5 But Johanan H3110 the son H1121 of Kareah, H7143 and all the captains H8269 of the forces, H2428 took H3947 all the remnant H7611 of Judah, H3063 that were returned H7725 from all nations, H1471 whither they had been driven, H5080 to dwell H1481 in the land H776 of Judah; H3063
Likewise when all the Jews H3064 that were in Moab, H4124 and among the Ammonites, H5983 and in Edom, H123 and that were in all the countries, H776 heard H8085 that the king H4428 of Babylon H894 had left H5414 a remnant H7611 of Judah, H3063 and that he had set H6485 over them Gedaliah H1436 the son H1121 of Ahikam H296 the son H1121 of Shaphan; H8227 Even all the Jews H3064 returned out H7725 of all places H4725 whither they were driven, H5080 and came H935 to the land H776 of Judah, H3063 to Gedaliah, H1436 unto Mizpah, H4708 and gathered H622 wine H3196 and summer fruits H7019 very H3966 much. H7235
But Ishmael H3458 the son H1121 of Nethaniah H5418 escaped H4422 from H6440 Johanan H3110 with eight H8083 men, H582 and went H3212 to the Ammonites. H1121 H5983 Then took H3947 Johanan H3110 the son H1121 of Kareah, H7143 and all the captains H8269 of the forces H2428 that were with him, all the remnant H7611 of the people H5971 whom he had recovered H7725 from Ishmael H3458 the son H1121 of Nethaniah, H5418 from Mizpah, H4709 after H310 that he had slain H5221 Gedaliah H1436 the son H1121 of Ahikam, H296 even mighty H1397 men H582 of war, H4421 and the women, H802 and the children, H2945 and the eunuchs, H5631 whom he had brought again H7725 from Gibeon: H1391
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 43
Commentary on Jeremiah 43 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 43
Jer 43:1-13. The Jews Carry Jeremiah and Baruch into Egypt. Jeremiah Foretells by a Type the Conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Fate of the Fugitives.
2. Azariah—the author of the project of going into Egypt; a very different man from the Azariah in Babylon (Da 1:7; 3:12-18).
proud—Pride is the parent of disobedience and contempt of God.
3. Baruch—He being the younger spake out the revelations which he received from Jeremiah more vehemently. From this cause, and from their knowing that he was in favor with the Chaldeans, arose their suspicion of him. Their perverse fickleness was astonishing. In the forty-second chapter they acknowledged the trustworthiness of Jeremiah, of which they had for so long so many proofs; yet here they accuse him of a lie. The mind of the unregenerate man is full of deceits.
5. remnant … returned from all nations—(Jer 40:11, 12).
6. the king's daughters—Zedekiah's (Jer 41:10).
7. Tahpanhes—(See on Jer 2:16); Daphne on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, near Pelusium. They naturally came to it first, being on the frontier of Egypt, towards Palestine.
9. stones—to be laid as the foundation beneath Nebuchadnezzar's throne (Jer 43:10).
clay—mortar.
brick-kiln—Bricks in that hot country are generally dried in the sun, not burned. The palace of Pharaoh was being built or repaired at this time; hence arose the mortar and brick-kiln at the entry. Of the same materials as that of which Pharaoh's house was built, the substructure of Nebuchadnezzar's throne should be constructed. By a visible symbol implying that the throne of the latter shall be raised on the downfall of the former. Egypt at that time contended with Babylon for the empire of the East.
10. my servant—God often makes one wicked man or nation a scourge to another (Eze 29:18, 19, 20).
royal pavilion—the rich tapestry (literally, "ornament") which hung round the throne from above.
11. such as are for death to death—that is, the deadly plague. Some he shall cause to die by the plague arising from insufficient or bad food; others, by the sword; others he shall lead captive, according as God shall order it (see on Jer 15:2).
12. houses of … gods—He shall not spare even the temple, such will be His fury. A reproof to the Jews that they betook themselves to Egypt, a land whose own safety depended on helpless idols.
burn … carry … captives—burn the Egyptian idols of wood, carry to Babylon those of gold and other metals.
array himself with the land, &c.—Isa 49:18 has the same metaphor.
as a shepherd, &c.—He shall become master of Egypt as speedily and easily as a shepherd, about to pass on with his flock to another place, puts on his garment.
13. images—statues or obelisks.
Beth-shemesh—that is, "the house of the sun," in Hebrew; called by the Greeks "Heliopolis"; by the Egyptians, "On" (Ge 41:45); east of the Nile, and a few miles north of Memphis. Ephraim Syrus says, the statue rose to the height of sixty cubits; the base was ten cubits. Above there was a miter of a thousand pounds weight. Hieroglyphics are traced around the only obelisk remaining in the present day, sixty or seventy feet high. On the fifth year after the overthrow of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar, leaving the siege of Tyre, undertook his expedition to Egypt [Josephus, Antiquities, 10.9,7]. The Egyptians, according to the Arabs, have a tradition that their land was devastated by Nebuchadnezzar in consequence of their king having received the Jews under his protection, and that it lay desolate forty years. But see on Eze 29:2; Eze 29:13.
shall he burn—Here the act is attributed to Nebuchadnezzar, the instrument, which in Jer 43:12 is attributed to God. If even the temples be not spared, much less private houses.