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THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR J E R E M I A H

CHAPTER FOURTY FOUR Jer 44:1-14 Bible Text 44:1 THE WORD that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who were dwelling in the land of Egypt--at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis--and in the country of Pathos, saying, 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the evil that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah; and see, this day they are a desolation and no man dwells in them 3 Because of the wickedness which they committed, provoking Me to anger in that they went to burn incense to serve other gods that they did not know--neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I sent to you all My servants the prophets earnestly and persistently, saying, Oh, do not do this loathsome and shamefully vile thing that I hate and abhor! 5 But they did not listen and obey or submit and consent to turn from their wickedness and burn no incense to other gods.

6 Therefore My wrath and My anger were poured out and were kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they became wasted and desolate, as it is this day. 7 Therefore now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves that will cut off from you man and woman, infant and weaned child, out of Judah, to leave yourselves with none remaining? 8 Why do you provoke Me to anger with the works (idols) of your own hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you [of your own accord] have come to dwell temporarily, that you might be cut off and become a curse and a reproach (an object of reviling and taunts) among all the nations of the earth?

9 Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives [who clung to their foreign gods], your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives [who imitated their queens], which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They are not humbled (contrite, penitent, and bruised for their guilt and iniquities) even to this day, neither have they feared and revered [Me] nor walked in My law or My statutes which I set before you and before your fathers. [Jer 6:15; 26:4- 6; 44:23.] 11 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set My face against you for evil--even to cut off all Judah [from the land].

12 And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come into the land of Egypt to dwell here temporarily [fleeing to Egypt instead of surrendering to the Chaldeans as directed by the Lord through Jeremiah], and they will all be consumed and will fall in the land of Egypt; they will be consumed by the sword and by famine. From the least even to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine. And they will be a detestable thing, astonishment, a curse, and a reproach (an object of horror, reviling, and taunts). 13 For I will punish all the inhabitants of the land of Egypt as I have punished Jerusalem--by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence-- 14 So that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to the land of Egypt to dwell temporarily shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire and lift up their souls to return to dwell there; for none shall return except [a few] fugitives. AMP

Jeremiah 44:1

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44:1. geographical territory. Jeremiah's message to the Israelite settlements in Egypt encompasses the general area around Tahpanhes in the Delta region, including Migdol (located about twenty miles to the northeast; see Exodus 14:2 and Num 33:7) and Memphis. Pathros (NIV: "Upper Egypt"), is a place name referring to the area south of the Delta in Upper Egypt between Memphis and Aswan. Assyrian inscriptions use similar terminology, and Egyptian terminology supports the identification. Excavations at a site now being identified with Migdol reveal Saite period pottery and a fortress whose walls stretch over six hundred feet on either side. (IVP) 44:1 Migdol was a city in northern Egypt, possibly identified with Tel el-Hier. For Tahpanhes, (see 43:7, 8-13; 2:16). For Noph, identified with Memphis, (see 2:16). Pathros is identified with Upper Egypt to the south of the Delta region (see also Isaiah 11:11). Excavations on the island of Elephantine (Yeb), located in the Nile opposite Aswan in Upper Egypt, demonstrate the existence of Persian-period (6th century BCE and later) Jewish settlements in Egypt that clearly originated in earlier times. The community was in communication with authorities in Jerusalem, although their religious practice was somewhat syncretistic. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 44:1 Jeremiah's last prophecy (Jer 44), in which he boldly rebukes the tendency of the Jews to idolatry, which seems to have grown only the stronger in their tribulation. The address was evidently made to them at some festival, and though the Jews lived in the hope of being able soon to return to Judaea from Egypt, yet we find that they had spread over the whole land, representatives of their communities having come to Pathros not only from Migdol and Tahpanhes, but even from Noph. (From Barnes' Notes)

Ch. 44. Warning against Idolatry, and Intimation of Its Punishment Jer 44:1 When the Jews had settled down in Egypt in different places, they betook themselves zealously to the worship of the queen of heaven; to this they were probably induced by the example of the heathen round about them, and by the vain expectation of thereby promoting their interests as members of the community (cf. v. 17 ff.). Accordingly, when all the people who were living here and there through the country had assembled in Upper Egypt (v. 15) for the celebration of the festival, the prophet seized the opportunity of setting before them, in an earnest manner, the ruinous consequences of their doings:

First of all, he reminds them of the judgments which they and their fathers, by their continued apostasy from the Lord, and by their idolatry, had brought on Jerusalem and Judah (vv. 2-7);

Second and he warn them not to bring destruction on the remnant of Judah still left, by continuing in their idolatry (vv. 8-10).

