Jeremiah 43 commentary

JEREMIAH 43 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 When Jeremiah had finished telling the people
all the words of the Lord their God—everything
the Lord had sent him to tell them—
BARNES 1-3, "These captains belonged to the party who had all along resisted
Jeremiah’s counsels, and had led Zedekiah astray. Now however that events had proved
that the prophet’s counsels had been wise and true, they cannot for shame find fault with
him, but they affirm that he is under the influence of Baruch, a traitor who has sold
himself to the Chaldaeans, and seeks only the hurt of the people.
These captains belonged to the party who had all along resisted Jeremiah’s counsels,
and had led Zedekiah astray. Now however that events had proved that the prophet’s
counsels had been wise and true, they cannot for shame find fault with him, but they
affirm that he is under the influence of Baruch, a traitor who has sold himself to the
Chaldaeans, and seeks only the hurt of the people.
GILL, "And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of
speaking unto all the people,.... The princes and the people, the whole body of them,
who had desired the prophet to seek the Lord for them, and whom he called together to
relate his answer, and declare his will; see Jer_42:1; they heard him out, and that was as
much as they did; for as soon as he had done, they rose up and contradicted him:
however, he faithfully declared
all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God sent him to
them, even all the words; which are related in the preceding chapter, which were the
words of the Lord, and so ought to have been regarded; and the rather, as they were the
words of their God, whom they professed, and which he had sent his prophet to declare
unto them; and who had kept back nothing, but had made known the whole; he had told
the truth, and nothing but the truth, and all the truth.
HENRY, "What God said to the builders of Babel may be truly said of this people that
Jeremiah is now dealing with: Now nothing will be restrained from them which they
have imagined to do, Gen_11:6. They have a fancy for Egypt, and to Egypt they will go,
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whatever God himself says to the contrary. Jeremiah made them hear all he had to say,
though he saw them uneasy at it; it was what the Lord their God had sent him to speak
to them, and they shall have it all. And now let us see what they have to say to it.
JAMISON, "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.
K&D 1-3, "The march of the people to Egypt. - When Jeremiah had thus ended all
the words which the Lord had announced to him for the people, then came forward
Azariah (probably an error for Jezaniah, see on Jer_42:1) the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan
the son of Kareah, and the rest of the insolent men, and said to Jeremiah, "Thou dost
utter falsehood; Jahveh our God hath not sent thee unto us, saying, Ye must not go to
Egypt to sojourn there; Jer_43:3. But Baruch the son of Neriah inciteth thee against us,
in order to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and to take us captive to
Babylon." ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ְ‫מ‬ֹ‫א‬ is not the predicate to ‫ים‬ ִ‫ָשׁ‬‫נ‬ֲ‫א‬ ָ‫ל־ה‬ָ‫,כּ‬ but forms a resumption of ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ַיּאמ‬ ,
with which it thus serves to connect its object, Jeremiah, and from which it would
otherwise be pretty far removed. Azariah (or, more correctly, Jezaniah) occupies the last
place in the enumeration of the captains, Jer_40:8, and in Jer_42:1 is also named after
Johanan, who is the only one specially mentioned, in what follows, as the leader on the
march. From this we may safely conclude that Jezaniah was the chief speaker and the
leader of the opposition against the prophet. To avoid any reference to the promise they
had made to obey the will of God, they declare that Jeremiah's prophecy is an untruth,
which had been suggested to him, not by God, but by his attendant Baruch, with the
view of delivering up the people to the Chaldeans.
CALVIN, "Here the Prophet proceeds with the remaining part of the narrative. He
says that the whole people obstinately persevered in their wicked design, so that he
effected nothing by his warning and protest. Now this stupidity of the people was
monstrous; for they had found out by experience the fidelity of the Prophet for
many years; and further, they had gone to him because they believed that he was a
faithful and an approved servant of God. He had not merely answered them in
God’s name, but as he knew their hardness, he added protestations which might
have moved even stones. But he addressed the deaf; and it hence appears that they
were wholly fascinated by the devil. And thus let us learn not to mock God, nor
bring a double heart when we inquire as to his will, but to suffer ourselves to be
ruled by his word.
COFFMAN, "Verse 1
JEREMIAH 43
JUDAH MOVES TO EGYPT; TAKING JEREMIAH AND BARUCH
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This is a tragic chapter indeed. "Think of it! Abraham's descendants returned to
Egypt long after their liberation from it. With great suffering they had been
delivered from their bondage in Egypt, only to return nearly nine hundred years
later a defeated, hopeless remnant!"[1]
There is probably nowhere to be found a better comment upon the incredible
blindness of human politicians than the one afforded by this chapter.
The chapter divisions are: (1) Judah's leaders reject God's word (Jeremiah 43:1-4);
(2) Jeremiah and Baruch taken to Egypt (Jeremiah 43:5-7); (3) Prophecy of
conquest of Egypt (Jeremiah 43:8-11); and (4) Prophecy against the gods of Egypt
(Jeremiah 43:12-13).
Jeremiah 43:1-4
JUDAH'S LEADERS REJECT GOD'S WORD
"And it came to pass that when Jeremiah had made an end to speaking unto all the
people all the words of Jehovah their God, wherewith Jehovah their God had sent
him unto them, even all these words, then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and
Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou
speakest falsely: Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Ye shall not go into
Egypt to sojourn there; but Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, to
deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry
us away captive to Babylon. So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of
the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of Jehovah, to dwell in the land of
Judah."
"And all the proud men ..." (Jeremiah 43:2). The two prominent leaders, Azariah
and Johanan, were backed up by a group of men, called here "the proud men." The
versions provide further insight into the meaning of these words: "the insolent
men" (Revised Standard Version); "the arrogant men" (the Good News Bible).
They were the bold and confident unbelievers who constituted the vast majority of
that apostate generation of the Chosen People, having no regard whatever, either
for Almighty God, or God's prophets.
We do not believe that there was anything whatever in the allegations of those
Jewish leaders of either truth or probability. For example, their suggestion that
Baruch was the author of Jeremiah's prophecies here was an outright falsehood.
What a preposterous proposition it was that, "The prophet who would not trim his
message for the king himself would have allowed himself to be manipulated by his
secretary!"[2]
"All the people obeyed not ..." (Jeremiah 43:4) The insolent, loud-mouthed,
arrogant, and confident claims of the false leaders quickly swept away all objections
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to their policies; and they proceeded at once to Egypt. Jeremiah did not defend
himself against the charge of prophesying a falsehood, but trusted in the future to
reveal who was true and who was false.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 43:1 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,
Ver. 1. And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end, &c.] See here
how wicked men, and hypocrites especially, grow worse and worse, deceiving and
being deceived. Balaam being resolved to curse, however, went not as at other times
but set his face toward the wilderness. [Numbers 24:1-2] Now he would build no
more altars, but curse whatever came of it; so would these refractories, without
God’s good leave, go down to Egypt, putting it to the venture. Jeremiah’s sweet
words were even lost upon them.
PETT, "Verses 1-7
The People Of Judah And Their Leaders Reject The Word Of YHWH And Seek
Refuge In Egypt (Jeremiah 43:1-7).
Even as Jeremiah had been giving to the people ‘the word of YHWH’ he had
recognised from their reaction that they were going to reject it. And so it proved. A
group of ‘proud men’, which included the leaders of the people, came to Jeremiah
and accused him of prophesying at the behest of Baruch, the son of Neriah, who had
been Jeremiah’s amanuensis and was a man of high standing. And they then
subsequently sought refuge in Egypt, in the border town of Tahpanes. This had
clearly always been their intention, whatever word from YHWH Jeremiah brought
them. So once again Judah proved itself unwilling to obey the voice of YHWH.
We must not underestimate the significance of this event. YHWH had made a clear
offer to Judah to re-establish it in accordance with His promises in Jeremiah 31:28,
by ‘building it and planting it’. This was thus an open and direct rejection of the
new covenant. It will be noted that they did not attack Jeremiah directly. They did
so through Baruch, suggesting that Jeremiah’s influence over many of the people
was still large. By this means they justified to themselves their disobedience to the
word of YHWH. How easily we can find ourselves doing the same thing. We do not
directly refuse to obey God. Instead we find some way of arguing our way round
what He demands in order to justify our own position.
Jeremiah 43:1
‘And it came about that, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking to all the
people all the words of YHWH their God, with which YHWH their God had sent
him to them, even all these words,’
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Note the emphasis on the fact that Jeremiah had brought to them the word of
‘YHWH THEIR God’ (repeated twice), and that they had listened while he
pronounced the whole. It was a momentous situation. Judah were once more being
faced up to the question as to whether they were truly willing to respond to YHWH
as THEIR God by obeying His word through Jeremiah, as they had solemnly
promised to do (Jeremiah 42:2-5).
2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of
Kareah and all the arrogant men said to
Jeremiah, “You are lying! The Lord our God has
not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to
settle there.’
CLARKE, "Thou speakest falsely - They had no other color for their rebellion
than flatly to deny that God had spoken what the prophet related.
GILL, "Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah,.... Perhaps the same with
Jezaniah, or a brother of his, Jer_42:1; he is mentioned first, it may be, because he was
the contriver of this scheme to go into Egypt, advised unto it, and was most for it it. The
Septuagint and Arabic versions call him the son of Maaseiah;
and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men; the great men among
them, who are commonly proud of their greatness; of their descent, family and blood; of
their wealth and riches, and posts of honour; perhaps the captains of the forces are
meant, who elsewhere are mentioned along with Johanan, Jer_40:13; these were men
full of themselves, had a high opinion of their own wisdom, and were prudent in their
own eyes; and could not bear to be contradicted or advised by the prophet, nor even by
the Lord himself; and are justly, by the Targum, called wicked men; and so the Syriac
version renders it; their pride was the cause of their rebellion against God, and
disobedience to him, and of their ungenteel and insolent behaviour to the prophet
saying unto Jeremiah, thou speakest falsely: or, "a lie" (e); it being contrary to
their minds: so the prophets of the Lord, the ministers of the word, and even the word of
God itself, are charged with falsehoods, when contrary to men's sentiments and lusts;
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the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, go not into Egypt to sojourn
there; they did not care to own it was the word of the Lord, Whatever convictions of it
they had in their minds; because they would not openly appear to be fighters against
God, whom they professed to be their God; but deny that the prophet was sent by him
with any such message to them; when they had all the reason to believe by former
prophecies, which had had their fulfilment, that Jeremiah was a true prophet of the
Lord, and that he had acted a very faithful part in the present affair: they themselves had
sent him to the Lord to pray for them; he had done so, and the Lord had returned an
answer by him; of which they had no reason to doubt, but their pride would not allow
them to receive it.
HENRY 2-3, "They deny it to be a message from God: Johanan, and all the proud
men, said to Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely, Jer_43:2. See here, 1. What was the cause
of their disobedience - it was pride; only by that comes contention both with God and
man. They were proud men that gave the lie to the prophet. They could not bear the
contradiction of their sentiments and the control of their designs, no, not by the divine
wisdom, by the divine will itself. Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey him?
Exo_5:2. The proud unhumbled heart of man is one of the most daring enemies God has
on this side hell. 2. What was the colour for their disobedience. They would not
acknowledge it to be the word of God: The Lord hath not sent thee on this errand to us.
Either they were not convinced that what was said came from God or (which I rather
think) though they were convinced of it they would not own it. The light shone strongly
in their face, but they either shut their eyes against it or would not confess that they saw
it. Note, The reason why men deny the scriptures to be the word of God is because they
are resolved not to conform to scripture-rules, and so an obstinate infidelity is made the
sorry subterfuge of a wilful disobedience. If God had spoken to them by an angel, or as
he did from Mount Sinai, they would have said that it was a delusion. Had they not
consulted Jeremiah as a prophet? Had he not waited to receive instructions from God
what to say to them? Had not what he said all the usual marks of prophecy upon it? Was
not the prophet himself embarked in the same bottom with them? What interests could
he have separate from theirs? Had he not always approved himself an Israelite indeed?
And had not God proved him a prophet indeed? Had any of his words ever fallen to the
ground? Why, truly, they had some good thoughts of Jeremiah, but they suggest (Jer_
43:3), Baruch sets thee on against us. A likely thing, that Baruch should be in a plot to
deliver them into the hands of the Chaldeans; and what would he get by that? If
Jeremiah and he had been so well affected to the Chaldeans as they would represent
them, they would have gone away at first with Nebuzaradan, when he courted them, to
Babylon, and not have staid to take their lot with this despised ungrateful remnant. But
the best services are no fences against malice and slander. Or, if Baruch had been so ill
disposed, could they think Jeremiah would be so influenced by him as to make God's
name an authority to patronise so villainous a purpose? Note, Those that are resolved to
contradict the great ends of the ministry are industrious to bring a bad name upon it.
When men will persist in sin they represent those that would turn them from it as
designing men for themselves, nay, as ill-designing men against their neighbours. It is
well for persons who are thus misrepresented that their witness is in heaven and their
record on high.
JAMISON, "Azariah — the author of the project of going into Egypt; a very different
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man from the Azariah in Babylon (Dan_1:7; Dan_3:12-18).
proud — Pride is the parent of disobedience and contempt of God.
K&D 1-3, "The march of the people to Egypt. - When Jeremiah had thus ended all
the words which the Lord had announced to him for the people, then came forward
Azariah (probably an error for Jezaniah, see on Jer_42:1) the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan
the son of Kareah, and the rest of the insolent men, and said to Jeremiah, "Thou dost
utter falsehood; Jahveh our God hath not sent thee unto us, saying, Ye must not go to
Egypt to sojourn there; Jer_43:3. But Baruch the son of Neriah inciteth thee against us,
in order to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and to take us captive to
Babylon." ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ְ‫מ‬ֹ‫א‬ is not the predicate to ‫ים‬ ִ‫ָשׁ‬‫נ‬ֲ‫א‬ ָ‫ל־ה‬ָ‫,כּ‬ but forms a resumption of ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ַיּאמ‬ ,
with which it thus serves to connect its object, Jeremiah, and from which it would
otherwise be pretty far removed. Azariah (or, more correctly, Jezaniah) occupies the last
place in the enumeration of the captains, Jer_40:8, and in Jer_42:1 is also named after
Johanan, who is the only one specially mentioned, in what follows, as the leader on the
march. From this we may safely conclude that Jezaniah was the chief speaker and the
leader of the opposition against the prophet. To avoid any reference to the promise they
had made to obey the will of God, they declare that Jeremiah's prophecy is an untruth,
which had been suggested to him, not by God, but by his attendant Baruch, with the
view of delivering up the people to the Chaldeans.
CALVIN, "Now he says, that when he had finished speaking to the whole people, as
God had commanded, then John the son of Kareah, and Azariah the son of
Hoshaiah, being the first among them, spoke against him. As to Azariah, we cannot
know with any certainty what he was. But we have here in John the son of Kareah
an example deserving of notice. We have seen that he was a bold, wise, and prudent
man, and also of an upright mind. In short, when we consider what the Prophet has
before said of him, we cannot but think he was by nature a heroic man; nay, when
he is compared with Gedaliah, who, at the same time, was an excellent man, and
whom the Prophet has adorned with high commendations, he yet far excelled him.
Gedaliah, indeed, had a kind disposition, he was courageous in protecting the
people, he was a man of integrity; and, besides, he was a father to the people, and so
conducted himself when things were in a hopeless state, that, beyond the expectation
of all, he gathered together the remnant of the people; and we have also seen that by
his efforts the Prophet had been delivered from instant death. But John the son of
Kareah had been a remarkable helper to him, having come to him of his own
accord, and offered to him his assistance; and further, he faithfully and prudently
warned him to beware of the perfidy of that unprincipled man, by whom he was
afterwards killed. Gedaliah fell through extreme credulity. John, then, the son of
Kareah, had a greater appearance of excellency than Gedaliah had exhibited. But
what does the Spirit of God now declare respecting him and his associates? They are
said to have been proud and obstinate. We hence see that some men excel in
greatness of mind, and are yet of a refractory disposition; and this is for the most
part the case during’ a disturbed state of things. For some come forth wonderfully
7

