Jeremiah 37
OGCREVIEW OF CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I. Facts to Master
The man Nebuchadnezzar put on the throne as the last king of Judah (Jeremiah 37:1).
The names of the two messengers who Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:3).
Jeremiah’s personal condition at this time (Jeremiah 37:4).
The time of the request (Jeremiah 37:5).
Jeremiah’s prediction regarding the Egyptian army (Jeremiah 37:7).
Name of the arresting officer and the accusation he made against Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:13).
That which the princes did to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:15).
The nature of the area in which Jeremiah was imprisoned (Jeremiah 37:16).
The results of a secret interview between Jeremiah and Zedekiah (Jeremiah 37:17-21).
The place where Jeremiah was put when he continued to openly advocate surrender (Jeremiah 38:1-6).
The name and nationality of the person who rescued Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:7).
The place where Jeremiah remained until the Chaldeans conquered the city (Jeremiah 38:13; Jeremiah 38:28).
Two important dates in the reign of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 39:1-2).
The place where Zedekiah was captured (Jeremiah 39:5).
Nebuchadnezzar’s military headquarters (Jeremiah 39:5).
The last sight seen by Zedekiah before his eyes were put out (Jeremiah 39:6).
The Chaldean general who was in charge at the destruction of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:9).
Those who were left in the land (Jeremiah 39:10).
Person to whom Jeremiah was committed (Jeremiah 39:14).
Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning Ebed-melech (Jeremiah 39:15-18).
II. Questions to Ponder
For what reason did Jeremiah desire to leave Jerusalem during the lull in the siege? (Jeremiah 37:11-12).
What are two possible interpretations of the phrase in the midst of the people? (Jeremiah 37:12).
During the reign of Jehoiakim the princes were favorable to Jeremiah. How can you account for the change in attitude on the part of the princes in the reign of Zedekiah?
Why have a jail in the home of a scribe? (Jeremiah 37:15).
Evaluate the attitude of king Zedekiah toward Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:2 ff.; Jeremiah 37:17; Jeremiah 38:5; Jeremiah 38:14; Jeremiah 38:19; Jeremiah 38:24).
What excuses did Zedekiah give for not surrendering to the Chaldeans? (Jeremiah 38:19).
Why did not Zedekiah wish the princes to know he had spoken to Jeremiah? (Jeremiah 38:25). Did Jeremiah lie when questioned by the princes? (Jeremiah 38:26-27).
Jeremiah 37:1-2
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EVENTS DURING THE LAST DAYS OF JERUSALEM
Jeremiah 37:1 to Jeremiah 39:18
A period of some eighteen years separates the events of Chapter s 36 and 37. The focus in Chapter s 37 through 39 is upon the events during the last days of Jerusalem. The total destruction of the city foretold by Jeremiah throughout his ministry was hastening toward fulfillment. During this period of time Jeremiah suffered many indignities. His life was constantly in danger at the hands of his personal enemies. More than once he nearly died because of the deplorable prison conditions in which he found himself. But the physical agonies suffered by Jeremiah during those last few months before the fall of Jerusalem were as nothing compared to the mental and spiritual anguish of seeing his beloved land going down to destruction.
INTRODUCTION Jeremiah 37:1-2
TRANSLATION
(1) And Zedekiah son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made to rule over the land of Judah reigned as king instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. (2) But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land obeyed the words of the LORD which he spoke through the instrumentality of Jeremiah the prophet.
COMMENTS
The first two verses of chapter 37 relate the background of this section of the book. Here Zedekiah is introduced as though he had not appeared before. This is somewhat strange since he has appeared many times prior to this point. Perhaps these verses are a transitional device wed by the editor of the book (Baruch) to notify the reader that he is jumping from the reign of Jehoiakim to the reign of Zedekiah.
