A Commentary on the Book of Jeremiah

1 A Commentary on the book of Jeremiah By Pastor Galen L. Doughty Southside Christian Church June 2014 INTRODUCTION: This Commentary is based upon my personal devotional notes and reflections on the book of Jeremiah . It is intended to help you better understand some of the background and issues in Jeremiah s prophecy. It is not a technical Commentary designed for academic projects. This material is intended for use by members and friends of Southside Christian Church, especially our Life Group leaders to help you lead your group in a verse by verse study of Jeremiah . However, I do not include discussion questions in the Commentary . That I leave up to you as a group leader. In the Commentary there are occasional references to the original Hebrew words Jeremiah used in a particular passage. Those Hebrew words are always quoted in italics and are transliterated into English from the Hebrew.

2 I go chapter by chapter in the Commentary and sometimes individual verses are commented upon, sometimes it is several sentences and sometimes a whole paragraph. This Commentary is based on the New International Version and all Scripture quotations are taken from that version of the Bible. Books of the Bible, Scripture references and quotes are also italicized. KEY HISTORICAL DATES IN THE TIMELINE OF Jeremiah : Assyria is weakened. Amon son of Manasseh, King of Judah is assassinated, 640. Eight year old Josiah son of Amon becomes King of Judah, 640. Jeremiah called to be a prophet, 627 (the 13th year of Josiah). Josiah begins his reforms, 622. The book of the Law is found in the temple, 621; 2 Kings 23:1-25. Nineveh capital of Assyria is destroyed under Nabopolassar of Babylon, 612 ; Nahum 3:18-19. Pharaoh Neco moves to reinforce the remnants of Assyria against Babylon; Josiah moves to intercept him at Megiddo and is killed in battle, 609.

3 Jehoahaz son of Josiah made king; he reigns three months, 609. Neco captures Jehoahaz and takes him to Egypt where he dies in captivity; he makes Eliakim son of Josiah king and changes his name to Jehoiachim (Jehoiakim) and exacts heavy tribute from Judah, 609. Neco once again tries to support the remnants of Assyria against Babylon but is defeated by the new Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish in Syria, 605. Jehoiachim becomes a Babylonian vassal, 605. Jehoiachim rebels against Nebuchadnezzar; he sends troops to raid and punish Jehoiachim, 602. Nebuchadnezzar deports some Jews to Babylon from Jerusalem including a young man named Daniel, 602. Jehoiachim dies and is replaced by his son Jehoiachin; he reigns three months, 598. 2 Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem after a siege and deports Jehoiachin, his mother, and many of the leading citizens of Jerusalem, including a young priest named Ezekiel; he puts Jehoiachin in prison upon arrival in Babylon, 597.

4 Nebuchadnezzar installs King Jehoiachin s uncle Mattaniah, son of Josiah as King of Judah and changes his name to Zedekiah, 597. Zedekiah rebels against Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians invade Judah and lay siege to Jerusalem, January 588. The Babylonians breach the walls of Jerusalem, July 18, 586; Zedekiah flees the city in the night and heads toward Jericho where he is captured and taken to Riblah in Syria, Nebuchadnezzar s headquarters. There his sons are killed before him, his eyes put out and he is taken to Babylon in chains where he dies, July 586. Nebuzaradan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar s guard comes to Jerusalem with orders to burn the city to the ground. This he does, taking all the sacred objects of the temple to Babylon as booty. He burns the temple and tears down Jerusalem s walls. He also deports much of the elders and leading officials of the city who are left alive, executing some at Riblah, Nebuchadnezzar s headquarters, August 586.

5 Gedaliah is made governor of the Babylonian Province of Judea and left to oversee the survivors of the land. Jeremiah is among them. Gedaliah gathers the survivors together at Mizpah, 586. Gedaliah is assassinated by an officer in Zedekiah s guard named Ishmael, October 586. Johanan, another of King Zedekiah s officers pursues Ishmael and those he has taken captive. He drives off Ishmael and frees the captives including Jeremiah . Johanan flees with his band to Egypt fearing a Babylonian reprisal. Jeremiah is with them. He dies in Egypt some time later, October 586. Nebuzaradan returns to Jerusalem and takes another small group of Jews captive to Babylon, 582. Evil-Merodach, King of Babylon, frees Jehoiachin from prison and gives him a place at the king s table, 561. Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great of Persia, October 539. Cyrus decrees that the Jews of Babylon are free to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple of the Lord, 538.