courageous; but when things do not fall in with their wishes, they become ferocious
and rebel against God and men, and besides, they will never bear to be brought
under submission. Such, then, was John the son of Kareah: at one time he
manifested extraordinary virtue, but at length it appeared what he really was.
The Prophet, with the authority of a judge, declares that he and his associates were
proud: then Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and John the son of Kareah, and all the
proud men, said, A falsehood dost thou speak. This was extremely insolent and
reproachful; for they had lately testified that they regarded Jeremiah as God’s
faithful servant, and that they would receive whatever he might bring as God’s true
oracle; but now they charge him with falsehood! how great was this presumption!
But it hence appears how deep and various, and how tortuous are the recesses which
are in the hearts of men; for at one time they announce honied words, and
afterwards they utter nothing’ but virulence. So from the same mouth, as it were,
almost in the same moment, comes forth what is sweet; and what is bitter.
Let us hence learn that the heart of man is full of every kind of deceit, until it be
cleansed by the Spirit of God. We also see, when once impiety boils up, to what
extremes it will proceed; for these men were not only insolent and reproachful
towards Jeremiah, but also towards God himself. And they did not now make
evasions as before, nor did they raise objections; but they openly raved against the
Prophet. Thus hypocrisy has indeed for a time its coverings, but when the ungodly
are urged by God, then they observe no bounds: Thou speakest what is false
COKE, "Jeremiah 43:2. Azariah—and all the proud men— That is, all those who
refused to obey the commands of the Almighty. The Hebrew word ‫זדים‬ zeidiim,
signifies pride, insolence, temerity, self-conceit. The greater part of those who
composed the company led on by Johanan, answered this character.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 43:2 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:
Ver. 2. Then spake Azariah.] See on Jeremiah 42:1.
And all the proud men.] Pride is the root of rebellion. See Jeremiah 13:15. These
men’s pride budded, {as Ezekiel 7:10} and as the leprosy, brake forth in their
foreheads. See Hosea 7:1. {See Trapp on "Hosea 7:1"}
Saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely.] By this foul aspersion, not proven at
all, they seek to discredit his prophecy, like as the Jews do to this day the New
Testament, and the Papists the Book of Martyrs and other monuments of the
Church, saying of them, So many lines, so many lies.
PETT, "Jeremiah 43:2-3
8

‘Then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all
the arrogant men, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely. YHWH our God has not
sent you to say, “You shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there but Baruch the son of
Neriah set you on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they
may put us to death, and carry us away captive to Babylon.”
Up to this point Johanan had been the prominent one but now the leadership is
taken by Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, who may have been the brother of the
Jezaniah mentioned in Jeremiah 42:1, or may indeed be identical with him. (It was
not unusual for people to have two names. Some, however, see one of the names as
being a copying error, but there is no reason why this should be so, although LXX
sees it that way). This may have been because Azariah was the leader of the
discontented party, or because in governmental matters he held precedence over the
military leaders. The ‘arrogant/proud men’ were those whose self-pride made them
exalt themselves against YHWH, they were the ‘discontents’. It may simply be a way
of describing the whole attitude of the group of leading men.
They came as a group to Jeremiah and informed him that in their view he was
speaking falsely, and not bringing them the word of YHWH at all. They refused to
believe that YHWH had commanded them not to go to Egypt. It may be significant
that they altered what Jeremiah had actually said, replacing ‘al (not at this time)
with lo (not at all). This has ever been the method of the deceiver of men, right from
the time of his activity in the Plain of Eden.
Indeed they claimed that he had simply been influenced by Baruch, the son of
Neriah, his former amanuensis and assistant (Jeremiah 32:12-16; Jeremiah 36:4-32),
who was also with the party (Jeremiah 43:6). Baruch was clearly a man from an
influential family, and an aristocrat, who undoubtedly owed his freedom to the fact
that he had been Jeremiah’s close supporter (his brother Seraiah had been
transported to Babylon (Jeremiah 51:59) and was designated as a ‘prince’ or
‘noble’). He is rebuked elsewhere for a certain tendency to seek greatness and
influence (Jeremiah 45:5), a danger for us all. This may suggest that unlike
Jeremiah he had taken advantage of Nebuchadrezzar’s goodwill to further himself
and his ambitions, something for which he had to be rebuked. In Jewish tradition he
is depicted as the author of the apocryphal book of Baruch, and is portrayed as
having lived in Babylon for a period, and as having had influence there, although
we must remember that that book might have arisen directly as a result of what is
written here. However that might be, Jeremiah is being accused of being influenced
by Baruch with a view to Nebuchadrezzar being able to gain his revenge on them.
The words bear all the marks of being an excuse, but they do indicate how sure they
were that Nebuchadrezzar would seek to do just that.
Of course most of them had for a long period in the past been prejudiced against
Jeremiah, considering him to be a false prophet. Thus in spite of the fact that what
he had prophesied came true, and that he had refused to go to Babylon and had
remained among them, there was that within them that would always hold Jeremiah
9

