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a. The charge against the stubbornly idolatrous people
Jer_44:1-14
Jer_44:1. The word … saying. We have here the last document of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry. Far from home, after terrible judgments, he has still the same thing to say to the Jews as at first. They have not become wiser or better. From Tahpanhes they had spread abroad in the land. What occasion had brought them together in so large an assembly, is not indeed stated in the superscription, which is of the greater sort (comp. Jer_40:1; Jer_36:1; Jer_35:1; Jer_34:1, etc.), but is evident enough from what follows.—Dwelt. The fugitives have already established themselves in fixed abodes. Comp. rems. on Jer_43:8—Migdol (comp. Jer_46:14; Eze_29:10; Eze_30:6 coll. Exo_14:2; Num_33:7) was one of the north-eastern boundary points of Egypt [near Syene]. In Herodotus (II. 159) and the LXX. the place is called ÌÜãäùëïí ; according to the Itiner. Anton. (p. 171) it was twelve Roman miles from Pelusium.—On Tahpanhes comp. rems. on Jer_43:8.—Noph is Memphis, the ancient capital of lower Egypt. Comp. rems. on Jer_2:16.—Pathros (comp. Jer_44:15; Isa_11:11; Eze_29:14; Eze_30:14) is upper Egypt. Comp. Herzog, R.-Enc., I. S. 149. The assembly was held, according to Jer_44:15, in Pathros. A considerable time must have elapsed since the migration, because we find the colony already dispersed and settled in different places. On the other hand the meeting cannot have occurred so long after the migration that those who are addressed by Jeremiah can belong to the second generation. They were the Jews who had come into the country (Jer_44:8), and the longing for home was still strong in them. Comp. rems. on Jer_44:29-30
Jer_44:2-6. Thus saith … as at this day. The prophet presents before the Jews first the great catastrophe, portraying its genesis in the order of its elements.—Whom they know not. Comp. Jer_19:4—I sent, etc. Comp. Jer_7:13; Jer_7:25; Jer_29:19.—This abominable thing. Comp. Jer_32:35.—Was poured forth. Comp. Jer_42:18.—In the cities of Judah. Comp. Jer_44:9; Jer_44:17; Jer_44:21; Jer_7:17; Jer_11:6; Jer_33:10.—As at this day. Comp. Jer_44:2; Jer_44:22-23; Jer_11:5.
Jer_44:7-10. Therefore now thus … before your fathers. After the Jews had just learned in a different manner how fearfully Jehovah avenges apostasy from Him, how can they now again, to their unendurable shame and ruin, commit the same sins? It appears as if they had forgotten the lesson and not yet learned to bow in obedience to the divine law.—Man and woman. Comp. 1Sa_15:3; 1Sa_22:19; Lam_2:11.—The works of your hands. From Jer_1:16 coll. Jer_25:14 it is evident that the prophet wishes the expression to be understood in a physical sense of the idol images.—Burning incense in the wider sense. Comp. rems. on Jer_1:16.—That ye might be, etc. Comp. Jer_42:18; Zec_8:13.—Have ye forgotten, etc. The present unlawful conduct of the people is explained only by their forgetfulness of the former calamities occasioned by their idolatry.—Hitzig well calls attention to the fact, that the royal wives played an important part in the history of Jewish idolatry. Comp. the wives of Solomon (1Ki_11:1 sqq.) Maachah, the mother of Asa (Jer_15:13) and Athaliah (Jer_11:1).
Jer_44:10. They are not humbled. Comp. Isa_57:15. How unwillingly does the prophet turn away and address his discourse concerning these, to whom he has hitherto spoken, to others. Comp. Mic_1:2; Jer_50:8.—Nor walked. Comp. Jer_9:12; Jer_26:4.
Jer_44:11-14. Therefore … shall escape. Because the Jews, notwithstanding they had experienced the fearful severity of God’s punitive justice, again committed the same sins, therefore ( ìָëֵï Jer_44:11) will the Lord set his face against them, the last remnant of Judah, and by the destruction of this utterly exterminate the nation. Comp. Jer_44:7.—And I will take. The expression involves an antithesis to set their faces to go. They thought in their own power to take a path which would lead them away from the punitive hand. But the Lord seizes them as He once did the prophet Jonah.—Shall be an execration. Comp. rems. on Jer_42:18.—Them that dwell. Comp. Jer_9:24-25; Jer_46:25.—None escaped. The Jews had gone to Egypt to remain there temporarily, and then return home. On which are gone then depends not only to sojourn there but also and to return with the following relative sentence.—To the which. Comp. Jer_22:27.—But such as shall escape. Comp. Textual Note.
