1.
And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words,
2.
Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:
2. Azariah—the author of the
project of going into Egypt; a very different man from the Azariah in
Babylon (Daniel 1:7; Daniel 3:12-18).
proud—Pride is the
parent of disobedience and contempt of God.
3.
But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.
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.
4.
So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah.
5.
But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;
5. remnant . . . returned from all
nations— (Jeremiah 40:11;
Jeremiah 40:12).
6.
Even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.
6. the king's daughters—Zedekiah's
(Jeremiah 41:10).
7.
So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
7. Tahpanhes—(See on ); Daphne on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, near Pelusium.
They naturally came to it first, being on the frontier of Egypt,
towards Palestine.
8.
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9.
Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;
9. stones—to be laid as the
foundation beneath Nebuchadnezzar's throne ().
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.
And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.
10. my servant—God often makes
one wicked man or nation a scourge to another (Ezekiel 29:18;
Ezekiel 29:19; Ezekiel 29:20).
royal pavilion—the rich
tapestry (literally, "ornament") which hung round the
throne from above.
11.
And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.
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 Jeremiah 43:1).
12.
And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.
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.— Isaiah 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.
He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
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" (); 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 ; Ezekiel 29:13.
shall he burn—Here the
act is attributed to Nebuchadnezzar, the instrument, which in
Jeremiah 43:12 is attributed to
God. If even the temples be not spared, much less private houses.