in suspicion of being a Babylonian collaborator
3 But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against
us to hand us over to the Babylonians,[a] so they
may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.”
GILL, "But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us,.... First they
charge the prophet with a lie, and deny his mission from the Lord; and now to lessen the
prophet's crime they charged him with, they lay the blame on Baruch, as if he, out of ill
will to them, had instigated the prophet to deliver such a message; which is not at all
likely, that he should be prevailed upon by a younger person, and his secretary, to take
such a step: nor can it be thought that Baruch should have any interest to serve by it;
and, besides, both he and the prophet were too good men, the one to instigate, and the
other to be instigated, to declare a falsehood in the name of the Lord. The end proposed,
they suggest, was
for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to
death, and carry us away captives into Babylon; either that he or the prophet
might deliver them into the hands of the Chaldeans, to be put to death by them, or be
carried captive; which is not at all probable, it being inconsistent with that piety and
humanity which were conspicuous in them both, and with their conduct, who chose
rather to abide in their own land, with this small and despicable handful of people, than
to go and live in the court of Babylon, where good care would have been taken of them.
JAMISON, "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.
CALVIN, "They afterwards throw the blame on Baruch, who had been the
Prophet’s faithful servant. As they could not find out any reason why Jeremiah
should speak falsely, they turned their fury against Baruch. They did not then spare
Jeremiah for honor’s sake, but as they had no reason whatever to speak evil of him,
they fixed the blame on Baruch, who yet was as innocent as Jeremiah. Baruch, they
said, excites thee against us Had Jeremiah so prophesied through the influence of
10

another, yet his crime might have been at least extenuated. Now they said that he
was mendacious, and brought forth nothing but impositions; but the ungodly do not
regard what they say, for the devil drives them on headlong. And they charged
Baruch with a very groat crime, that he wished to betray them to the Chaldeans,
and then to expose them to slaughter, and to deliver them that they might be driven
into exile. All this would have been the greatest cruelty.: But then if we consider
what sort of man Baruch had been, and how innocently he had conducted himself,
how he had endangered his life in defending the true worship of God and prophetic
doctrine, there was surely no reason for loading him with so great a reproach.
But we see that God’s servants have been always exposed to extreme reproaches,
even when they have exhibited the greatest integrity. If then, at this day, we hear of
evil reports, after having labored to act uprightly, it ought not to appear to us a
hard or a new thing to bear them with patience. We must, indeed, do what we can to
stop the mouths of the malevolent and the wicked; nor ought we to give occasion, as
Paul admonishes us, to the malignant. But when we have done our duty faithfully, if
yet dogs bark at us, if we be loaded with many reproaches and crimes, let us learn
patiently to endure them. This, then, ought to be done by us, since we see that
Baruch was accused of extreme perfidy and cruelty.
What now had Baruch to do with the Chaldeans? Had he fled to them? Was he
anxious to gain influence for himself? or to procure favor for himself? There was no
such thing; he always followed Jeremiah wherever he went. Jeremiah had indeed
obtained some favor; but this was to be attributed to the gratuitous kindness of God.
Baruch, then, had got leave from the Chaldeans to remain with the Prophet; for the
condition of both was the same. But yet he had not followed the Chaldeans, when his
option was given to him. For when the Chaldeans offered quietness and rest to
Jeremiah, Baruch might have also gone to that fertile country; but he chose to
remain in the land. We hence see that he had removed from himself every suspicion,
and yet he could not stop the mouths of the malevolent, but they slandered and.
calumniated him. Let us then know that God’s servants prove their firmness and
constancy, when they are assailed on every side by the calumnies of men, and yet are
satisfied with the testimony of their own conscience, and go on in their course, and
look forward to the judgment of God, and care not what men think or speak,
provided God approves of them, and is their judge in heaven.
COKE, "Jeremiah 43:3. Baruch, the son of Neriah— They would not directly
accuse Jeremiah of partiality towards, or confederacy with the Chaldeans, as his
enemies had done formerly, chap. Jeremiah 37:13 but they lay the blame upon
Baruch, whom they knew to be an intimate companion of Jeremiah, and to have
been kindly used by the Chaldeans upon his account. Houbigant renders the last
clause of the verse, That he may devote us to death, or that we may be carried away.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 43:3 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.
11

Ver. 3. But Baruch, the son of Neriah, setteth thee on against us.] A likely matter.
What should Baruch gain by that? but malice careth not how truly or rationally it
speaketh or acteth, so it may gall or kill Jeremiah and Baruch must be said to be in
league together, and to collude for a common disturbance, like as the Papists say
Luther and Zuinglius did; whereas they knew nothing one of another for a long time
after that they began to stickle against Popery in several climates; and when they
did hear of one another, they differed exceedingly, in the doctrine of the sacrament
especially.
PULPIT, "Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on. A singular supposition—
Jeremiah leaving the initiative to his secretary! It may be conjectured that Baruch
had somehow made himself specially unpopular; he may have been a more practical
man (comp. Jeremiah 45:5) than Jeremiah.
4 So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army
officers and all the people disobeyed the Lord’s
command to stay in the land of Judah.
BARNES, "All the people - Many, nevertheless, would be unwilling agents,
compelled to do what their unscrupulous leaders forced upon the community.
GILL, "So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and
all the people,.... The generality of them, at least, all agreed together, were of the same
mind, and in the same sentiment and practice: and so
obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah; it was the
command of the Lord they should dwell there, and not go into Egypt; but they would not
believe this was the voice of the Lord, only a scheme concerted between the prophet and
Baruch; or which the former was instigated to deliver as the word of the Lord by the
latter, and therefore would not give heed unto it; though the truth of the matter was, it
was contrary to their inclination and resolution, and therefore, though they had reason
to believe it was the will of God they should abide in their own land, yet they were
determined they would not, but go into Egypt, as they, did.
HENRY 4-7, "They determine to go to Egypt notwithstanding. They resolve not to
12

dwell in the land of Judah, as God had ordered them (Jer_43:4), but to go themselves
with one consent and to take all that they had under their power along with them to
Egypt. Those that came from all the nations whither they had been driven, to dwell in
the land of Judah, out of a sincere affection to that land, they would not leave to their
liberty, but forced them to go with them into Egypt (Jer_43:5), men, women, and
children (Jer_43:6), a long journey into a strange country, an idolatrous country, a
country that had never been kind of faithful to Israel; yet thither they would go, though
they deserted their own land and threw themselves out of God's protection. It is the folly
of men that they know not when they are well off, and often ruin themselves by
endeavouring to better themselves; and it is the pride of great men to force those they
have under their power to follow them, though ever so much against their duty and
interest. These proud men compelled even Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch his scribe
to go along with them to Egypt; they carried them away as prisoners, partly to punish
them (and a greater punishment they could not inflict upon them than to force them
against their consciences; theirs is the worst of tyranny who say to men's souls, even to
good men's souls, Bow down, that we may go over), partly to put some reputation upon
themselves and their own way. Though the prophets were under a force, they would
make the world believe that they were voluntary in going along with them; and who
could have blamed them for acting contrary to the word of the Lord if the prophets
themselves had acted so? They came to Tahpanhes, a famous city of Egypt (so called
from a queen of that name, 1Ki_11:19), the same with Hanes (Isa_30:4); it was now the
metropolis, for Pharaoh's house was there, Jer_43:9. No place could serve these proud
men to settle in but the royal city and near the court, so little mindful were they of
Joseph's wisdom, who would have his brethren settle in Goshen. If they had had the
spirit of Israelites, they would have chosen rather to dwell in the wilderness of Judah
than in the most pompous populous cities of Egypt.
K&D 4-7, "Thereupon Johanan and the other captains took "all the remnant of
Judah, that had returned from all the nations whither they had been driven, to dwell in
the land of Judah-the men and women and children, the king's daughters, and all the
souls whom Nebuzaradan, chief of the body-guard, had committed to Gedaliah...and
Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah, - and went to the land of Egypt -
for they did not hearken to the voice of Jahveh - and came to Tahpanhes." In this
enumeration of those who were conducted to Egypt, Hitzig, Graf, and others distinguish
two classes: (1) the men, women, children, etc., who had been in Mizpah with Gedaliah,
and had been led to Gibeon, after the murder of the latter, by Ishmael, but had
afterwards been brought to Bethlehem by Johanan and the other captains (Jer_43:6, cf.
Jer_40:7; Jer_41:10, Jer_41:16); (2) those who had returned from the foreign countries
whither they had fled, but who had hitherto lived in the country, scattered here and
there, and who must have joined the company led by Johanan to Bethlehem during the
ten days of halt at that resting-place (Jer_43:5, cf. Jer_40:11-12). There is no
foundation, however, for this distinction. Neither in the present chapter is there
anything mentioned of those who had been dispersed through the land joining those
who had marched to Bethlehem; nor are the Jews who had returned from Moab,
Ammon, Edom, and other countries to their own home distinguished, in Jer 40 and 41,
as a different class from those who had been with Gedaliah in Mizpah; but on the other
hand, according to Jer_40:12, these returned Jews also came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and
gathered grapes and fruit. Besides, in these verses the distinction can only be made after
13