Third the threatening also is expressed, that the Lord will destroy all those who marched to Egypt with the sword, famine, and pestilence (vv. 11-14).

Fourth but the whole assembly declare to him that they will not obey his word, but persist in worshipping the queen of heaven; alleging that their fathers prospered so long as they honored her, and war and famine had come on them only after they ceased to do so (vv. 15-19).

Fifth Jeremiah refutes this false notion (vv. 20-23), and once more solemnly announces to them the sentence of destruction by sword and famine in Egypt. As a sign that the Lord will keep His word, he finally predicts that King Hophra shall be delivered into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

44:2-14 Jeremiah continues to accuse the people of disobeying God and worshipping other deities as a means to explain their current plight. Theologically, this passage is very similar to (2 Kings Chapter 17), which explains the earlier exile of the Northern Kingdom. [Jewish Study Bible] Verse 2-6. In order to make an impression on the people by his warning against idolatry, Jeremiah begins his address with a reference to the great calamity which the fathers have brought on the kingdom of Judah through their continued idolatry (vv. 2-6). "Ye have seen all the evil," etc.; all the cities are laid waste and depopulated, because their inhabitants have roused the anger of the Lord, and have not let themselves be dissuaded by the admonitions of the prophets whom God has sent. "This day," i.e., now, at present. On (v. 3, cf. Jer 11:17; 19:4; 32:32, etc). (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

(General Information - Verse 7-14.) In (vv. 7-10) follows the application of what has been said to those present, who are asked how they come to continue in the old sins, to their own destruction, "doing evil in regard to your souls," i.e., for the injury, destruction of your souls, yourself; (cf. Jer 26:19). (Barnes Notes)

Jer 44:9 [The wickedness of their wives] Many accept the reading of the Septuagint: the "wickedness of your princes." "The kings, the princes, the people," and finally "their wives," is a summary enumeration of all classes, by whose united persistence in sin the ruin of their country had been consummated. (Barnes' Notes)

The answer to the question now asked follows in (vv. 9 and 10), in the form of the further question, whether they have forgotten those former sins, and that these sins have been the cause of the evil which has befallen the land. The interrogation expresses the reproach that they have been able to forget both, as is evidenced by their continuance in sin. But the prophet gives special prominence to the evil deeds of the wives, since it was they who were most zealous in worshipping the queen of heaven; (cf. vv. 15 and 19). dukª'uw (OT: 1792) lo' (OT: 3808), "they have not been crushed," viz., by repentance and sorrow for these sins.

The transition to the third person is not merely accounted for by the fact that the subject treated of is the sins of the fathers and of the present generation-for, as is shown by the expression "till this day," the prophet has chiefly his own contemporaries in view; but he speaks of these in the third person, to signify the indignation with which he turns away from men so difficult to reform. On the expression, "they had not walked in my law," (cf. Jer 26:4; 9:12). For this the Lord will punish them severely, (vv. 11-14). All those who have fled to Egypt, with the intention of remaining there, will be quite exterminated. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

Jer 44:11 [All Judah] i.e., all Judah in Egypt, yet even there with exceptions (see Jer 44:14, 28), while Judah in Babylon was entirely exempt from this denunciation. (Barnes' Notes)

44:12 In contrast to Isaiah, who saw the remnant of Israel as the basis for restoration, Jeremiah argues that the remnant of the people, as a result of their behavior, will die in Egypt. The prophet’s condemnation especially emphasizes the theme of famine and rebellious acts of the people. This contrasts with the wilderness traditions of the Torah in order to emphasize the reversal of the exodus from Egypt. Whereas God answered the people’s complaints about the lack of food by providing manna, water, and protection from enemies, etc. (Exodus Chapters 16-17; Numbers Chapter 11), God would no longer provide such support in Egypt. [Jewish Study Bible]

