires would be satisfied.

Jer. 43:2-7 See section 5 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Jeremiah.

Jer. 43:7 Tahpanhes: See the note for 2:16.

Jer. 43:8-44:30 Jeremiah in Egypt (Holman Bible Handbook; David S. Dockery, General Editor; pub. by Holman Bible Publishers)
Jeremiah's exile to Egypt certainly did not bring his prophetic ministry to an end. At Tahpanhes, the site of an Egyptian royal residence in the eastern delta, the LORD instructed Jeremiah to announce the coming fall of Egypt to the Babylonians. The prophet took some large stones and buried them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to the palace. He then proclaimed that Nebuchadnezzar would someday erect a throne over the stones. The Babylonian king would devastate Egypt and its temples. The LORD would prove to the Judean refugees that He, not Egypt, was their only source of strength and protection.

Chapter 44 records another of Jeremiah's Egyptian messages. Addressing all of the Judean exiles living in Egypt, the prophet reminded them that GOD's judgment upon Jerusalem was due to the people's idolatry. Their persistence in worshiping idol-gods would only lead to a further outpouring of GOD's angry judgment.

The people responded to Jeremiah's warning with hostility. They declared that they would continue to sacrifice to the "Queen of Heaven," the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. They thought disaster had only come upon Judah because Josiah purged the land of foreign gods (II Kings 23).

Jeremiah attempted to correct their faulty reasoning, pointing out that it was idolatry that had brought GOD's wrath upon the nation. In the face of such obstinacy Jeremiah announced that divine judgment would overtake them in Egypt. As a sign of coming disaster, he prophesied the downfall of Pharoah Hophra. This prophecy was fulfilled a few years later, in 570 B.C., when Hophra was overthrown by a rival Egyptian party.

Jer. 43:10,11 A text in the British Museum confirms the punitive expedition that Nebuchadnezzar organized against Pharaoh Ahasis of Egypt in 568 and 567 B.C. (see Ezek. 29:17-20).

Jer. 43:13 Statues (KJV-images): Obelisks, to whom Heliopolis owes its fame.

Jer. 43:13 Bethshemesh: The Temple of the Sun in Egypt. It aludes to Heliopolis, near Memphis, not to Bethshemesh in Judah.

Jer. 44:1 All the Jews: May include the group led by Azariah and Johanan, as well as others deported earlier (see II Kings 23:34). Jewish colonies existed from an early age throughout Egypt. Migdol: A place northeast of Egypt whose exact location is uncertain (see 46:14). Memphis, situated on the western bank of the Nile, south of Cairo. Pathros: is the Hebrew word for Upper (southern) Egypt, approximately in the area between Cairo and Aswan (see v.15).

Jer. 44:8 Works of your hands: Idols.

Jer. 44:17 The queen of heaven: See the note for 7:18.

Jer. 44:18 We lack all: Josiah's reform (II Kings 23:4-14) put an end to the worship of Ishtar and was seen by the Jews deported to Egypt as the cause of the nation's woes. Since then they had only experienced calamities. They argued, therefore, that ceasing offering worship to Ishtar was the origin of that calamity. For a contrary opinion wee verses 21-23.

Jer. 44:19 Consent of our husbands: Any action or vow assumed by a married woman had to receive the consent of her husband to be valid. See verse 25; Numbers 30:10-15.

Jer. 44:21-23 Jeremiah affirms that the calamity had fallen upon Judah precisely because incense was offered in idol worship and GOD couldn't suffer it any more (v.22). Jeremiah's interpretation about the causes of the calamity that affected Judah is diametrically opposed to that of the people.

Jer. 44:25 You truly confirm your vows: Spoken with irony.

Jer. 44:27 I see: See the note for 1:1-12.

Jer. 44:30 Pharaoh Hophra: Ruled Egypt from 590-570 B.C., but he lost his life in a power struggle with Ahmoses II, an ex-functionary of the court.

Jer. 45:1-5 Jeremiah Encourages Baruch (Holman Bible Handbook; David S. Dockery, General Editor; pub. by Holman Bible Publishers)
This brief message, which dates to Jehoiakim's fourth year (605 B.C.) and concerns the scribe Baruch, rounds off chapters 36-45. These words were spoken to Baruch after he recorded Jeremiah's prophecies on a scroll (compare 36:1-7). Jeremiah told Baruch not to covet a high position, for judgment would surely come upon the land. Yet Baruch could be assured that the LORD would protect him through the disaster.

