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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 THIRTY SEVEN Jer 37:1-5 Bible Text 37:1 AND ZEDEKIAH son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah [also called Jeconiah and Jehoiachin] son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to and obeyed the words of the Lord which He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah. 3 Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah with Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, pray now to the Lord our God for us. 4 Now Jeremiah was coming in and going out among the people, for they had not [yet] put him in prison. 5 And Pharaoh's army had come forth out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem and departed. AMP

Jeremiah 37:1 37:1. chronology. Jehoiachin succeeded his father Jehoiakim during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in December 598. His reign only lasted until the city was taken three months later. At that point, his uncle Mattaniah (see 2 Kings 24:17) was placed on the throne by the victorious Nebuchadnezzar and renamed Zedekiah. (IVP Bible Background Commentary) [General Information - 37:1-38:28: Jeremiah’s imprisonment during the Babylonian siege.] Having established Jehoiakim’s unwillingness to listen to Jeremiah, the next two chapters focus on Jeremiah’s imprisonment during the Babylonian assault against Jerusalem. [JSB]

37:1-2: King Zedekiah, his officials, and the people refuse to listen to Jeremiah. Coniah is a shortened form of Jehoiachin. When the Babylonians deported him, they placed his uncle Mattaniah on the throne and renamed him Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:8-20). [Jewish Study Bible]

(General Information Jer 37:1) It is evident that Zedekiah was well affected toward Jeremiah. In (Jer 37-38), dealing with events during the siege of Jerusalem, we have an account of his relations with Jeremiah and of the prophet's personal history up to the capture of the city. Experiences and Utterances of Jeremiah during the Siege and Capture of Jerusalem (Ch. 37-39 Ch. 37). Declaration regarding the Issue of the Siege; Imprisonment of Jeremiah and Conversation with the King (Barnes’ Notes)

Jer 37:1-5 1. The account of what befell Jeremiah and what he did during the last siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, until the taking of the city, is introduced, (vv. 1 and 2), with the general remark that Zedekiah-whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah in place of Coniah (on which name see on Jer 22:24) – 2. When he became king, did not listen to the words of the Lord through Jeremiah, neither himself, nor his servants (officers), nor the people of the land (the population of Judah). 3. Then follows, (vv. 3-10), a declaration of the prophet regarding the issue of the siege, which he sent to the king by the messengers who were to beseech him for his intercession with the Lord. (Vv. 3-5).

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4. The occasion of this declaration was the following: Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah two of his chief officers, Jehucal the son of Shelemiah (see on 38:1), and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest (see 21:1 and 29:25), with this charge: "Pray now for us to Jahveh our God." (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

This message was sent to Jeremiah while he still went in and out among the people, and had not yet been put in prison; the army of Pharaoh (Hophra, 44:30), too, had marched out of Egypt to oppose the Chaldeans; and the latter, when they heard the report of them (shimªàam (OT: 8088) [something heard], the news of their approach), had withdrawn from Jerusalem (meeàl (OT: 5921) [above, over] àalaah (OT: 5927) [to ascend, arise (up)], (see on 21:2), viz., in order to repulse the Egyptians. Both of these circumstances are mentioned for the purpose of giving a clear view of the state of things:

(a) Jeremiah's freedom to go in and out, not to prepare us for his imprisonment afterwards, but to explain the reason why the king sent two chief officers of the realm to him, whereas, after his imprisonment, he caused him to be brought (cf. v. 17 with 38:14); and

(b) The approach of the Egyptians joined with the raising of the siege; because this event seemed to afford some hope that the city would be saved. - This occurrence, consequently, falls within a later period than that mentioned in (ch. 21). (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

Note: Pharaoh’s: I.e. Pharaoh Hophra’s. The Apries of Herodotus and fourth successor of Psammeticus on the throne of Egypt. He came to help Zedakah (Ezekiel 17:15-17), but was defeated by the Chaldeans, and Egypt subdued. Compare (2 Kings 24:7; Ezekiel 29:1-16, and chs. 30-33). Also (Jeremiah 43:9-13). (Reference Encyclopedia Britannica, eleventh new Cambridge edition Vo. 2, Page 230).