the insertion into the text of the conjunction ְ‫ו‬ before ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ָ‫ב‬ְ‫גּ‬ ַ‫ת־ה‬ ֶ‫.א‬ To "all the remnant of
Judah who had returned from the nations" belong the men, women, children, etc.,
whom Nebuzaradan had committed to the care of Gedaliah. The enumeration in Jer_
43:6 gives only one specification of the "whole remnant of Judah," as in Jer_41:16. "And
all the souls;" as if it were said, "and whoever else was still left alive;" cf. Jos_10:28.
Tahpanhes was a frontier town of Egypt on the Pelusian branch of the Nile, and named
Δάφναι by the Greeks; see on Jer_2:16. Here, on the borders of Egypt, a halt was made,
for the purpose of coming to further resolutions regarding their residence in that
country. Here, too, Jeremiah received a revelation from God regarding the fate now
impending on Egypt.
CALVIN, "The Prophet had sufficiently shewn that John the son of Kareah and the
rest had not in good faith inquired of the Prophet what the will of God was; for
when they saw that God’s counsel did not harmonize with their wicked and foolish
desire, they rose up against the Prophet. But he now more clearly condemns their
obstinacy in not obeying God; and it is said emphatically, that they did not obey the
voice of God, because they denied that God had spoken. Though then they sought to
evade, Jeremiah on the other hand declares, that he was a true interpreter of God’s
will, that he had announced nothing but what had come from God. He then brings
them all in as guilty, the leaders and the whole people, that no man might think it
strange that innocent men, willing to submit to God, were driven into Egypt. Hence
the Prophet shews here that they were all implicated in the same sin, since the
leaders alone did not resist the oracle, but also the whole people. It now follows,
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 43:4 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.
Ver. 4. So Johanan the son of Kareah, &c.] Nothing is more audacious and
desperate than a hypocrite when once discovered. Now these subdoli show
themselves in their colours, appear in their likeness, going on end with their work.
PETT, "Jeremiah 43:4
‘So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people,
did not obey the voice of YHWH, to dwell in the land of Judah.’
The consequence was that the commanders of the Judean forces, headed by
Johanan, together with ‘all the people’ (i.e. those present in the party) did not obey
YHWH’s voice. They refused to continue living in the land of Judah with the
constant threat of Nebuchadrezzar’s vengeance hanging over them. There is a
reminder here for all of us that before changing our whereabouts we should
consider the will of God.
14

5 Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the
army officers led away all the remnant of Judah
who had come back to live in the land of Judah
from all the nations where they had been
scattered.
BARNES, "All the remnant of Judah that were returned - In this way, the
utter depopulation of the land was completed. Thus was fulfilled the predictions of Jer_
24:8-10, and the sole hope of the nation now centered in the exiles at Babylon Jer_
24:5-7.
GILL, "But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces,....
Who were united in their resolution to go into Egypt, contrary to the declared will of
God:
took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations whither
they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; both such who were left in
the land, when the rest were carried captive into Babylon, more particularly mentioned
in Jer_43:6; and those, who upon the invasion of the land, and siege of Jerusalem, had
fled to other countries, but now were returned from thence, in order to settle in it;
having heard that a governor from among the Jews was appointed over it; as from Moab,
Ammon, Edom, and other countries; see Jer_40:11; these, some of their own accord,
others through persuasion, and others by force, went along with, or were taken and
carried by the above captains into Egypt.
JAMISON, "remnant ... returned from all nations — (Jer_40:11, Jer_40:12).
CALVIN, "The Prophet now gives us a narrative of what he had briefly touched
upon. He then says that John and the rest of the leaders took the remnant of the
people, who were there alive, and those who had returned from various countries;
for many had become fugitives among the Moabites and the Idumeans, when they
saw the city surrounded by the forces of King Nebuchadnezzar. Then they fled here
and there, as it usually happens, and waited for the issue of the war. But after
Nebuchadnezzar had departed, and a permission had been given to Gedaliah to
collect what remained of the people and to place them in cities and towns, many
returned into the land, now desolate; for they had dwelt with aliens, and had been
miserably treated. As then they could not settle out of their own land nor find any
15

quiet habitation, they returned, as it is usual with men reduced to want, who have
no settled dwelling. They then returned, that they might live under the protection of
Gedaliah.
Now the Prophet says, that they were taken by John and brought into.Egypt. This
then was the way in which they shewed their obstinacy. We hence see how
audacious must these leaders have been, that they hesitated not to go into Egypt,
though it was shewn to be a fatal step. There was not indeed at that time any army
of Nebuchadnezzar in Judea, though his vengeance might have been dreaded. And
then, having fled to: Egypt, they might have been ill-treated there, and not
hospitably received.: But we hence perceive, that when men once shake off the yoke
of God, they are hurried on by a diabolical madness, so that there is nothing
insurmountable to them. Had they been asked whether they acted rightly, they
might have raised a thousand arguments as excuses; but when they followed their
own propensity, they in a manner, so to speak, leaped over the clouds. Impiety then
is always full of rashness and audacity. But as we see that the ungodly thus rush
headlong into ruin, even when God pronounces a curse on their counsels and
proceedings, let us learn to take encouragement ever to obey God; for he promises a
joyful and blessed issue at all times when we follow the ways pointed out by him.
John then and the other leaders of the forces took the remnant of the people
And then he shews how little those exiles consulted their own good, who had
returned to dwell in the land of Judea; for they might have still rested in safety
among the nations who had in kindness received them; but in Egypt God soon
executed his judgments on the natives as well as on strangers. But they deserved
such a reward, because they preferred to obey the command of the perverse and
obstinate, rather than to obey the voice of God speaking by his Prophet.
COFFMAN, "THE RETURN OF JUDAH TO EGYPT
"But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the
remnant of Judah, that were returned from all the nations whither they had been
driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah; the men, and the women, and the children,
and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan 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. And they came into the land of Egypt;
for they obeyed not the voice of Jehovah: and they came unto Tahpanhes."
"Johanan... took all the remnant ... and Jeremiah... and Baruch... and came into the
land of Egypt ..." (Jeremiah 43:5-7). From this, it is certain that both Jeremiah and
his amanuensis Baruch were unwilling participants in this migration back to Egypt.
Tragic as this pitiful maneuver actually was, "It resulted in the fulfillment of
Jeremiah's prophecy that Jerusalem would be uninhabited (Jeremiah 24:8-10). This
migration to Egypt accomplished the utter de-population of the land; and the sole
hope of the nation was then (and afterward) centered in the Babylonian exiles."[3]
16

In the light of the unbelieving arrogance and conceit of that whole generation of
apostates, there was nothing whatever that God could have done with them, unless it
had been preceded by the sincere repentance and reformation of the people, that
being, according to all indications, an utterly impossible thing to have anticipated.
"Tahpanhes ..." (Jeremiah 43:7). This was an important fortified city on the eastern
Delta of the Nile, where Pharaoh had a summer home and some kind of an
administrative center. It seems to be the same place which Herodotus called
Daphnai, now thought to be the modern Tell-Defenneh, some 27 miles south-
southwest of Port Said.[4]
The immigrants probably stopped here in order to procure permission of Pharaoh
to enter Egypt, and to explore possible ways of making a living.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 43:5 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;
Ver. 5. But Johanan … took all the remnant of Judah.] Whose preservation had
been but a reservation to further mischief, a just punishment of their
incorrigibleness.
PETT, "Jeremiah 43:5-6
‘But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the
remnant of Judah, who were returned from all the nations where they had been
driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah, the men, and the women, and the children,
and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan 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,’
Thus the whole group, ‘the remnant of Judah’, decamped and set off for Egypt. It is
difficult to know how far the description of those who went with them takes in all
the inhabitants of Judah. The description certainly covers the men who were in the
various fighting groups who had been guerillas, no doubt along with their families,
(they would see themselves as liable to retribution), together with former refugees
who had returned to Judah and could be seen as there ‘without permission’
(Jeremiah 40:11). And it includes all who had been living in Mizpah under the
protection of Gedaliah, who could be seen as liable to suspicion, especially daughters
of the royal house who could be made an example of. And it includes Jeremiah and
Baruch who were probably forced to go with them (even though they may have been
quite willing to go so as to cater to the spiritual needs of the people) . But there
would be many elsewhere in Judah who had survived the invasion, and among them
would be many of ‘the poor of the land’ to whom Nebuzaradan had given land who
were no doubt scattered throughout Judah (Jeremiah 39:10). None of them had
much to fear from Nebuchadrezzar’s reprisals. Thus the land may well have
17

remained fairly well populated, as in fact is required by the fact that when
Nebuchadrezzar did arrive he was able to take into exile 745 of the leading men in
Judah (Jeremiah 51:30), no doubt with their families.
PULPIT, "All the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations. The
specification is peculiar, as it seems to leave out of sight the most important part of
the gathering at Mizpah, via. the "men, and women, and children, and those of the
poor of the land" (Jeremiah 40:7)—the very persons who are mentioned just
afterwards. Possibly there is some confusion in the text. "All nations" doubtless
means especially Moab, Ammon, and Edom.
6 They also led away all those whom Nebuzaradan
commander of the imperial guard had left with
Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan—the
men, the women, the children and the king’s
daughters. And they took Jeremiah the prophet
and Baruch son of Neriah along with them.
CLARKE, "Men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters - See
the note on Jer_41:10 (note). It is truly surprising that the Chaldeans should have left
behind any of the royal family of Judah! But,
1. Perhaps they knew not there were any.
2. If they did know, they might think, being children of concubines, they could not
inherit. Or,
3. That being females, they were not eligible. And they had taken care to seize all
Zedekiah’s sons, and slay them before his eyes.
GILL, "Even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters,....
This, according to the supplement of our version, explains who they were that were
taken and had into Egypt, persons of every sex, age, and rank; though rather these words
18

design and describe persons distinct from the former, that came out of other countries;
see Jer_41:10;
and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan: even the poor of the land to till
it; and to whom he gave fields and vineyards, and committed them to the care and
government of Gedaliah, when the rest were carried captive to Babylon; and now these,
in some sort, may be said to be carried captive by their own brethren into Egypt:
and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah; whom they forced
with them, partly to punish them, and partly to give countenance to their conduct; but
not without the will of God, who so ordered it in his providence, that they might have the
prophet with then, to reprove them for their sins, and warn them of their danger and
ruin, and so leave them inexcusable.
CALVIN, "The Prophet also mentions particularly who they were; they were men
and women and children Some render the last word “puberty,” which I do not
approve, since Scripture speaks thus of children. Then John and his associates took
childhood, or children; and he adds, the daughters of the king We have before
inquired who these daughters of the king were: the probability is that they were his
daughters by his concubines; and that they had been put in some safe place, so that
if any great evil happened, they might not fall into the hands of enemies. Then these
daughters of the king had returned with the other exiles, but were afterwards
carried into Egypt.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 43:6 [Even] men, and women, and children, and the king’s
daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan 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.
Ver. 6. And Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.] This was not
without a special providence of God, that these desperadoes might still have a
prophet with them, for the making of them the more inexcusable. If it befall any of
God’s faithful servants to be hurried whither they would not, as it did Jeremiah and
Baruch here, Paul also and Peter, [John 21:18] Ignatius, Polycarp, and other
prisoners and sufferers for the truth in all ages, let them comfort themselves with
these examples.
7 So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the
Lord and went as far as Tahpanhes.
19