Zedekiah had been installed as the vassal of king Nebuchadnezzar in March of 597 B.C. when Jehoiachin (Coniah) his nephew was carried away to Babylon (Jeremiah 37:1). While Zedekiah was not the ruthless tyrant that his brother Jehoiakim had been he still did not submit to the word of God as spoken through Jeremiah the prophet (Jeremiah 37:2). Zedekiah was a weak-kneed monarch who suffered the pressures of a troubled conscience on the one hand and a group of radical and misguided young princes on the other. In the view of Jeremiah the security of the nation depended upon Zedekiah’s faithfulness to his vassal oath (Jeremiah 27:11-15). One senses that Zedekiah really would like to have followed the advice of Jeremiah. But tremendous political pressure was brought to bear against the king. He was not his own man. He was a puppet in the hands of the princes.
Following the brief introduction (Jeremiah 37:1-2) this section records how Jeremiah was consulted (Jeremiah 37:3-10), confined (Jeremiah 37:11 to Jeremiah 38:28), and confirmed (Jeremiah 39:1-14). The section closes with an appendix consisting of a brief message directed to Ebed-melech (Jeremiah 39:15-18). The biographical accounts and prose discourses of this section are arranged in strict chronological sequence.
Jeremiah 37:3-5
I. THE PROPHET CONSULTED Jeremiah 37:3-10
In 589 B.C. Zedekiah foolishly rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar his overlord. Jerusalem had to pay the inevitable consequences. In 588 B.C. the armies of Babylon besieged the city (Jeremiah 32:1-2). Things looked very bleak for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. As for Jeremiah, he had been arrested and confined during that first part of the siege (Jeremiah 32:1-5). In the summer of 588 B.C. things took a turn for the better. Pharaoh Hophra came marching northward with a relief expedition. The Chaldeans were forced temporarily to suspend siege conditions to deal with this new development. This withdrawal of Chaldean troops afforded Jerusalem a breathing spell of a few weeks.
A. Zedekiah’s Request Jeremiah 37:3-5
TRANSLATION
(3) And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Pray please on our behalf unto the LORD our God. (4) Now Jeremiah came and went among the people for they had not yet put him in prison. (5) Meanwhile the army of Pharaoh had gone out from Egypt. When the Chaldeans who were besieging the city heard this report they lifted the siege of the city.
COMMENTS
When the Chaldeans shifted their forces to counter the invasion of Pharaoh Hophra (Jeremiah 37:5) new hope was kindled in the hearts of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. For nine months they had been shut up in the city watching the strangle-hold slowly doing its deadly work. But now the enemy was gone! Perhaps the Egyptian allies would be able to defeat the accursed Chaldeans! Seeking prophetic confirmation of the prevailing optimism, king Zedekiah sent a delegation to Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord. The two-man delegation consisted of Zephaniah the deputy high priest[324] and a prince by the name of Jehucal (or Jucal). The latter would shortly join other princes in demanding the death penalty for Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:4). But at the moment no animosity is apparent. Though the princes were violently resentful of the threats and warnings which Jeremiah had been uttering, yet the prophet was a powerful figure. They coveted his support for the national leadership. Let bygones be bygones. After all the Chaldeans had withdrawn from the city. Surely Jeremiah would jump on the bandwagon with all the nationalistic prophets now that circumstances had proven his earlier predictions to be inaccurate. As Hezekiah many years earlier had sent an embassy to Isaiah requesting prayer for besieged Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:6), so now they come and ask Jeremiah to pray unto the Lord for us (Jeremiah 37:3). Perhaps they hoped that God would miraculously intervene and overthrow the invading Chaldeans even as He had done many years earlier in the time of the invasion of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35).
[324] See Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:25; Jeremiah 52:24; Jeremiah 52:26-27; 2 Kings 25:18; 2 Kings 25:20-21.
Jeremiah 37:4 is a somewhat parenthetical note indicating the personal circumstances of Jeremiah at the time the deputation from Zedekiah arrived. The prophet was still free i.e., he had not suffered arrest. This verse is not to be interpreted in the absolute sense that Jeremiah had never yet been arrested for most certainly he had been (see chapter 26). Nor should this verse be pressed to mean that Jeremiah had not yet been arrested during the reign of Zedekiah. On the basis of this verse most all commentators place the episode in chapter 32 after the events of chapter 37. While this is not an impossible arrangement, it certainly is unnecessary. Jeremiah might well have been in custody during the initial phase of the Chaldean siege and then have been released once the attacking armies withdrew. In this case the present verse would mean only that Jeremiah had not yet experienced the final arrest which was to keep him in custody until after the fall of the city. This arrest is recorded in Jeremiah 37:11 ff.