37:3-5 although the Egyptians lost control of Judah when they were defeated by the Babylonians at Carchemish in 605 BCE. Jehoiakim had been their ally. Under Pharaoh Hophra (also known as Apries; 589-570 BCE; cf. Jeremiah 44:30), they apparently sent a force to Judah in an attempt to lift the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. The Egyptians were defeated and forced to withdraw. Jehucal son of Shelemiah is called Jucal in (38:1). Zephaniah son of the priest Maaseiah was the deputy priest of the Temple who was executed by the Babylonians (52:24). He had earlier read a letter from the exiles demanding that Jeremiah be rebuked (29:24-28). Jeremiah (21:1) reports that Zephaniah was sent earlier to seek an oracle of the prophet during the siege of Jerusalem (21:1). [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 37:3 This embassy is not to be confounded with that (Jer 21:1) which took place when Nebuchadnezzar was just marching upon Jerusalem; this was in the brief interval of hope occasioned by the approach of an Egyptian army to raise the siege. The Jews were elated by this temporary relief, and miserably abused it (Jer 34:11). Zedekiah seems to some extent to have shared their hopes, and to have expected that the prophet would intercede for the city as successfully as Isaiah had done (Isa 37:6). Jehucal was a member of the warlike party (Jer 38:1), as also was the deputy high priest Zephaniah, but otherwise he was well affected to Jeremiah. (Barnes’ Notes)

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[Then] And. Pharaoh-Hophra (Jer 44:30), the Apries of Herodotus, probably withdrew without giving Nebuchadnezzar battle. After a reign of 25 years, he was dethroned by Amasis, but allowed to inhabit his palace at Sais, where finally he was strangled. (Barnes' Notes)

Jeremiah 37:5-8 37:5-8. Egyptian troop movements. During the siege of Jerusalem in 588, the Egyptian pharaoh Apries dispatched an army into Palestine. This required the Babylonians to temporarily lift their siege (see the comments on Jer 32:2 and Jer 34:21). This action by the Egyptians may be based on treaty commitments made between Zedekiah and Psammeticus II when that pharaoh made a brief visit to Palestine in 592 (based on the Rylands IX papyrus). No actual treaty document exists, and it is not clear whether Zedekiah personally met with the pharaoh or whether (according to the Lachish Letters) a Judean delegation was sent to Egypt. References in Herodotus indicate that the Egyptian troops were more concerned with reestablishing their control over the Phoenician ports of Tyre and Sidon, and there is no indication of a battle with the Babylonians in Palestine before their withdrawal to Egypt. (IVP Bible Commentary)

Jer 37:6-10 Bible Text 6 Then came the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah: 7 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which has come forth to help you, will return to Egypt, to their own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come again and fight against this city, and they shall take it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the Lord: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans will surely stay away from us--for they will not stay away. 10 For though you should defeat the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only the wounded and men stricken through among them, every man confined to his tent, yet they would rise up and burn this city with fire. AMP

[General Information - 37:6-10: Jeremiah’s response conveys two oracles.] 1. The first indicates that the Egyptians will be forced to withdraw and the Chaldeans, i.e. Babylonians, will return to resume the siege. 2. The second indicates the inevitability of the Babylonian victory. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 37:7-10 Jeremiah's answer here is even more unfavorable than that which is given in (Jer 21:4-7). So hopeless is resistance that the disabled men among the Chaldaeans would alone suffice to capture the city and burn it to the ground. (Barnes' Notes)

Jer 37:6-10 In order to cut off every hope, the prophet announces that the Egyptians will bring no help, but withdraw to their own land before the Chaldeans who went out to meet them, without having accomplished their object; but then the Chaldeans will return, continue the siege, take the city and burn it. To assure them of this, he adds: "Ye must not deceive yourselves with the vain hope that the Chaldeans may possibly be defeated and driven back by the Egyptians. The destruction

3 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR of Jerusalem is so certain that, even supposing you were actually to defeat and repulse the Chaldeans, and only some few grievously wounded ones remained in the tents, these would rise up and burn the city."