BARNES, "Tahpanhes - See the Jer_2:16 note.
CLARKE, "Came they even to Tahpanhes - This city was called Daphne by the
Greeks, and was situated at the extremity of Lower Egypt, near to Heliopolis. It was
called Daphne Pelusiaca. They halted at this place, most probably for the purpose of
obtaining the king’s permission to penetrate farther into Egypt. It was at this place that,
according to St. Jerome, tradition says the faithful Jeremiah was stoned to death by
these rebellious wretches; for whose welfare he had watched, prayed, gone through
many indignities, and suffered every kind of hardship. And now he sealed the truth of his
Divine mission with his blood.
GILL, "So they came into the land of Egypt,.... They set out from the habitation of
Chimham, where they were, Jer_41:17; and proceeded on their journey, till they entered
the land of Egypt:
for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord; to continue in Judea, and not to go into
Egypt; and though the prophet of the Lord, who was with them, might, as they went
along, advise them to go back, they regarded him not, but still went on:
thus came they even to Tahpanhes; the same with Hanes, Isa_30:4; and might be
so called, as here, from a queen of Egypt of this name, 1Ki_11:19. The Septuagint version,
and others after that, call it Taphnas. It is thought to be the Daphnae Pelusiae of
Herodotus (f) It was a seat of the king of Egypt, as appeals from Jer_43:9; and no less a
place would these proud men stop at, or take up with, but where the king's palace was.
Tyrius (g) calls it Tapium, and says it was in his time a very small town.
JAMISON, "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.
CALVIN, "At last he adds, all the souls which had been left by Nebuzaradan with
Gedaliah, with Jeremiah, and with Baruch This had not been expressed elsewhere,
that is, that Jeremiah and Baruch were joined with Gedaliah as rulers over the
remnant of the people. But it was not the design of Jeremiah to relate everything
that then took place. Now then, when an occasion occurred, he says that he and also
Baruch were made governors in connection with Gedaliah. He then adds, that they
all came into Egypt, or that they entered into Egypt,. For the word first used, ‫ויבאו‬ ,
vaibau, may be rendered, “and they entered into Egypt;” and then he adds, ‫עד‬ ‫ויבאו‬-
‫תחפנחס‬ , vaibau od-tachephnuches, “and they entered (or penetrated) as far as
Tachephnuches.” It was formerly one of the chief cities of Egypt; but its name has
perished together with is wealth; for in heathen writers hardly the name of this city
20

is found. They indeed mention the city Taphnim, but speak not of Taphnees. It is
then probable, as changes take place in a country, that this city became by degrees
forsaken, so as to become obscure and mean, and that other cities were built which
exceeded it in wealth. He then says that they came to Taphnees It now follows, —
But this prophecy was greatly disliked; for as the Jews had been already much
exasperated, this threatening was still more calculated to kindle up their fury; and
Jeremiah did also create danger to himself from the Egyptians, for he not only
threatened the Jews, but also the whole kingdom of Egypt. We hence perceive how
invincible was his courage, for he marched through certain deaths, and was yet
terrified by no dangers, but performed the office entrusted to him by God. Some
think that he was on this account stoned by the Jews; but this is not probable, nay, it
may be gathered from other places that he died a natural death. However this may
have been, his perseverance and firmness were wonderful, for he struggled to the
end, and without weariness, with those wild beasts, whose savageness he had more
than enough experienced.
Let us now see what this prophecy is: The word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah; and
the sum of it is, that the Prophet was bidden not only to proclaim the vengeance of
God, but also to confirm it by a visible symbol, as it was necessary to arouse
unbelieving men. For so great was their stupidity, that unless God roused all their
senses, they would have never attended; they were deaf. Then the Lord set before
their eyes what they were unwilling and refused to hear. For this reason the Prophet
was bidden to add an outward sign to his prophecy; according to what we have
stated in other places, signs were often connected with the doctrine on account of the
tardiness, or rather the stupidity of men.
COKE, "Jeremiah 43:7. Thus came they even to Tahpanhes— That is to say, to
Daphne. This was one of the principal cities of Egypt; and in it was a palace where
their kings often resided. It is supposed by many to be the same city which was
afterwards called Daphne Pelusiaca. See Isaiah 30:4. St. Jerome tells us from an
ancient tradition, that the prophet Jeremiah was stoned to death in this place by the
Jews. See Lowth, and Calmet.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 43:7 So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not
the voice of the LORD: thus came they [even] to Tahpanhes.
Ver. 7. Thus came they even to Tahpanhes.] A chief city of Egypt, called also Hanes.
[Isaiah 30:4] Jerome calleth it Tunis, and Herodotus, Daphnis Pelusiae.
‘And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of YHWH,
and they came to Tahpanhes.’
So the refugees made for Egypt, and it is emphasised that this was because ‘they did
21

not obey the voice of YHWH’. And when they came to the border town of
Tahpanhes they settled there. A thpnhs is in fact referred to in a Phoenician
papyrus letter of the 6th century BC found in Egypt.
Tahpanhes is usually located at modern Tell Defneh, 43 km south-south-west of Port
Said (on the grounds of location, the archaeological discovery of Greek pottery, and
its similarity in name to the Greek Daphnae, a fortress town fortified by
Psammatichus I) and it may mean ‘Mansion of the Nubian’ (t-h(wt)-p-nhsy), having
reference to the fortress built there by Psammeticus I for Greek mercenaries. It is
probable that there was already a Jewish community there.
Jeremiah no doubt saw it as ironic that after over 600 years of ‘freedom’ from Egypt
God’s nominal people had returned there. They had by their own free choice
returned to the subjection from which they had been delivered. We can compare
how Hosea, in fact, insisted that their heart had always been there (Hosea 11). That
was why God’s initial step after the birth of His Son, was to bring Him out of Egypt
(Matthew 2:15) finally fulfilling deliverance from Egypt and reversing what had
happened here. Men’s hearts have to be ‘delivered from Egypt’.
PULPIT, "Tahpanhea. An Egyptian frontier city (see Ezekiel 30:18 and note on
Jeremiah 2:16), where the fugitives had to wait till the views of the Egyptian
government respecting them were made known. The supposed site of the Pelusiac
Daphnae has not yet been explored; a single inscribed fragment would reveal the
Egyptian name, and probably ratify the identity of Daphnae with the Tahpanhes of
the prophets.
8 In Tahpanhes the word of the Lord came to
Jeremiah:
BARNES, "On arriving at the frontiers of Egypt, the captains would be compelled to
halt in order to obtain the king’s permission to enter his country. Jeremiah therefore
takes the opportunity to predict, first, the downfall of Egypt; and secondly, that of the
false gods.
GILL, "Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, at Tahpanhes,.... Where
he was with the rest the captains carried thither with them; and as soon as he and they
22

had got here, the word of the Lord came unto him, declaring the destruction of this
place, and of the whole land. Here Jerom says the prophet was stoned to death;
saying; as follows:
HENRY, "We have here, as also in the next chapter, Jeremiah prophesying in Egypt.
Jeremiah was now in Tahpanhes, for there his lords and masters were; he was there
among idolatrous Egyptians and treacherous Israelites; but there, 1. He received the
word of the Lord; it came to him. God can find his people, with the visits of his grace,
wherever they are; and, when his ministers are bound, yet the word of the Lord is not
bound. The spirit of prophecy was not confined to the land of Israel. When Jeremiah
went into Egypt, not out of choice, but by constraint, God withdrew not his wonted
favour from him. 2. What he received of the Lord he delivered to the people. Wherever
we are we must endeavour to do good, for that is our business in this world. Now we find
two messages which Jeremiah was appointed and entrusted to deliver when he was in
Egypt. We may suppose that he rendered what services he could to his countrymen in
Egypt, at least as far as they would be acceptable, in performing the ordinary duties of a
prophet, praying for them and instructing and comforting them; but only two messages
of his, which he had received immediately from God, are recorded, one in this chapter,
relating to Egypt itself and foretelling its destruction, the other in the next chapter,
relating to the Jews in Egypt. God had told them before that if they went into Egypt the
sword they feared should follow them; here he tells them further that the sword of
Nebuchadnezzar, which they were in a particular manner afraid of, should follow them.
K&D 8-11, "Prediction regarding Egypt. - Jer_43:8. "And the word of the Lord
came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, Jer_43:9. Take in thine hand large stones,
and hide them in the clay in the brick-kiln, which is at the entrance to the house of
Pharaoh in Taphanhes, in the eyes of the Jews; Jer_43:10. And say to them: Thus saith
Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar, the
king of Babylon, my servant, and will place his throne over these stones which I have
hidden, and he shall stretch his tapestry over them. Jer_43:11. And he shall come and
smite the land of Egypt, (he who is) for death, to death, - (he who is) for captivity, to
captivity, - (he who is) for the sword, to the sword. Jer_43:12. And I will kindle fire in
the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away; and he
shall wrap the land of Egypt round him as the shepherd wraps his cloak round him,
and thence depart in peace. Jer_43:13. And he shall destroy the pillars of Beth-
shemesh, which is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians
shall he burn with fire."
This prophecy is introduced by a symbolical action, on which it is based. But in spite
of the fact that the object of the action is stated in the address which follows, the action
itself is not quite plain from the occurrence of ‫ן‬ ֵ‫בּ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫מּ‬ ַ‫,בּ‬ whose usual meaning, "brick-kiln"
(cf. Nah_3:14), does not seem suitable here. Eichhorn and Hitzig think it absurd that
there should be found before the door of a royal habitation a brick-kiln on which a king
was to place his throne. From the Arabic malbin, which also signifies a rectangular figure
like tile or brick, and is used of the projecting entablature of doors, - from the
employment, also, in the Talmud of the word ‫ן‬ ֵ‫בּ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫מ‬ to signify a quadrangular tablet in
the form of a tile, - Hitzig would claim for the word the meaning of a stone floor, and
accordingly renders, "and insert them with mortar into the stone flooring." But the
23