Jeremiah 37:6-10
B. Jeremiah’s Response Jeremiah 37:6-10
TRANSLATION
(6) Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, (7) Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Thus shall you say unto the king of Judah who sent you unto me to inquire of me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh which has come out to help you shall return to its own land, to Egypt. (8) The Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city, and capture it, and burn it. (9) Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves by thinking that the Chaldeans are permanently withdrawing, for they are not leaving. (10) For if you smite the entire army of the Chaldeans who are fighting against you and there remained among them only wounded men, each of them lying in his tent, they would arise and burn this city.
COMMENTS
Jeremiah rightly sensed that the king’s request for prayer was in reality an inquiry as to the future course of events now that the Chaldeans had withdrawn. Jeremiah’s response must have startled as well as angered the dignitaries who had approached him. In his response the prophet shattered all hope by emphasizing three thoughts. First, Jeremiah emphasized the failure of Egyptian aid. The Egyptians would be defeated and return to their land (Jeremiah 37:7). Secondly, he emphasized the fall of Jerusalem. The Chaldeans would shortly return, fight against Jerusalem, capture it, and burn it (Jeremiah 37:8). Thirdly, Jeremiah emphasizes the futility of optimism. There is absolutely no ground whatsoever for hope that the enemy would abandon the siege of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 37:9). Even if the Jews could in some miraculous manner defeat the Chaldeans to the point that only a few, and those severely wounded (lit., pierced through) remained, yet they would be able to overwhelm Jerusalem (Jeremiah 37:10). So certain was God’s purpose that Jerusalem be destroyed that no amount of wishful thinking or active resistance could reverse it.
Jeremiah 37:11-15
II. THE PROPHET CONFINED Jeremiah 37:11 to Jeremiah 38:28
Jeremiah experienced a great deal of suffering at the hands of the national leaders during those last dark days before the fall of Jerusalem. He was arrested about the middle of the Chaldean siege. He spent the last nine months or so before the fall of the city being bounced around from one detention area to another[325] as the king and his advisers tried to determine what to do with this troublesome prophet. On more than one occasion the prophet was given opportunity to change his message, to deliver some favorable oracle, and thereby improve his miserable lot. If ever a man had reason to compromise his message Jeremiah had it. The fact that through all his personal suffering he refused to alter his basic message authenticates him as a genuine prophet of God.
[325] Five phases of Jeremiah’s prison experiences are recorded: (1) He was arrested in the gate and committed to a dungeon on the false charge of treason (Jeremiah 37:11-15); (2) he was released from the dungeon, but restrained in the court of the prison; (3) he was imprisoned in the miry dungeon of Malchiah (Jeremiah 38:1-6); (4) he was again released from the dungeon and kept in the prison court (Jeremiah 38:13-28) until the capture of the city; (5) he was carried in chains from the city by Nebuzaradan, an officer of the Chaldean army, and was finally released at Ramah (Jeremiah 40:1-4).
A. Arrested by the Guard Jeremiah 37:11-15
TRANSLATION
(11) And it came to pass when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege of Jerusalem because of the army of Pharaoh, (12) that Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem in the midst of the people on his way to the land of Benjamin to divide a portion from that place. (13) And when he was in the Benjamin Gate, the officer of the guard there whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, You are deserting to the Chaldeans. (14) And Jeremiah replied, Not true! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans. But he would not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him unto the princes. (15) And the princes were enraged at Jeremiah and smote him, and put him in the prison house, the house of Jonathan the scribe which they had converted into a prison.