Note: how history repeats itself and how God does show mercy if one accepts it: 1. Babylon seeks to destroy Jerusalem and leaves to fight against Egypt and gives them a small time to leave for their lives. 2. Rome under Titus seeks to destroy Jerusalem and leaves to see his father made Emperor of Rome and this give a small time for them to leave for their lives. And both destructions happened on the same day of the year. Paul the Learner Jer 37:11-16 Bible Text 11 And when the army of the Chaldeans had departed from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's approaching army, 12 Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin [to slip away during the brief lull in the Chaldean invasion] to receive [the title to] his portion [of land, which the Lord had promised would eventually be valuable] there among the people. 13 And when he was at the Gate of Benjamin, a sentry was [on guard] there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, you are deserting to the Chaldeans. 14 Then said Jeremiah, It is false! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans. But the sentry would not listen to him. So Irijah took Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 Therefore the princes were enraged with Jeremiah and beat him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe--for they had made that the prison. 16 When Jeremiah had come into the cells in the dungeon and had remained there many days, AMP

Jeremiah 37:13 37:13. Benjamin Gate. Of the many gates of Jerusalem, the Benjamin Gate opened to the northeast and would have been the most convenient for Jeremiah to use when he wished to visit Anathoth. Its importance and the amount of traffic going through this gate are attested in Jer 17:19 and the fact that King Zedekiah used it as a seat of office in Jer 38:7. (IVP Comm.) [General Information - 37:11-21:] Jeremiah attempts to leave the city during the lull in the Babylonian siege to redeem family property in Anathoth, located in the tribal territory of Benjamin (see also Chapter 32). [Jewish Study Bible]

37:13: He is charged with treason by Urijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah, apparently the grandson of the prophet Hananiah (Chapter 28). The Benjamin Gate would have been on the north side of the city where the territory of Benjamin was located. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 37:12 [To separate himself thence ...] To receive a share thence. When the siege was temporarily raised, the first object would be food, and, accordingly, Jeremiah accompanied by others, who, like himself, had a right to share in the produce of the priests' lands at Anathoth, started there to see whether any stores remained which might be available for their common use. (Barnes')

Jer 37:11-12 The imprisonment of Jeremiah. - During the time when the Chaldeans, on account of the advancing army of pharaoh, had withdrawn from Jerusalem and raised the siege, "Jeremiah went out of the city to go to the land of Benjamin, in order to bring thence his portion among the people." (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

Jer 37:13 When he was entering the gate of Benjamin, where Jeriah the son of Shelemiah kept watch, the latter seized him, saying, "Thou desires to go over to the Chaldeans" (see on Jer 21:9). The gate of Benjamin (38:7; 14:10) was the north gate of the city, through which ran the road to Benjamin and Ephraim; hence it was also called the gate of Ephraim, (2 Kings 14:13; Neh 8:16). pªqidut (OT: 6488) [ward] ba`al (OT: 1167) [a master], "holder of the oversight," he who kept the watch, or commander of the watch at the gate. "The accusation was founded on the well-known views and opinions of Jeremiah (Jer 21:9); but it was mere sophistry, for the simple reason that the Chaldeans were no longer lying before the city" (Hitzig). (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

37:14-16: Although Jeremiah denied the charge, he was harshly imprisoned in the house of the scribe Jonathan in a pit, a cistern or tank in which water would collect during the rainy season. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 37:14 [The princes] Not the noblemen trained in the days of Josiah and Jeremiah's friends (Jer 26:16), but those described in (Jer 24:8). They assumed that the accusation was true; they first scourged and then imprisoned Jeremiah. (Barnes' Notes)

Note: Put in prison. Jeremiah’s prison experiences: 1. Put in on false charge (Jeremiah 37:11-15). 2. Released, but confined in the court of the prison; 3. Imprisoned again in Malchiah’s miry dungeon (Jeremiah 38:1-6); 4. Released again as before (Jeremiah 38:13-28); 5. Carried away in chains by Nebuchadnezzar, 6. Released at Ramah (Jeremiah 40:1-4).