Jer. 45:1-5 Desperate, and overcome by the difficulties facing him, Baruch receives a message from GOD that tells him not to seek greatness for himself, but to be thankful he had escaped with his life. No key is given to decipher why Baruch was so afflicted. It is clear, however, that Baruch formed part of GOD's general plan to punish the chosen people and that he should coform with fulfilling his purpose.

Jer. 46:1-50:64 Prophecies against the neighboring lands (see Is. 13:-23; Ezek. 25-32; and the note for Amos 1:3). The prophecies begin with Egypt and end with Babylonia, following a general direction from west to east. They demonstrate that GOD exercises sovereignty over all the nations.

Jer. 46:1-51:64 Judgment on Various Nations (Holman Bible Handbook; David S. Dockery, General Editor; pub. by Holman Bible Publishers)
These oracles of judgment develop the message of chapter 25. Together with chapter 25 they form a frame around this section of the book.

Jer. 46:1-28 Judgment on Egypt (Holman Bible Handbook; David S. Dockery, General Editor; pub. by Holman Bible Publishers)
In 605 B.C. one of the major battles of ancient history took place at Carchemish, located on the Euphrates River in Syria. The Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians under Necho and thereby established themselves as the major power in the Near East. On the occasion of this battle, Jeremiah proclaimed an oracle against Egypt (46:2-12). In dramatic fashion he imitated the commands of the Egyptian officers as they prepared their troops for battle. He then described the Egyptians' retreat and downfall. Though the Egyptians marched into battle with chariots and weapons, they were doomed to defeat, for the LORD was fighting with the Babylonians.

Chapter 46 also includes a prophecy of the Babylonian invasion of Egypt, which took place in 568-567 B.C. The Egyptian army would scatter before the swarming northern invaders. The Egyptians would be as helpless as trees of a forest before the axes of woodsmen. Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt, including even their chief deity Amon, would be unable to resist the LORD's judgment.

The chapter concludes with an encouraging message for GOD's people. Once their time of punishment was over, the LORD would deliver them from exile and restore them to their land.

Jer. 46:1-12 Describes the defeat of the Egyptians in the Battle of Carchemish.

Jer. 46:2 With respect to Egypt: See Isaiah 19; 20; Ezekiel 29; 32. Pharaoh Necho ruled Egypt 610-595 B.C. One of the most pimportant battles of the ancient world was waged in Carchemish (see II Chron. 35:20; Is. 10:9), due to the fact that Egypt was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar and lost its influence over the Syrio-Palestine region. The fourth year was 605 B.C.

Jer. 46:4 SPEARS - SCALE ARMOR (Manners & Customs of the Bible by James M. Freeman; pub. 1972 by Logos International)
"Furbish the spears and put on the brigandines."

Romach is rendered "spear" in Judges 5:8, and in several other texts; "javelin", in Mumbers 25:7; "buckler", in I Chronicles 12:8; (in the plural) "lancets", in K Kings 18:28. It is thought to have been a spear used by heavy-armed troops. Colonel Smith, in Kitto's Cyclopaedia, (s.v. "Arms") says, "Probably the shepherd Hebrews, like nations similarly situated in northern Africa, anciently made use of the horn of an oryx, or a loucoryx, above three feet long, straightened in water, and sheathed upon a thornwood staff. When sharpened, this instrument would penetrate the hide of a bull, and, according to Strabo, even of an elephant; it was light, very difficult to break, resisted the blow of a battle-ax, and the animals which furnished it were abundant in Arabia and in the desert east of Palestine. At a later period the head was of brass, and afterwad of iron". These horn spears were subsequently produced. Precisely how the romach differed from the other heave spear, the chanith, (see note on I Sam. 17:7) we cannot say.
Siryon ("brigandine" in the text, and in Jer. 51:3) was a coat of scale armor; the same as shiryon, which is rendered "coat of mail" in I Samuel 17:5, where see the note.