On "they shall become an execration," etc., (see Jer 42:18). In (vv. 13, 14), the threatened extermination is further set forth. Those who dwelling Egypt shall be punished with sword, famine, and plague, like Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Egypt generally are meant; and by the judgment which is to fall on that country, the remnant of Judah there shall be so completely destroyed, that none shall escape. This last clause shows that we are not to understand the declaration "none shall escape" in the strictest meaning of the words. Those who escape and return to Judah shall be so few, in comparison with those who shall perish in Egypt, as to be quite inconsiderable. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

Jer 44:14 Literally, "And there shall not be to the remnant of Judah, which are going to sojourn there in the land of Egypt, one that escapes or remains etc." The word rendered "escapes" means one who slips away, saves himself by a stealthy flight (Gen 14:13); the word "remains," one who survives when all the rest perish (Job 18:19). Of all those now going down to Egypt none shall return to Judaea except a few miserable fugitives, who shall steal away as men who flee in battle (2 Sam 19:3). For really years Jewish settlers had gone to Egypt in great numbers, and these old settlers would be treated in the same way as the Egyptians, but these fugitives, with no knowledge of the Egyptian language or ways, would have no friends in the country to aid them, and would also be recognized by the Chaldaeans as inveterate enemies, and mercilessly slain. (Barnes’ Notes)

Jer 44:15-19 Bible Text 15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by--a great assembly--even all the people who dwelt in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: 16 As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the zc Lord, we will not listen to or obey you. 17 But we will certainly perform every word of the vows we have made: to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her as we have done--we and our fathers, our kings and our princes--in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and prosperous and saw no evil. 18 But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine. 19 [And the wives said] When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes [in the shape of a star] to represent and honor her and pour out drink offerings to her without [the knowledge and approval of] our husbands? AMP

Jeremiah 44:15; Jeremiah 44:17 44:15. upper and lower Egypt. The geographical area where Judean refugees had established settlements are spoken of in general terms with this reference. They were primarily situated in the Delta and were not scattered throughout the full length of Egyptian territory. Since the Nile flows north, Upper Egypt is the southern portion. Lower Egypt, the north, includes the Delta region and extends to the region of Memphis. 44:17. Queen of Heaven. See comment on Jer 7:18. (IVP Bible Background Commentary)

[General Information - 44:15-19) The people respond by insisting that they will continue the practices. The text suggests that women in particular were involved in this worship. Perhaps this is because women were more involved in “popular” religion, or because the text in particular is concerned with goddess worship. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 44:15-19 To the word of the prophet the men and women oppose their pretended experience, that the adoration of the queen of heaven has brought them comfort and prosperity, while the neglect of this worship, on the other hand, has brought want and misfortune. No doubt they inferred this, by the argument, from the fact that, after idolatry had been rooted out by Josiah, adversity had befallen the land of Judah; while, up till that time, the kingdom of Judah had been independent, and, for more than a century before, had been spared the suffering of misfortune. Thus, through their blindness, peculiar to the natural man, they had overlooked the minor transient evils with which the Lord visits His people when they sin.

Not till near the end of Josiah's reign did misfortune fall on Judah: this was when the Egyptian army, under Pharaoh-Necho, marched through Palestine; Josiah was slain in the battle he had lost, the land was laid waste by the enemy, and its inhabitants perished by sword and famine. In (v. 15), those who are represented speaking are all the men who knew of their wives' idolatry, i.e., who permitted it, and all the women, "a great company," i.e., gathered together in great numbers, and all the rest of the people who lived in Egypt. The specification "in Pathros" is not in apposition to the words "in the land of Egypt," but belongs to the verb waya`anuw (OT: 6030) [pay attention]; it tells where the gathering took place, viz., in a district of Upper Egypt. From the presence of a large number of women, we may conclude that the assembly was a festival in honor of the queen of heaven.