COMMENTS
When the Chaldeans lifted the siege of Jerusalem in order to deal with the Egyptian threat to their flank, Jeremiah decided to visit his home in Anathoth a few miles north of Jerusalem. He never reached his destination; he was arrested at the Benjamin Gate (north gate) by the sentry and charged with deserting to the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 37:13). The language of the accusation, you are falling away, is perhaps an allusion to Jeremiah’s declaration (Jeremiah 21:9) that he that fails away to the Chaldeans. shall live. On the surface the accusation had some degree of plausibility. Jeremiah had openly preached since the beginning of the siege that desertion was the only road to self-preservation (Jeremiah 21:9-10). On the other hand, if Jeremiah now was intending to desert to the Chaldeans, he could not have chosen a more inopportune time. The Chaldeans were gone! They were headed south; Jeremiah was headed north. Thus the charge against the prophet was not only false but somewhat foolish.
Why was Jeremiah leaving the city? The question is not easy to answer mainly because the Hebrew verb used to describe his action can be interpreted in more than one way. According to one view, Jeremiah was about to change his residence back to his home town at Anathoth. This seems to have been the view of the King James translators who render the verb to separate himself thence in the midst of the people. But if Jeremiah was seeking to move his residence to Anathoth, why? Was it that he was attempting to leave Jerusalem the doomed city for the sake of his personal safety? Such motivation would be incongruous with the circumstances and the character of Jeremiah. Less objectionable would be the view that Jeremiah now regarded his ministry in Jerusalem as completed. The crucial phrase in Jeremiah 37:12 can be translated in another way: to take his portion from thence. On this view Jeremiah had some personal business to take care of in Anathoth. A reasonable conjecture is that his business had to do with the purchase of the field mentioned in Jeremiah 32:6-12. Two objectives have been raised against this interpretation: (1) the field in chapter 32 was not to be apportioned or divided as this verb implies, but merely purchased and (2) that purchase had not yet taken place.[326] The former argument is not particularly weighty and the latter argument is completely negated if in fact chapter 32 chronologically precedes chapter 37 as has previously been argued.
[326] Streane, op cit., p. 248.
Commentators are also divided in their interpretation of the phrase in the midst of the people. Did Jeremiah go out of the city in the midst of the people or did he take his portion in the midst of the people? Some commentators see in the people a reference to others who might have been involved in some way in the business transaction which was conducted at Anathoth. But it is better to connect the phrase in the midst of the people with the verb went out. The idea would then be that Jeremiah did not leave the city secretly and alone but publicly and in company with many others, perhaps of those who believed in his prophetic utterances.
Jeremiah protested his arrest; he denied the accusation that he was deserting to the Chaldeans. But Irijah, the chief officer of the guard, brought Jeremiah before the princes of the land for further action. These were not the same princes who had evidenced their respect for Jeremiah on former occasions (e.g. chapter Jeremiah 26:16; Jeremiah 36:19). They had been hauled off to Babylon in the deportation of 597 B.C. along with the king Jehoiachin (Jeremiah 24:1; Jeremiah 28:3; Jeremiah 29:2). Zedekiah’s princes would be of a lower origin and type who would be anxious to accept any charge against an unpopular person without proper examination. They remembered the blistering sermons Jeremiah had preached, how he had compared them to a basket of rotten figs (chapter 24), how he had openly advocated surrender to the enemy and individual desertion. Now was their chance to rid themselves of this annoying pest. They ordered the prophet to be beaten[327] and cast into a dungeon in the house of Jonathan, a royal secretary. Just why his house was used as a prison is not revealed. Perhaps other places of detention were full; or perhaps the secretary’s house was a maximum security prison for those considered dangerous political offenders. At any rate there were parts of this house that were more than adequate for the purposes of detention. Two words are used to describe the place of imprisonment. The first word is bor, translated dungeon. The word implies a subterranean cavity. The second word is chanuyot, a word which occurs only here and probably means cells. The soft limestone beneath Jerusalem is honeycombed with vaults, caverns, cisterns, tunnels and the like.[328] For many days Jeremiah the prophet of God was confined in this dark, damp, unventilated cell beneath the house of Jonathan the scribe.