entablatures over doors, or quadrangular figures like bricks, are nothing like a stone
flooring or pavement before a palace. Besides, in the way of attaching to the word the
signification of a "brick-kiln," - a meaning which is well established, - or even of a
brickwork, the difficulties are not so great as to compel us to accept interpretations that
have no foundation. We do not need to think of a brick-kiln or brickwork as being always
before the palace; as Neumann has observed, it may have indeed ben there, although
only for a short time, during the erecting of some part of the palace; nor need it have
been just at the palace gateway, but a considerable distance away from it, and on the
opposite side. Alongside of it there was lying mortar, an indispensable building material.
‫ן‬ ַ‫מ‬ ָ‫,ט‬ "to hide," perhaps means here not merely to embed, but to embed in such a way
that the stones could not very readily be perceived. Jeremiah was to press down the big
stones, not into the brick-kiln, but into the mortar which was lying at (near) the brick-
kiln, - to put them, too, before the eyes of the Jews, inasmuch as the meaning of this act
had a primary reference to the fate of the Jews in Egypt. The object of the action is thus
stated in what follows: Jahveh shall bring the king of Babylon and set his throne on
these stones, so that he shall spread out his beautiful tapestry over them. ‫רוּר‬ ְ‫פ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ (Qeri
‫יר‬ ִ‫ר‬ ְ‫פ‬ַ‫,)שׁ‬ an intensive form of ‫ר‬ֶ‫פ‬ֶ‫,שׁ‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫פ‬ ִ‫,שׁ‬ "splendour, beauty," signifies a glittering
ornament, - here, the decoration of the throne, the gorgeous tapestry with which the seat
of the throne was covered. The stones must thus form the basis for the throne, which the
king of Babylon will set up in front of the palace of the king of Egypt at Tahpanhes. But
the symbolical meaning of this action is not thereby exhausted. Not merely is the laying
of the stones significant, but also the place where they are laid, - at the entrance, or
opposite Pharaoh's palace. This palace was built of tiles or bricks: this is indicated by the
brick-kiln and the mortar. The throne of the king of Babylon, on the contrary, is set up
on large stones. The materials of which the palace and the throne are formed, shadow
forth the strength and stability of the kingdom. Pharaoh's dominion is like crumbling
clay, the material of bricks; the throne which Nebuchadnezzar shall set up opposite the
clay-building of the Pharaohs rests on large stones, - his rule will be powerful and
permanent. According to Jeremiah's further development of the symbol in Jer_43:11.,
Nebuchadnezzar will come to Egypt (the Kethib ‫באה‬ is to be read ‫ה‬ ָ‫א‬ ָ‫,בּ‬ "he came down,"
to Egypt, ‫א‬ ‫בּ‬ being construed with the accus.), and will smite the land together with its
inhabitants, so that every man will receive his appointed lot, viz., death by pestilence,
imprisonment, and the sword, i.e., death in battle. On the mode of representation here,
cf. Jer_15:2.
CALVIN, "This passage shews that the Prophet was by force drawn away with
others, so that he became an exile in Egypt contrary to his own wishes; for he did
not go there of his own accord, inasmuch as we have seen how strictly he forbade
them all to go down to Egypt. He was, however, compelled to go there, as though he
had been bound with chains. He did not then go there designedly, nor did he
through despair follow those miserable men; for he would have preferred to die a
hundred times through famine and want in the land of Judah rather than to have
sought in this way the lengthening of his life. It then appears that he was driven
there as it were by enemies.
24

But as nothing happens except through God’s purpose, so from this prophecy it
appears that God ordered the going down of his servant, and that he was not so
subjected to the will of the wicked, but that he was always guided by the hidden
influence of God; for it was God’s will to have his herald even in the midst of Egypt,
that he might declare to the Jews what, was to be. His doctrine, indeed, was not of
any benefit to them; but it was God’s purpose to drive them as it were into madness,
inasmuch as their wickedness was wholly irreclaimable; for it is a harder thing for
the wicked to hear God’s voice when he threatens vengeance, than to feel his hand.
When, therefore, the unbelieving avoid the word of God, they are still constrained,
willing or unwilling, to hear what they willfully reject, even that God will be their
judge. The Prophet then was sent, according to the hidden purpose of God, into
Egypt, that he might there perform his wonted vocation and proceed in the
discharge of his office, and there carry on his prophetic work.
COFFMAN, "JEREMIAH PROPHESIES THE CONQUEST OF EGYPT
"Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, Take great
stones in thy hand, and hide them in mortar in the brickwork, which is at the entry
of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the sons of Judah; and say unto
them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take
Nebuchadnezzar 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. And he
shall come and smite the land of Egypt; such as are for death, shall be given to
death, such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as for the sword to the sword."
We reject such irresponsible comment on this paragraph as that of Thompson who
stated that, "Jeremiah's prophecy was not fulfilled literally."[5] On the contrary,
both the Babylonian historian Berossus "confirms the conquest of Egypt by
Nebuchadnezzar";[6] and the Jewish historian Josephus flatly declared that,
"Nebuchadnezzar fell upon Egypt to subdue it; and he slew the king that then
reigned and set up another. He also took those Jews that were there captives, and
led them away to Babylon."[7] In the light of both Babylonian and Jewish historians
agreeing that such a conquest did indeed occur, we consider the historical evidence
heavily weighted in favor of the exact and circumstantial fulfillment of Jeremiah's
prophecy here. Yes, we are aware that there is a fad among current scholars who
accept only the writings of Josephus which they think can be used to support their
critical theories, rejecting all others; but we have no confidence in such rejections of
the only known historian of that era among the Jews.
Herodotus contradicted some of the things that Josephus wrote; but the reverse is
also true. Josephus contradicted some of the things Herodotus wrote. The ability to
decide who was correct in a given matter is simply not to be found in any man living
thousands of years after the events.
There is also some fragmentary archaeological evidence that Nebuchadnezzar
indeed invaded Egypt. "Three of Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions have been found
25

near Tahpanhes."[8] "An ancient inscription confirms the fact that
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 568 B.C, when Amasis was Pharaoh."[9]
It should always be remembered in the case of deciding whether or not prophecies
were fulfilled by historical events, that the fragmentary information which has
drifted down through history concerning those ancient times is totally inadequate to
justify the extravagant assertions of some critics denying that certain prophecies
were fulfilled. As Green noted, "The paucity of knowledge concerning the period is
such that it is impossible to know what happened."[10] In addition to that
impediment, there is in this very chapter the question of exactly what is meant by
the sacred text. For example, the word translated "obelisks" in Jeremiah 43:12,
"pillars" in some translations, etc., actually means "images" and is so used in
Isaiah.
Regarding this matter, we appreciate the words of Cheyne who stated that "some
have wrongfully controverted"[11] the proposition that Jeremiah's prophecies were
actually literally fulfilled.RAPP, "Jeremiah 43:8 Then came the word of the LORD
unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
Ver. 8. Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying.] And
although many more words besides came to him while he was there, and many
remarkable passages happened, yet the Holy Ghost has recorded no more thereof
than what we find in this and the next chapter.
PETT, "Verses 8-13
YHWH Declares To Judah That Far From Escaping The Vengeance Of
Nebuchadrezzar, It Will Reach Them In Tahpanhes (Jeremiah 43:8-13).
We know from a damaged Babylonian tablet that Nebuchadrezzar did invade
Egypt, where, after various successes he reached an understanding with Ahmose II
(Amasis c.570-526 BC). It was probably an extensive punitive campaign mainly
affecting northern Egypt, but it would be devastating and far reaching while it
lasted. It would include within its scope Tahpanhes which was close to the northern
border. Indeed the sheltering of these ‘fugitives’ may have been one of
Nebuchadrezzar’s grievances against Egypt.
Jeremiah 43:8
‘Then the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,’
The word of YHWH was not limited to Palestine. And thus it came to Jeremiah in
Egypt. God was still concerned to speak to those who claimed to be His people, even
though they were living in disobedience, and worse. God’s word knows no
limitations.
26

EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY, "Verses 8-13
CHAPTER XVII
EGYPT
Jeremiah 43:8-13, Jeremiah 44:30, Jeremiah 46:1-28
"I will visit Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods and their kings:
even Pharaoh and all them that trust in him." Jeremiah 46:25
THE kings of Egypt with whom Jeremiah was contemporary-Psammetichus II,
Pharaoh Necho, and Pharaoh Hophra-belonged to the twenty-sixth dynasty. When
growing distress at home compelled Assyria to loose her hold on her distant
dependencies, Egypt still retained something of her former vigorous elasticity. In the
rebound from subjection under the heavy hand of Sennacherib, she resumed her
ancient forms of life and government. She regained her unity and independence,
and posed afresh as an equal rival with Chaldea for the supremacy of Western Asia.
At home there was a renascence of art and literature, and, as of old, the wealth and
devotion of powerful monarchs restored the ancient temples and erected new
shrines of their own.
But this revival was no new growth springing up with a fresh and original life from
the seeds of the past; it cannot rank with the European Renascence of the fifteenth
century. It is rather to be compared with the reorganisations by which Diocletian
and Constantine prolonged the decline of the Roman Empire, the rally of a strong
constitution in the grip of mortal disease. These latter-day Pharaohs failed
ignominiously in their attempts to recover the Syrian dominion of the Thothmes and
Rameses; and, like the Roman Empire in its last centuries, the Egypt of the twenty-
sixth dynasty surrendered itself to Greek influence and hired foreign mercenaries to
fight its battles. The new art and literature were tainted by pedantic archaism.
According to Brugsch, "Even to the newly created dignities and titles, the return to
ancient times had become the general watchword. The stone door posts of this age
reveal the old Memphian style of art, mirrored in its modern reflection after the
lapse of four thousand years." Similarly Meyer tells us that apparently the Egyptian
state was reconstituted on the basis of a religious revival, somewhat in the fashion of
the establishment of Deuteronomy by Josiah.
Inscriptions after the time of Psammetichus are written in archaic Egyptian of a
very ancient past; it is often difficult to determine at first sight whether inscriptions
belong to the earliest or latest period of Egyptian history.
The superstition that sought safety in an exact reproduction of a remote antiquity
could not, however, resist the fascination of Eastern demonology. According to
Brugsch, (2:293) in the age called the Egyptian Renascence the old Egyptian
theology was adulterated with Graeco-Asiatic elements - demons and genii of whom
27

the older faith and its purer doctrine had scarcely an idea; exorcisms became a
special science, and are favourite themes for the inscriptions of this period. Thus,
amid many differences, there are also to be found striking resemblances between the
religious movements of the period in Egypt and amongst the Jews, and
corresponding difficulties in determining the dates of Egyptian inscriptions and of
sections of the Old Testament.
This enthusiasm for ancient custom and tradition was not likely to commend the
Egypt of Jeremiah’s age to any student of Hebrew history. He would be reminded
that the dealings of the Pharaohs with Israel had almost always been to its hurt; he
would remember the Oppression and the Exodus-how, in the time of Solomon,
friendly intercourse with Egypt taught that monarch lessons in magnificent tyranny,
how Shishak plundered the Temple, how Isaiah had denounced the Egyptian
alliance as a continual snare to Judah. A Jewish prophet would be prompt to
discern the omens of coming ruin in the midst of renewed prosperity on the Nile.
Accordingly at the first great crisis of the new international system; in the fourth
year of Jehoiakim, either just before or just after the battle of Carchemish-it
matters little which-Jeremiah takes up his prophecy against Egypt. First of all, with
an ostensible friendliness which only masks his bitter sarcasm, he invites the
Egyptians to take the field:-
"Prepare buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
Harness the horses to the chariots, mount the chargers,
Stand forth armed cap-a-pie for battle;
Furbish the spears, put on the coats of mail."
This great host with its splendid equipment must surely conquer. The prophet
professes to await its triumphant return; but he sees instead a breathless mob of
panic-stricken fugitives, and pours upon them the torrent of his irony:-
"How is it that I behold this?
These heroes are dismayed and have turned their backs;
Their warriors have been beaten down;
They flee apace, and do not look behind them:
Terror on every side-is the utterance of Jehovah."
Then irony passes into explicit malediction:-
28

"Let not the swift flee away, nor the warrior escape;
Away northward, they stumble and fall by the river Euphrates."
Then, in a new strophe, Jeremiah again recurs in imagination to the proud march of
the countless hosts of Egypt:
"Who is this that riseth up like the Nile,
Whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?
Egypt riseth up like the Nile,
His waters toss themselves like the rivers.
And he saith, I will go up and cover the land"
(like the Nile in flood);
"I will destroy the cities and their inhabitants"
(and, above all other cities, Babylon).
Again the prophet urges them on with ironical encouragement:-
"Go up, ye horses; rage, ye chariots;
Ethiopians and Libyans that handle the shield,
Lydians that handle and bend the bow"
(the tributaries and mercenaries of Egypt).
Then, as before, he speaks plainly of coming disaster:
"That day is a day of vengeance for the Lord Jehovah Sabaoth, whereon He will
avenge Him of His adversaries"
(a day of vengeance upon Pharaoh Necho for Megiddo and Josiah).
"The sword shall devour and be sated, and drink its fill of their blood:
For the Lord Jehovah Sabaoth hath a sacrifice in the northern land, by the river
Euphrates."
In a final strophe, the prophet turns to the land left bereaved and defenceless by the
29

defeat at Carchemish:-
"Go up to Gilead and get thee balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt:
In vain dost thou multiply medicines; thou canst not be healed.
The nations have heard of thy shame, the earth is full of thy cry:
For warrior stumbles against warrior; they fall both together."
Nevertheless the end was not yet. Egypt was wounded to death, but she was to linger
on for many a long year to be a snare to Judah and to vex the righteous soul of
Jeremiah. The reed was broken, but it still retained an appearance of soundness,
which more than once tempted the Jewish princes to lean upon it and find their
hands pierced for their pains. Hence, as we have seen already, Jeremiah repeatedly
found occasion to reiterate the doom of Egypt, of Necho’s successor, Pharaoh
Hophra, and of the Jewish refugees who had sought safety under his protection. In
the concluding part of chapter 46, a prophecy of uncertain date sets forth the ruin of
Egypt with rather more literary finish than in the parallel passages.
This word of Jehovah was to be proclaimed in Egypt, and especially in the frontier
cities, which would have to bear the first brunt of invasion:-
"Declare in Egypt, proclaim in Migdol, proclaim in Noph and Tahpanhes:
Say ye, Take thy stand and be ready, for the sword hath devoured round about thee.
Why hath Apis fled and thy calf not stood?
Because Jehovah overthrew it."
Memphis was devoted to the worship of Apis, incarnate in the sacred bull; but now
Apis must succumb to the mightier divinity of Jehovah, and his sacred city become a
prey to the invaders.
"He maketh many to stumble; they fall one against another.
Then they say, Arise, and let us return to our own people
And to our native land, before the oppressing sword."
We must remember that the Egyptian armies were largely composed of foreign
mercenaries. In the hour of disaster and defeat these hirelings would desert their
employers and go home.
"Give unto Pharaoh king of Egypt the name. Crash; he hath let the appointed time
30

pass by."
The form of this enigmatic sentence is probably due to a play upon Egyptian names
and titles. When the allusions are forgotten, such paronomasia naturally results in
hopeless obscurity. The "appointed time" has been explained as the period during
which Jehovah gave Pharaoh the opportunity of repentance, or as that within which
he might have submitted to Nebuchadnezzar on favourable terms.
"As I live, is the utterance of the King, whose name is Jehovah Sabaoth,
One shall come like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea."
It was not necessary to name this terrible invader; it could be no other than
Nebuchadnezzar.
"Get thee gear for captivity, O daughter of Egypt, that dwellest in thine own land:
For Noph shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up and left without
inhabitants.
Egypt is a very fair heifer, but destruction is come upon her from the north."
This tempest shattered the Greek phalanx in which Pharaoh trusted:-
"Even her mercenaries in the midst of her are like calves of the stall;
Even they have turned and fled together, they have not stood:
For their day of calamity hath come upon them, their day of reckoning."
We do not look for chronological sequence in such a poem, so that this picture of the
flight and destruction of the mercenaries is not necessarily later in time than their
overthrow and contemplated desertion in Jeremiah 46:15. The prophet is depicting
a scene of bewildered confusion; the disasters that fell thick upon Egypt crowd into
Giesebrecht, his vision without order or even coherence. Now he turns again to
Egypt herself:-
"Her voice goeth forth like the (low hissing of) the serpent;
For they come upon her with a mighty army, and with axes like woodcutters."
A like fate is predicted in Isaiah 29:4 for "Ariel, the city where David dwelt":-
"Thou shalt be brought low and speak from the ground;
Thou shalt speak with a low voice out of the dust;
31

Thy voice shall come from the ground, like that of a familiar spirit,
And thou shalt speak in a whisper from the dust."
Thus too Egypt would seek to writhe herself from under the heel of the invader:
hissing out the while her impotent fury, she would seek to glide away into some safe
refuge amongst the underwood. Her dominions, stretching far up the Nile, were
surely vast enough to afford her shelter somewhere: but no! the "woodcutters" are
too many and too mighty for her:-
"They cut down her forest-it is the utterance of Jehovah for it is impenetrable;
For they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable."
The whole of Egypt is overrun and subjugated; no district holds out against the
invader, and remains unsubjugated to form the nucleus of a new and independent
empire.
"The daughter of Egypt is put to shame; she is delivered into the hand of the
northern people."
Her gods share her fate; Apis had succumbed at Memphis, but Egypt had countless
other stately shrines whose denizens must own the overmastering might of
Jehovah:-
"Thus saith Jehovah Sabaoth, the God of Israel:
Behold, I will visit Amon of No,
And Pharaoh, and Egypt, and all her gods and kings,
Even Pharaoh and all who trust in him."
Amon of No, or Thebes, known to the Greeks as Ammon and called by his own
worshippers Amen, or "the hidden one," is apparently mentioned with Apis as
sharing the primacy of the Egyptian divine hierarchy. On the fall of the twentieth
dynasty, the high priest of the Theban Amen became king of Egypt, and centuries
afterwards Alexander the Great made a special pilgrimage to the temple in the oasis
of Ammon and was much gratified at being there hailed son of the deity.
Probably the prophecy originally ended with this general threat of "visitation" of
Egypt and its human and divine rulers. An editor, however, has added, from
parallel passages, the more definite but sufficiently obvious statement that
Nebuchadnezzar and his servants were to be the instruments of the Divine
visitation.
32