To this statement on the part of the men, the women further add, (v. 19), that they do not engage in this sacrificial worship or prepare the sacrificial cakes without their husbands, i.e., without their knowledge and approval. This is put forward by the women in the way of self-vindication; for, according to the law, (Num 30:9 ff.), the husband could annul, i.e., declare not binding, any vow which had been made by his wife without his knowledge. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

44:17: The Queen of Heaven. Probably Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of passion in war and love. Identified with the North Star or Venus, she represents stability in the world of creation. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jeremiah 44:18

44:18. incense and drink offerings. Incense was valued in the ancient world as an accompaniment to sacrifice. Its sweet scent effectively masked any of the unpleasant odors resulting from the performance of the rituals. It was expensive (see comment on Lev 2:1) but was believed to be favored by the gods. In Mesopotamia, incense was used for dedicatory and propitiatory offerings. The people believed that the incense helped transport prayers to the deity, who would then inhale the incense (for more information see comment on Exodus 30:7- 8). Pouring out libation offerings is common throughout Mesopotamian history, including offerings of water, wine and blood (compare David's action in 2 Sam 23:16). Assyrian art stylized libation offerings into various classes depending on the type of liquid and where and on what it was poured. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament) 44:18: The people point out that disaster befell them when they discontinued worship of the goddess, the reference is most likely to Josiah’s reforms, shortly after which Josiah was killed, and Judah became a vassal of Babylonia. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 44:19 [Burned ... poured ... did] Or, burn ... pour ... do. [To worship her] Rather, to represent her image. The cakes (Jer 7:18) were made in the shape of a crescent to represent the moon. [Our men] i.e., our husbands (margin). They had the authority of their husbands for what they were doing. Jeremiah must leave them alone, and discuss the matter with those who alone had the right to interfere. (Barnes' Notes)

Jer 44:20-23 Bible Text 20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people--to the men and to the women and to all the people who had given him that answer-- 21 The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem--you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land--did not the Lord [earnestly] remember [your idolatrous wickedness] and did it not come into His mind? 22 The Lord could no longer endure the evil of your doings and the abominations which you have committed; because of them therefore has your land become a desolation and an [astonishing] waste and a curse, without inhabitants, as it is this day. 23 Because you have burned incense [to idols] and because you have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord or walked in His law and in His statutes and in His testimonies, therefore this evil has fallen upon you, as it is this day. AMP

Jeremiah 44:19 44:19. cakes in her image. It is likely that the use of offering cakes shaped in the goddess's image is a practice borrowed from Mesopotamia. The Hebrew word kawwanim is a loan word from Akkadian kamanu, a type of sweet cake associated with the cult of Ishtar. They were baked in ashes and often were sweetened with honey or figs. The ritual texts describing eshsheshu festivals in Mesopotamian cities mention both meat and cake offerings. (IVP) [General Information - 44:20-30] Jeremiah retorts with a final condemnation of the Jewish community in Egypt. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 44:20-22 Jeremiah answers them that their idol-worship, by which they have provoked the Lord their God, is the very cause of the misfortune that has befallen them, because God could no longer endure this abomination which they would not forsake. HaqiTeer (OT: 6999) is a noun, "the 6 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR burning of incense," which includes, besides, all the other elements of idolatrous worship hence the word is resumed, at the close, under the plur. 'Owtaam (OT: 853), "these things." wata`aleh (OT: 5927) is 3 rd pers. singular neut., lit., "it has come into His mind," i.e., He has carefully considered it, and that in the way of punishment, for He could no longer endure such abomination. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

Jer 44:22 [Could no longer bear] The prophet corrects in these words the error of their argument in (Jer 44:17). God is long-suffering, and therefore punishment follows slowly upon sin. (Barnes’)

Jer 44:24-30 Bible Text 24 Moreover, Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt, 25 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have both declared with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her. [Surely] then confirm your vows and [surely] perform your vows! [If you will defy all My warnings to you, then, by all means, go ahead!] 26 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all [you people of] Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says the Lord, that My name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord God lives.