[327] Actually it is impossible to tell from the Hebrew verb whether the princes had Jeremiah flogged or struck with the hand in the face. It is not even clear whether the princes caused others to smite Jeremiah or whether they administered the blows themselves. [328] Laetsch, op. cit., p. 292.
Jeremiah 37:16-21
B. Summoned by the King Jeremiah 37:16-21
TRANSLATION
(16) When Jeremiah had come into the dungeon vaults and had remained there several days, (17) Zedekiah the king sent and had him brought; and the king questioned him secretly in his house and said, Is there a word from the LORD? And Jeremiah responded: There is! Then he said further, you have been given into the hands of the king of Babylon! (18) Jeremiah also said unto the King Zedekiah, what sin have I committed against you, your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? (19) Where are your prophets who prophesied to you that the king of Babylon would not come against you or this land? (20) And now hear, O my lord the king; let my supplication be presented before you. Do not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe lest I die there. (21) And Zedekiah the king commanded that they commit Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And he gave him a loaf of bread each day from the street of the bakers until all the bread of the city was gone. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
COMMENTS
It is impossible to know how much time elapsed between the confinement of Jeremiah in the subterranean prison and the summons of Zedekiah recorded in Jeremiah 37:17. The text says many days Jeremiah remained in the prison of Jonathan’s house. During that interval the Babylonian troops returned to besiege Jerusalem anew. Zedekiah, hoping that there might be some positive word from the Lord, sent secretly for Jeremiah and had him brought to the royal palace. This is the fourth recorded interview between Jeremiah and king Zedekiah as the following chart indicates.
INTERVIEWS BETWEEN JEREMIAH AND KING ZEDEKIAH
Passage
Date
Situation
Early in 588
Attack on Jerusalem has begun
Early in 588
Most of the military outposts of Judah have been captured.
Early summer 588
Siege of Jerusalem temporarily lifted.
Fall of 588
After Jeremiah’s arrest.
Early 587
After Jeremiah’s release from the dungeon.
In pathetic desperation Zedekiah asked, Is there any word from the Lord? (Jeremiah 37:17). Maybe God had changed His mind. Maybe now that Jerusalem was so close to destruction God would intervene as He had done on other occasions. Zedekiah had been reared in a godly home and though he had strayed quite a ways from the teachings of his father Josiah yet now in this hour of desperation he falls back upon the religion of his youth. Is there any word from the Lord? Indeed there was. But it was a message of doom and not deliverance as far as Zedekiah was concerned. you will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 37:17). Many days in a dark dungeon had not softened the message of the prophet. He was still standing as tall and straight as an iron pillar.
Jeremiah took the opportunity while standing before the king to plead his own case. What wrong have I done against you, your servants or this people that you have put me in prison? (Jeremiah 37:18). Zedekiah was as guilty as the wicked princes who had cast Jeremiah into the dungeon because he had failed to exercise his power to prevent this injustice. Jeremiah had only faithfully carried out his mission as a prophet of God. And had Jeremiah not been vindicated by the events of the past months? Where were the prophets who had so confidently asserted that Nebuchadnezzar would never come against Jerusalem? (Jeremiah 37:19). Those prophets were the ones who ought to be in jail for so completely deceiving the nation. Humbly Jeremiah pleaded with the king not to allow him to return to the prison at the house of Jonathan. Evidently Jeremiah was near death at the time of the interview. Jeremiah knew that if he spent many more days in that wretched and foul hole he would surely die (Jeremiah 37:20). This prophet was no self-appointed martyr. He does not ask to be released from prison; he asks only for humane treatment.
Zedekiah did not set Jeremiah free. But he did order that Jeremiah be transferred to the court of the guard. Perhaps Zedekiah was actually keeping Jeremiah in protective custody. Knowing the hatred of the princes for this man of God, he chose to keep him where the palace guard could watch out for his safety. As long as bread was to be found in the city Jeremiah was to receive his daily ration.[329]
[329] Various tradesmen seem to have had special streets either chosen by them or assigned to them. See 1 Kings 20:34. Hence the reference here to the street of the baker.