Note: The Persecution of Jeremiah in chapter 38:1-13 (Extended Alternation) a. Jeremiah. Accusation by princes. (38:1-4). b. Zedekiah. Permission for imprisonment. (38:5). c. The dungeon. (38:6-). d. Sinking in the mire. (38:-6). a. Jeremiah. Defense by Ebed-melech. (38:7-9). b. Zedekiah. Command for release. (38:10). c. The dungeon (38:11, 12). d. Drawing out of the mire. (38:13).

37:15. prisons. In the ancient Near East, prisons were used for temporary detention, usually pending a final judgment or prior to execution of sentence. For instance, Mesopotamian practices included imprisonment in a holding cell in a temple (Nungal Hymn) or under house arrest (Mari letters). The fact that Jeremiah is imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary suggests that formal prisons were also uncommon in monarchic Jerusalem. Prisons are seldom mentioned in biblical literature. Only Joseph is described (Gen 39:20) as being held with other prisoners in a detention facility. The prophet Micaiah is imprisoned in an 5 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR unspecified location pending judgment on whether his prophecies against Ahab came true (1 Kings 22:27). Other examples of imprisonment include work houses, such as that in which the blinded Samson was forced to grind grain (Judges 16:21). (IVP Commentary) 37:16. vaulted cell in a dungeon. Since Jeremiah was accused of attempting to defect to the enemy, it may be presumed that his cell was in an undesirable portion of the house of Jonathan the secretary. Quite likely the architecture of a house built near a gate area or the temple complex would include some small alcoves among the ceiling vaults. These cramped spaces would probably have been too small for a man to stand erect and might well have been poorly ventilated. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament)

Jer 37:14-15 From (v. 16) we perceive that they were subterranean prisons and vaults into which the prisoners were thrust; and from (v. 28 and Jer 38:26), it is clear that Jeremiah was in a confinement much more severe and dangerous to his life. There he sat many days, i.e., a pretty long time. (Barnes’ Notes)

Jer 37:16 [Dungeon] literally, house of a cistern or pit, and evidently underground. In this cistern-like excavation were several cells or arched vaults, in one of which with little light and less ventilation Jeremiah remained a long time. (Barnes' Notes)

Jer 37:17-21 Bible Text 17 Zedekiah the king sent and brought him out; and the king asked him secretly in his house, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said there is! And he said also, you shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 18 Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, In what have I sinned against you or against your servants or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, the king of Babylon shall not come against you or against this land? 20 Therefore hear now, I pray you, O my lord the king. Let my supplication, I pray you, come before you and be acceptable, that you do not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard, and a round loaf of bread from the bakers' street was given to him daily until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained [imprisoned] in the court of the guard. AMP

37:17 Despite his imprisonment, Zedekiah continues to ask him for prophetic oracles. In contrast to his brother Jehoiakim, Zedekiah was apparently a supporter of alliance with Babylonia, but his weak position as a regent appointed by the Babylonians in place of the legitimate king Jehoiachin prevented him from stopping the revolt. 21: Zedekiah grants Jeremiah’s request for mercy by placing him in the prison compound and giving him a daily loaf of bread. In a situation of siege, food supplies would eventually be exhausted. Jewish Study Bible

Jeremiah 37:21 37:21. courtyard of the guard. See the comment on Jer 32:8 for this minimum- security area where Jeremiah was next confined. 37:21. Street of the bakers. Several references in the prophets suggest that the city of Jerusalem had market and manufacturing districts (see Isa 7:3—fullers; Jer 18:2—potters).