27 Behold, I am watching over them for evil and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine until there is an end of them and they are all destroyed. 28 Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah who came to the land of Egypt to dwell temporarily shall know whose words shall stand, Mine or theirs. 29 And this will be the sign to you, says the Lord that I will punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for evil. 30 Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies and into the hands of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life. AMP

Jeremiah 44:30 44:30. Hophra's demise. As in Isa 7 the prophet Jeremiah offers a sign of God's intentions to a disobedient people. Hophra (known in Greek in Herodotus as Apries) was the fourth king of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, succeeding Psammeticus II in 589. He did send a relief army into Palestine during Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem, but it quickly withdrew (see Jer 37:5). His naval expedition flanking the Babylonian land forces was partially successful, with Cyprus being conquered. After the fall of Jerusalem, Hophra provided for refugees to settle in the Egyptian Delta region. His eventual end came as a result of:

1. His overreliance on mercenary troops 2. And his inability to control the Greek colony at Cyrene.

Both Herodotus and a fragmentary stele from the period report that he was killed in a coup carried out by his successor, Amasis, around 570. 7 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

44:27: I will be watchful returns to the same verb used in the dedication in (1:12 ‘The Lord said to me: You have seen right, for I am watchful (Hebrew shoqed) to bring My word to pass.’), implying that the doom declared by God is not over. [Jewish Study Bible]

44:30 Pharaoh Hophra, also known as Apries, ruled (589-570 BCE). He was assassinated by Amasis (570-526 BCE), a former court official who served as co-regent during the last three years of Hophra’s reign. [Jewish Study Bible]

Earnest as was the preceding expostulation, Jeremiah sees that it has produced no effect. He therefore utters his last warning, and with this last resistance to the sins of a debased and godless people, his earthly ministry closed. (Barnes' Notes)

Jer 44:24-28 After refuting the false assertion of the people, Jeremiah once more announces to them, on behalf of God, in the most solemn manner, the punishment of extermination by sword and famine in Egypt; this he does for the purpose of giving the greatest possible emphasis to his warning against persevering in idolatry. For substance, this announcement is similar to that of (vv. 11-14), but the expression is stronger.

Even in the summary account of their offences, (v. 25), the words are so chosen and arranged as to bring out clearly the determination of the people to persevere in worshipping the queen of heaven. "As for you and your wives, ye have spoken with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand", i.e., ye have uttered vows and then carried them out; for ye say, we must keep the vows that we have vowed. It is to be observed that the verbs tªdabeerªnaah (OT: 1696) [to arrange], and in the concluding portion taaqiymªnaah (OT: 6965) [to rise, abide] and ta`aseynaah (OT: 6213) [to do or make], are feminine, since the address chiefly applies to the wives, who clung most tenaciously to idolatry. The announcement of the punishment is introduced by a solemn oath on the part of God.

Jahveh swears by His great name, i.e., as the one who has shown Himself God by His mighty deeds-who has the power of keeping His word. In (v. 28), it is more exactly stated that only a few individuals shall escape the sword and return to Judah; thus, no one shall remain behind in Egypt. By this judgment, all the remnant of Judah that went to Egypt shall find out whose word-Jahveh or theirs-will endure, i.e., prove true. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

THE COVENANT OF SINAI HAS NOW BEEN BROKEN BY ISRAEL

Note: what that now means is the covenant that Israel swore to is now done away with God has replaced it with the NEW COVENANT of Jeremiah 31:31-34. The Law will now be printed not on stone tablets but on the heart of the born again believers [John chapter 3] which will include both the Jews and the Gentiles in the new body of the church of the living God. Israel can not longer count on God counting them as His own. Infact after Malachi there was a 8 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR period of 400 years of silence until God’s Messiah came to redeem mankind His name is Yeshua [Jesus] who we call our Savior and soon coming king. Now the only hope of Israel is the remnant of 144,000 Jews of Revelation 7, 14. Paul the Learner

Verse 26 [My name shall no more be named ...] God swears by His own great Name that He will be their national God no longer. Yahweh repudiates His covenant-relation toward them.

Verse 27 [I will watch] I am watching over them, not for good, but for evil: like a panther (Jer 5:6) lying in wait to spring upon passengers.