Jer. 46:7-10 Like the Nile River, Egypt seemed to inundate the lands to the north. The Day of Jehovah GOD of hosts, however, would be for the Egyptians a day of retribution and defeat. See Obadiah 15.

Jer. 46:11,12 Gilead was known for its medicinal balsam (see 8:22), but Egypt's wounds were incurable.

Jer. 46:14 For a commentary about these cities see 44:1.

Jer. 46:17 Is destroyed: In Isaiah 30:7 it says that Egypt couldn't intervene. Jeremiah expresses the same opinion when he indicates that Pharaoh lost the opportunity to do something when Nebuchadnezzar was called to return to Babylonia because of the death of his father.

Jer. 46:18 Tabor and Carmel: Prominent mountains in northern Israel, which give an impression of majesty because of the insignificant surroundings. In the same manner Nebuchadnezzar would dominate the Egyptians.

Jer. 46:20 Egypt is described as a beautiful calf, but the destruction comes from the north (Babylonia).

Jer. 46:22 The pharaohs used the serpent as a symbol of authority.

Jer. 46:22 HEAVY AXES (Manners & Customs of the Bible by James M. Freeman; pub. 1972 by Logos International)
"They shall march with an army and come against her with axes as hewers of wood."

Kardom was a name given to an axe which seems to have been used especially for cutting down trees, and is thought to have had a heavier head than other axes. It is mentioned in Judges 9:48; I Samuel 13:20, and Psalm 74:5.

Jer. 46:25 THE GOD AMMON (Manners & Customs of the Bible by James M. Freeman; pub. 1972 by Logos International)
"Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings."

The most of commentators now agree that amon, here rendered "multitude", should be taken as a proper name, and left untranslated. The original is amon minno, "Amon of No". By No is undoubtedly meant the celebrated Egyptian city of Thebes, which was situated on both sides of the Nile, and was noted for its hundred gates of brass, its numerous and splendid temples, obelisks, and statues. Amon was the name of an Egyptian deity, and probably of a Libyan and Ethiopian god, whose worship had its seat in Thebes, where was an oracle of the deity; for which reason the name of the city was joined to that of the god. This is to be noticed not onl in this text, but also in Nahum 3:8, where for the "populous No" of our version the original has No Amon. The Greeks likened this god to Zeus, and the Romans called him Jupiter Ammon or Hammon. He appears to have been a personification of the sun, and is thought to have corresponded to Baal of the Phoenicians. The ancient Egyptian name is said to have been Amen. On the monuments it is written Amn or Amn-Re, Amon the Sun.

It was formerly supposed, and is still commonly asserted, that this god was represented under the figure of a human form with a ram's head. This, however, has of late been denied. Fairbairn says: "It was the god Neph, sometimes written Kneph, and by the Greeks Chnoubis, who was so represented, and the proper seat of whose worship was not Thebes, but Meroë, and who also had a famous oracle in the Lybian desert. The Amon of Thebes, 'king of gods' as he was called, always had the form simply of a man assigned him, and in one of the characters under which he was worshiped appears to have been virtually identified with the sun, and in another with the Egyptian Pan". - Imperial Bible Dictionary.

Wilkinson says, "The figure of Amun was that of a man, with a head-dress surmounted by two long feathers; the color of his body was light blue, like the Indian Vishnoo, as if to indicate his peculiarly exalted and heavenly nature; but he was not figured with the head or under the form of a ram, as the Greeks and Romans supposed." - Manners and Customs of the ancient Egyptians, vol. 4, p.246.

Jer. 47:1-7 Judgment on the Philistines (Holman Bible Handbook; David S. Dockery, General Editor; pub. by Holman Bible Publishers)
Divine judgment would also fall on the Philistines. The approach of the Babylonians from the north would cause consternation throughout Philistia. The enemy would sweep through the land, bringing death and destruction. This oracle was fulfilled in 604 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar overran Philistia and conquered Ashkelon.

Jer. 47:1-7 Other prophets also spoke about the Philistines (see Is. 14:28-32; Ezek. 26:15-17; Amos 1:6-8; Zeph. 2:4-7). The Philistines are condemned, along with Tyre and Sidon, for selling the Israelites as slaves (see Joel 3:4-6; Amos 1:6-10).