Similar establishments are mentioned in the Egyptian Teachings of Khety, which describe a weaver's shop where workers were confined to an airless room all day. The courtyard of the guard was located near the palace (Jer 32:2), and thus the street of the bakers must have been near by. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament) 37:21: Zedekiah grants Jeremiah’s request for mercy by placing him in the prison compound and giving him a daily loaf of bread. In a situation of siege, food supplies would eventually be exhausted. [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 37:16-21 In the preceding sentence the prison of the prophet is somewhat minutely described, in order to prepare us for the request that follows in (v. 20). Jeremiah was in a beeyt-bowr, "house of a pit," (cf. Exodus 12:29), i.e., a subterranean prison in stocks to which the prisoners were fastened. - The king questioned him baceeter (OT: 5643), "in secret," namely, through fear of his ministers and court-officers, who were prejudiced against the prophet; perhaps also in the hope of receiving in a private interview a message from God of more favorable import. To the question of the king, "Is there any word from Jahveh?" Jeremiah replies in the affirmative; but the word of God is this, "Thou shalt be given into the hand of the king of Babylon," just as Jeremiah had previously announced to him; cf. Jer 32:4; 34:3. –

Jeremiah took this opportunity of complaining about his imprisonment, saying:

(v. 18), "In what have I sinned against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?” V. 19. And where are your prophets, who prophesied to you, the king of Babylon shall not come against you, or against this land?

Jeremiah appeals to his perfect innocence (v. 18), and to the confirmation of his prediction by its event. The interview with the king took place when the Chaldeans, after driving the Egyptians out of the country, had recommenced the siege of Jerusalem, and, as is evident from (v. 21), were pressing the city very hard. The question, Where are your prophets? Means, Let these prophets come forward and vindicate their lying prophecies. Not what these men had prophesied, but what Jeremiah had declared had come to pass; his imprisonment, accordingly, was unjust. – Besides thus appealing to his innocence, Jeremiah, (v. 20), entreats the king, "Let my supplication come before thee, and do not send me back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there."

The king granted this request. "He commanded, and they put Jeremiah into the court of the watch of the royal palace, (see on 32:2), and gave him a loaf of bread daily out of the bakers' street, till all the bread in the city was consumed;" (cf. 52:6). The king did not give him his liberty, because Jeremiah held to his views that were so distasteful to the king (see on 32:3). "So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard." (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

TIME FOR REFLECTION: What lessons have we learned so far from the study of the book of Jeremiah?

1. The King is to have a copy of the Law and to read it daily to properly guide the people. In Deuteronomy 17:18-20 “And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of which is before the

priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.” 2. The King lost the copy of the Law and so he and those that followed did not only fail to read it daily but completely forgot what it said. In Judges 17:6 it gives the frame of mind of the people, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Even those this scripture was be fore King’s were installed, the words fit. 3. We read in 2 Kings 17:8-11 and I think that 2 Kings 17:16 say’s it best “And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.” 4. Then in 2 Kings 22:8 a copy of the Law was found. “And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord….” Then the King Josiah heard it read and the King rent his clothes. Ref. 2 Kings 22:10, 11. 5. We find as we study Jeremiah that King Josiah tried to bring reformation to his people and to turn them back from there path of destruction. But the people would not totally follow God and so we find after Josiah that it went from bad to worse. 6. Jeremiah tried for years to turn the people back from Idolatry to the worship of the Lord, but all of his efforts failed and so judgment came as God had promised.

The Bible teaches us that ‘All Scripture is given to us for our learning and our help.’ So this study in the book of Jeremiah is also to teach us more than just a history lesson about the nation of Israel. If we can only take the time to see the lessons. Paul the Learner

Questions 1. What if we through the process of education today, can’t read very well? 2. What if because of the problem of understanding get away from the Word of God to opinions? 3. What if we want only good things said and not warnings of judgment for disobedience? 4. What if we can’t and don’t want the deep things of God taught to us? 5. What if, [even though there are modern translations to help us understand better] the Bible is not read and only gathers dust? 6. What if educated so called theologians tell us that the Bible is wrong and that Jesus was only a man and because we can’t read Hebrew or Greek, we believe them? 7. What if because of all these things listed above we fail to believe God and believe that we are ok and that God will just let us in because we are a member of a church?

I know that these are hard questions, but I have found that people many times will say ‘I can’t understand the Scriptures’ and so they don’t even try. I have tried to put the Scriptures before you in all of these Bible studies and give you some understanding of them, you may agree or even disagree with what I teach, but you will have studied the Word and that’s important. Paul the Learner