[Shall be consumed] This is the result of Yahweh's repudiation of thee covenant. When He was their God He watched over them for good: now His protection is withdrawn, and He is their enemy, because of the wickedness whereby their rejection was made necessary. (See the Jer 6:9 note). (Barnes’ Notes)

Verse 30 Pharaoh-Hophra came to the throne the year before Jerusalem was captured. He reigned for 19 years, probably the last 10 years as a prisoner. See the notes at (Jer 37:5; 46:12). (Barnes' Notes)

(General Information - Jer 44:29-30) In confirmation of this threatening, the Lord gives them another sign which, when it is fulfilled, will let them know that the destruction announced to them shall certainly befall them. The token consists in the giving up of King Hophra into the hand of his enemies. As certainly as this shall take place, so certainly shall the extermination of the Jews in Egypt ensue. His death took place in the year (570 BC) this date is reached by a comparison of the following facts:-

1. Cambyses conquered Egypt in the year 525; and 2. In the preceding year Amasis had died, after a reign of forty-four years (Herod. iii. 10). 3. Hence Amasis-who took Apriës prisoner, and 4. Gave him up to the common people, who killed him (Herod. ii. 161-163, 169) – 5. Must have commenced his reign in the year (570). On the death of Apriës, or Hophra, cf. the explanation given, where we have shown that the words, "I will give him into the hand of his enemies, and of those who seek his life," when compared with what is said of Zedekiah, "into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar his enemy," do not require us to assume that Hophra was killed by Nebuchadnezzar, and can very well be harmonized with the notice of Herodotus regarding the death of this king. If no definite time be fixed for the occurrence of this sign, then it may not appear till a considerable time afterwards, and yet be a pledge for the occurrence of what was predicted for a still later period. That Jeremiah lived till the year 570 is certainly not inconceivable, but it is not likely that he uttered the prophecy now before us at the advanced age of nearly eighty years. (Hitzig), looking from his dogmatic standpoint, considers it, and then it must have been uttered before the year (570); but whether this was two, or five, or ten years before, makes no material difference.

The address itself contains nothing to justify the assumption of (Graf), that it is closely connected with the prophecy in (Jer 43:8-13), and with the warning against the migration into 9 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

Egypt, (ch. 42). That the Jews spoken of had not been long in Egypt, cannot be inferred from (vv. 8, 12, and 18); on the contrary, the fact that they had settled down in different parts of Egypt, and had assembled at Pathros for a festival, shows that they had been living there for a considerable time before. Nor does it follow, from the statement in (v. 14) that they longed to return to Judah, that they had gone to Egypt some months before. The desire to return into the land of their fathers remains, in a measure, in the heart of the Jew even at the present day [1800]. After all, then, no valid reason can be assigned for doubting the genuineness of these verses.

One view 1. On the fulfillment of these threatenings (Nägelsbach) remarks: "Every one must be struck on finding that, in (ch. 44), the extermination of the Jews who dwelt in Egypt is predicted; while some centuries later, the Jews in Egypt were very numerous, and that country formed a central point for the Jewish exiles (cf. Herzog, Real-Encyclop. Xvii. S. 285). 2. Alexander the Great found so many Jews in Egypt, that he peopled with Jews, in great measure, the city he had founded and called after himself (cf. Herzog, i. S. 235).

How did these Jews get to Egypt? Whence the great number of Jews whom Alexander found already in Egypt? I am inclined to think that we must consider them, for the most part, as the descendants of those who had come into the country with Jeremiah. But, according to this view of the matter, Jeremiah's prophecy has not been fulfilled." (Nägelsbach) therefore thinks we must assume that idolatrous worship, through time, almost entirely ceased among the exiled Jews in Egypt as it did among those in Babylon, and that the Lord then, in return, as regards the penitents, repented of the evil which He had spoken against them (Jer 26:13, 19).