A further addition is in striking contrast to the sweeping statements of Jeremiah:-
"Afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old."
Similarly, Ezekiel foretold a restoration for Egypt:-
"At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians, and will cause them to
returnto their native land: and they shall be there a base kingdom: it shall be the
basest of the kingdoms." [Ezekiel 29:13-15]
And elsewhere we read yet more gracious promises to Egypt:-
"Israel shall be a third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land:
whom Jehovah Sabaoth shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and
Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance." [Isaiah 19:25]
Probably few would claim to discover in history any literal fulfilment of this last
prophecy. Perhaps it might have been appropriated for the Christian Church in the
days of Clement and Origen. We may take Egypt and Assyria as types of
heathendom, which shall one day receive the blessings of the Lord’s people and of
the work of His hands. Of political revivals and restorations Egypt has had her
share. But less interest attaches to these general prophecies than to more definite
and detailed predictions; and there is much curiosity as to any evidence which
monuments and other profane witnesses may furnish as to a conquest of Egypt and
capture of Pharaoh Hophra by Nebuchadnezzar.
According to Herodotus, Apries (Hophra) was defeated and imprisoned by his
successor Amasis, afterwards delivered up by him to the people of Egypt, who
forthwith strangled their former king. This event would be an exact fulfilment of the
words, "I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and
into the hand of them that seek his life," [Jeremiah 44:30] if it were not evident from
parallel passages [Jeremiah 46:25] that the Book of Jeremiah intends
Nebuchadnezzar to be the enemy into whose hands Pharaoh is to be delivered. But
Herodotus is entirely silent as to the relations of Egypt and Babylon during this
period; for instance, he mentions the victory of Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo-which
he miscalls Magdolium-but not his defeat at Carehemish. Hence his silence as to
Chaldean conquests in Egypt has little weight. Even the historian’s explicit
statement as to the death of Apries might be reconciled with his defeat and capture
by Nebuchadnezzar, if we knew all the facts. At present, however, the inscriptions
do little to fill the gap left by the Greek historian; there are, however, references
which seem to establish two invasions of Egypt by the Chaldean king, one of which
fell in the reign of Pharaoh Hophra. But the spiritual lessons of this and the
following prophecies concerning the nations are not dependent on the spade of the
excavator or the skill of the decipherers of hieroglyphics and cuneiform script;
whatever their relation may be to the details of subsequent historical events, they
33

remain as monuments of the inspired insight of the prophet into the character and
destiny alike of great empires and petty states. They assert the Divine government of
the nations, and the subordination of all history to the coming of the Kingdom of
God.
BI 8-13, "Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brick kiln.
Jeremiah hides the stones in the brick kiln
I. They preached of the historic past.
1. From the soil in which they were found. They were stones of Egypt.
2. The place where they were buried—the brick kiln—must have carried their
thoughts back to the hard labour of their ancestors under the lash of the taskmasters
(Exo_9:8).
3. The burial of the stones beneath the ground might have suggested the past
condition of Israel in this same land; they were buried under the oppressive tyranny
of the heathen monarch and his people, and had been raised, as it were, from a grave
of degradation and lifted into a new life as a free people by the mighty hand of God.
II. They prophesied of the future.
1. The only refuge from the displeasure of God is to be found in God Himself.
2. Unbelief in the Divine Word will not prevent the fulfilment of it.
3. The true minister of God will not be deterred by opposition from declaring the
judgments, as well as the mercies, of God. (A London Minister.).
9 “While the Jews are watching, take some large
stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick
pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in
Tahpanhes.
BARNES, "Brickkiln - Possibly, a pavement of brick. Jeremiah was to take a few
large stones, such, nevertheless, as he could carry in his hand, and build with them, in
the propylaea before the royal palace, something that would serve to represent the dais
upon which the seat of kings was usually placed. By hiding them in the clay is meant
plastering them over with mortar.
34

CLARKE, "Take great stones - This discourse seems to have been delivered about
a year after the destruction of Jerusalem. They pretended that they dared not stay in
Judea for fear of the Chaldeans. The prophet here assures them that Nebuchadnezzar
shall come to Egypt, extend his conquests in that kingdom, and place his tent over the
very place where these stones were laid up, and destroy them. How these prophecies
were fulfilled, see at the end of Jer_44:30 (note).
GILL, "Take great stones in thine hand,.... In both his hands, as big as he could
carry:
and hide them in the clay in the brick kiln; there was much clay in Egypt, through
the overflowing of the Nile, and particularly at this place Tahpanhes, which had its name
of Pelusiae from hence; and here was a brick kiln; not a place where bricks were burnt,
but where they were foraged; and so here was the clay of which they were made, and in
which these stones were to be hid:
which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes; this brick kiln stood not
directly at the entrance into the king's palace, but at the door of a wall of a park or
garden, which belonged to the palace, from whence there was an open way to it; here the
stones were to be laid. Since a brick kiln so near a king's palace seems not agreeable,
Gussetius (h) thinks ‫מלבן‬ signifies a poplar walk, from ‫,לבנה‬ a poplar tree, whose shade
is very grateful, Hos_4:13; to which the courtiers betook themselves at certain times,
and walked in for pleasure;
in the sight of the men of Judah; not in the sight of the Egyptians, who would not
understand the design of it, nor were they to be instructed by it; but in the sight of the
Jews, who would at once imagine that something was intended, being used to such
symbols, and would inquire the meaning of it; and which is explained in Jer_43:10.
HENRY, "This is foretold by a sign. Jeremiah must take great stones, such as are
used for foundations, and lay them in the clay of the furnace, or brick-kiln, which is in
the open way, or beside the way that leads to Pharaoh's house (Jer_43:9), some
remarkable place in view of the royal palace. Egypt was famous for brick-kilns, witness
the slavery of the Israelites there, whom they forced to make bricks (Exo_5:7), which
perhaps was now remembered against them. The foundation of Egypt's desolation was
laid in those brick-kilns, in that clay. This he must do, not in the sight of the Egyptians
(they knew not Jeremiah's character), but in the sight of the men of Judah to whom he
was sent, that, since he could not prevent their going into Egypt, he might bring them to
repent of their going.
JAMISON, "stones — to be laid as the foundation beneath Nebuchadnezzar’s throne
(Jer_43:10).
clay — mortar.
35

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.
CALVIN, "He was then commanded to take great stones, and to hide them in the
clay, or cement, in a brick-kiln, that is, in a kiln where bricks were burnt, or in a
place where they were usually made, or where materials were taken to form them.
And this place was not far from the palace of the king in the city of Taphnees, as the
Prophet expressly declares; nay, he says that it was nigh the gate. As, then, this
place was near the palace, the Prophet was bidden to hide there the stones, and in
the sight of the Jews. This was the symbol. Now, it is shewn for what end God would
have the stones to be fixed in the clay or cement; for if the stones were only rolled
there with great labor by the Prophet, there would have been no instruction; and all
signs we know are unmeaning and without any importance without the word. It is
God’s word, then, that in a manner gives life to signs, and applies them for the
benefit and instruction of men. Therefore God’s command is added, that he was to
speak to the Jews: Thou shalt say to them, Thus saith Jehovah. He brings in God as
the speaker, that the threatening might be more effectual, as it has been stated
elsewhere; for if he had only related the words of God, he could not have thus
arrested their attention, which was very tardy. This, then, is the reason why he
speaks in the person of God himself.
COKE, "Jeremiah 43:9. Take great stones—and hide them— Bricks were the chief
materials which the Babylonians used in their most stately buildings; so that there
was constant occasion for such a brick-kiln near Pharaoh's palace. Yet this might be
a great way from the dwelling-house itself, the courts of great kings being almost
equal to cities for extent in antient times; particularly the palace in Babylon was
four miles in compass, according to Diodorus Siculus, lib. 2. See the account of the
emperor of China's gardens, in "Miscellaneous Pieces relating to the Chinese," vol.
2: p. 149.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 43:9 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;
Ver. 9. Take great stones in thine hand.] Bricks, wherewith Egypt abounded, as
being much of it muddy by reason of the inundation of the river Nile; hence also
their chief city was called Pelusium, or Daphnis Pelusiae. See Jeremiah 43:7. It is
ordinary with Jeremiah to join paradigms with his prophecies, as here, that they
might be the more evident, and take the deeper impression.
36

“Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in mortar in the brickwork (or
brick-kiln), which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of
the men of Judah,”
Jeremiah was called on to involve himself in another acted out prophecy, this time
by taking ‘large stones’ and hiding them in mortar in the ‘brickwork’ (or ‘brick-
kiln’) in front of ‘Pharaoh’s house’ in Tahpanhes. The ‘king’s house’ in Tahpanhes
is mentioned in the Elephantine papyri. It was not one of Pharaoh’s regular palaces
but would rather have been a government building, the administrative centre for
the area, although available for Pharaoh’s use when he paid a state visit.
The word translated ‘brickwork’ is a rare one (three times in the Old Testament).
Elsewhere it means brick-kiln (see 2 Samuel 12:31; Nahum 3:14). But it is argued
that there was unlikely to be a brick-kiln at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house (i.e.
government house), and equally unlikely that Jeremiah would see YHWH as setting
his throne on it. LXX in fact translates as ‘vestibule’. A parallel Arabic word uses it
of brick tiles over a doorway. If we take it as signifying brickwork it may well have
consisted of a raised brick pavement in front of ‘Pharaoh’s house’.
On the other hand we could argue that if the house of Pharaoh was in process of
being restored (which would explain the presence of the available mortar) there
could well have been a brick-kiln in front of it, even if at some distance, and being a
raised place it could later have been used by Nebuchadrezzar as a place on which to
set up a throne, having covered it with a covering, so that he could be seen by the
crowds of people who surrounded and acclaimed him. Reference to a brick-kiln
would certainly fit in with the idea of YHWH’s burning anger against His
disobedient people, who were perhaps beginning to think of themselves as ‘large
stones’ because they were what remained of Judah, and with Nebuchadrezzar’s
activities in ‘burning the houses of the gods of Egypt’ as described in Jeremiah
43:12-13. And it is significant that he would do this as ‘YHWH’s servant’ (Jeremiah
43:10).
In favour of the idea of a raised brick platform is the fact that such platforms in
front of palaces are known of throughout the Ancient Near East in ancient times,
and that the remains of one such platform was discovered in front of a ‘palace’ in
Tell Dephne.
PULPIT, "Take great stones, etc. A strange symbolic act of Jeremiah's is here
described. "We must not suppose, arguing from our Western and precise notions,
that he would be at all necessarily interfered with. In fact, he would have a twofold
security, as a prophet of God to those who acknowledged him as such, and in the
opinion of others as insane, and, according to Eastern ideas, thus especially under
Divine promptings in his acts" (Streane). He is directed to take great stones and
embed them in the mortar (not "clay") in the brick pavement at the entry of the
palace. When the events predicted came to pass, these stones would testify that
Jeremiah had predicted them. The word rendered "brick pavement" is of doubtful
37

Jeremiah 43 commentary

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Jeremiah 43 commentary