6 The second temple is completed and dedicated, March 12, 516, 70 years after it was destroyed. KINGS OF JUDAH & THEIR REIGNS DURING Jeremiah S LIFETIME: Amon (642-640) Josiah (640-609) Jehoahaz (609 3 months) Jehoiachim (609-598) Jehoiachin (598-597 3 months) Zedekiah (597-586) Fall of Jerusalem and Judah July August 586 OUTLINE OF Jeremiah : Jeremiah as a book is not in chronological order. Some have said that Jeremiah as it stands today is more like a collection of books than one single book . Most of them have been 3 authored by Jeremiah , though some were probably written by his friend and scribe Baruch and a few appear to be quotes from other Old Testament sources like II Kings. The internal evidence of the book suggests that Baruch was the major editor of Jeremiah s prophecies and was probably the one who put the book into the form we know today as the book of Jeremiah .

7 The outline below is based on Andrew Blackwood s Commentary on Jeremiah . Part I: The Word of the Lord to Jeremiah 1:1-25:38 Superscription 1:1-3 Jeremiah s call to be a Prophet 1:4-19 Oracles, chiefly from his early ministry 2:1-6:30 The Temple Sermon and related discourses 7:1-10:25 God in history 11:1-25:38 Note: Within this section are Jeremiah s Confessions, prayers to God expressing his heart over the difficulties and suffering he had to endure as God's prophet. They are honest and direct prayers that at times even accuse God of tricking Jeremiah . In style they are similar to the songs of lament in the Psalms. They provide personal insight into Jeremiah 's thinking and his struggles as a prophet and are unique to his writing. They are invaluable in helping us understand the burden that God's prophet carried and give insight into all prophets and their unique ministries.

8 There are five: 11:18-12:6; 15:10-21; 17:14-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-12, 14-18. Part II: The Words of Jeremiah the Prophet 26:1-45:5 Jeremiah , a pillar of iron 26:1-29:32 The book of Consolation 30:1-31:40 Note: Within this section is the New Covenant in 31:31-33, one of the most important prophecies in the Old Testament. Jesus uses this passage at the Last Supper. God is Lord of the future 32:1-33:26 The question of obedience 34:1-35:19 A book is born 36:1-32 Jeremiah s life while Jerusalem was dying 37:1-40:6 The remnant of Judah 40:7-44:30 The Lord s promise to Baruch 45:1-5 Part III: The World Concerning the Nations 46:1-52:34 Superscription 46:1 Concerning Egypt 46:2-28 Concerning the Philistines 47:1-7 Concerning Moab 48:1-47 Concerning Various Nations 49:1-39 Concerning Babylon 50:1-51:64 Historical Postscript 52:1-34 A NOTE ABOUT CHRONOLOGY: You may note that some Bibles have a slightly different chronology for the reigns of the last kings of Judah and the date of the fall of Jerusalem.

9 I follow many scholars who date the fall of Jerusalem as 586BC. Other scholars date the city s fall as 587. The discrepancy comes in the 4 dates for the reigns of the kings plus trying to synchronize those dates with extra-Biblical sources like the court records of the Babylonian kings. There is also some debate about the differences between a king s reign as defined by the years of his life and a king s reign as the actual time he ruled from the throne of David, including time as the regent of his father who was still living. The discrepancies are small and are of no major theological significance, however, your Bible may be slightly different than the chronology used in this Commentary and I wanted to clarify the differences. A WORD ABOUT HEBREW POETRY: Most of the book of Jeremiah is written in Hebrew poetic style. In fact Jeremiah has some of the greatest Hebrew poetry in the entire Bible.

10 What is Hebrew poetry and how does it work? The following helps explain it. The nature of Hebrew Poetry is paralleling ideas rather than rhyming sounds. Think of Mary Had a Little Lamb. Try reciting it in English. Now try it in German or Spanish! It only works in English because the poem depends on the sounds of the words. Hebrew poetry doesn t depend upon rhyming words and sounds, but on putting ideas together in patterns called parallelism. There are three basic types of Hebrew Poetry. 1. Repeating You simply repeat the thought. The technical term is synonymous. Examples: Isaiah 1:3, 40:1, 53:4-5, Psalm 1, Amos 5:21-24. 2. Opposite You say the opposite. The technical term is antithetic. Examples: Proverbs 10:9, 12:25. 3. Completing You complete or add to the thought in a slightly different way. The technical term is synthetic. Examples: Genesis 1:27, Isaiah 53:6.