Remember that a prophecy may not be fulfilled for many years, or the prophecy may be conditional so that through repentance God changes anger to mercy. Paul the Learner

Another view 1. But this whole explanation is fundamentally wrong, since the assertion, that Alexander the Great found so many Jews in Egypt, that with them mainly he peopled the city of Alexandria which he had founded, is contrary to historic testimony. 2. In (Herzog (Real-Encyclop. i. S. 235), to which (Nägelsbach) refers for proof on the point, nothing of the kind is to be found, but rather the opposite, viz., the following: "Soon after the foundation of Alexandria by Alexander the Great, this city became not merely the centre of Jewish Hellenism in Egypt, but generally speaking the place of union between Oriental and Occidental Jews. The external condition of the Jews of Alexandria must, on the whole, be characterized as highly prosperous”. 3. The first Jewish settlers had, indeed, been compelled by Alexander the Great to take up their residence in the city (Josephus, Antt. xv. 3. 1); so, too, were other Jews, by Ptolemy I. or Lagi (ibid. xii. 2. 4). 4. But both of these monarchs granted them the same rights and privileges as the Macedonians, including Greek citizenship; and in consequence of the extremely advantageous position of the city, it speedily increased in importance. A still larger

number, therefore, soon went thither of their own accord, and adopted the Greek language." 5. In this account, the quotation from Josephus, (Antt. xv. 3. 1), is certainly incorrect; for neither is there in that passage any testimony borne to the measures attributed to Alexander, nor is there any other historical testimonies given from antiquity. 6. But as little can we find any proofs that Alexander the Great found so many Jews in Egypt that he could, to a large extent, people with them the city he had founded. It is merely testified by Josephus (Antt. xi. 8. 5), and by Hecataeus in Josephus (contra Ap. i. 22; p. 457, ed. Haverc.), that Alexander had Jewish soldiers in his army; 7. It is further evident, from a notice in (Josephus, de bell. Jud. ii. 18. 7, contra Ap. ii. 4 cf. Curtius Rufus, IV. 8), that the newly founded city, even under Alexander, immediately after it was commenced, and still more under Ptolemy Lagi (cf. Josephus, Antt. xii. 1, and Hecataeus in Josephus contra Ap. i. 22, p. 455), attracted a constantly increasing multitude of Jewish immigrants.

This same Ptolemy, after having subdued Phoenicia and Coele-Syria in the year (320), and taken Jerusalem also, it would seem, by a stratagem on a Sabbath day, transported many captives and hostages out of the whole country into Egypt; many, too, must have been sold at that time as slaves to the inhabitants of such a wealthy country as Egypt: (see a statement in the book of Aristeas, at the end of Havercamp's edition of Josephus, ii. p. 104). In the same place, and in (Josephus' Antt. xii. 1), Ptolemy is said to have armed 30,000 Jewish soldiers, placed them as garrisons in the fortresses, and granted them all the rights of Macedonian citizens (isopolitei'a).

(Ewald) well says, (History of the People of Israel, vol. IV. of second edition, p. 254): "When we further take into consideration, that, in addition to all other similar disasters which had previously befallen them, many Jews were removed to Egypt (especially by Ochus, after Egypt had been reconquered), we can easily explain how Ptolemy Philadelphus can be said to have liberated 100,000 Egyptian Jews. (Aristeas' Book, p. 105)." This much, at least, is proved by these various notices-that, in order to understand how such a vast increase took place in the number of the Jews in Egypt, we do not need to regard them as the descendants of those who removed thither with Jeremiah, and so to question the fulfillment of the prophecy now before us.

Jeremiah does not, of course, threaten with destruction all those Jews who live in Egypt, but only those who at that time went thither against the divine will, and there persevered in their idolatry. We do not know how great may have been the number of these immigrants, but they could hardly exceed two thousand-perhaps, indeed, there were not so many. All these, as had been foretold them, may have perished in the conquest of Egypt by the Chaldeans, and afterwards, through the sword, famine, and pestilence; for the myriads of Jews in Egypt at the time of Ptolemy Lagi could easily have removed thither during the period of 250 years intermediate between the immigration in Jeremiah's time and the foundation of Alexandria, partly as prisoners and slaves, partly through voluntary settlement. (From Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Remember, we live in a day when people try to disprove the Scriptures by history and other means, and if you are not firmly established in the Word of God, you can lose out and start to disbelieve what God said. ‘I am not a man that I should lie say’s the Lord’ Paul the Learner