Footnotes:
Jer_44:3.—In ìäëòñðé and ììëú the ìְ is the gerundial (comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 95, e), in ìְ÷ַèֵּø ìַòֲëֹã it is the supinal (Ib., § 93, f.). Comp. Jer_11:17; Jer_32:32.
Jer_44:3.— äîä is not to be regarded as accusative, since this has been already expressed by the suffix in éְãָòåּí , but as nominative. The third person stands in close connection with the preceding, the äֵîָּä with the sudden change of person (comp. infra Jer_44:5; Jer_44:10 and Naegelsb. Gr., § 101 Anm.) is however explained by àַúֶּí å× , with which a return is made to the second person used in the beginning of the sentence (Jer_44:2).
Jer_44:4.— ãְּáַø as in Jdg_19:24.
Jer_44:7.— åָòָä must here have the same sense as øָòåֹú , Jer_44:9. For the connection is: the øָòָä that ye now do can only be explained, by your having forgotten the øָòåֹú of the past. Since now øָòåֹú must necessarily be taken in a double sense, so must also øָòָä in this passage ּ . ìְäַëְøִéú å× is a gerundial infinitive. On ðôùׁøú comp. Naegelsb. Gr. § 81, 1 c.
Jer_44:8.— ìְäַëְòִéñֵðִé and ìְ÷ַèֶּø are also gerundial infinitives (comp. Jer_44:3).
Jer_44:8.—In Jer_44:7 äַëְøéú has a definitely expressed object. Many would supply this here. Others take ìëí for àֶúְëֶí , according to the analogy of Jer_40:2. äëøéú may, however, also be taken in a directly causative sense=prepare extermination, so that the dative would have nothing abnormal in it. Comp. äִøðּéæ Jer_50:34; äåֹëéäַ Isa_2:4; äִöãִּé÷ Isa_51:11 with ìְ ; Naegelsb. Gr., § 69, 1 Anm. 2.
Jer_44:9.—From òָùׂåּ àֲùֶׁø it would follow that øָòåֹú is to be taken in a moral sense. But can it be said of those who are censured on account of their persistence in these sins: Have you forgotten your sins? J. D. Michaelis is therefore disposed to read äִùְׁëַּçְúֶּí , with a marginal reading of a Königsberg Codex: mijus peccando memoriam peccatorum ante commissorum obliterastis. But this reading is not sufficiently authenticated. We must therefore take øָòåֹú , as in Jer_44:7, in a double sense, so as to designate at the same time the mala pœnæ and the mala culpæ (comp. Gen_50:15). Their forgetfulness of the sufferings which they had drawn on them by their sins is the cause of their obstinate persistence in the latter.
Jer_44:9.— ðùׁéå øòåú . Both the introduction of the “wives” and the singular suffix are surprising. The LXX. read ôῶí ἀñ÷üíôùí ὑìῶí . ùְּׂøֵéëֶí or ðְùִׂéàֵéëֶí would certainly correspond better to the connection, as well as to the usage of the prophet elsewhere (comp. Jer_44:17; Jer_44:21; Jer_1:18; Jer_2:26; Jer_24:8; Jer_25:18; Jer_32:32; Jer_34:21). But the more difficult reading is to be preferred. The singular suffix is not to be referred to Judah, since the expression “wives of Judah” is neither used elsewhere nor suitable to the connection, but to the king of the time. Comp. Hos_4:8; Zec_14:12; Naegelsb. Gr., § 105, 7, Anm. 2.
Jer_44:9.— òָùׂåּ àֲùֶׁø . Change of person as in Jer_44:3; Jer_44:5. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 101, 2, Anm.
Jer_44:12.— ëì åúîå . According to the accents the sentence is to be construed as in the translation. On ëֹּì comp. Isa_30:5; Ewald, 286, e.
Jer_44:14.— ôְּìֵèִéí àִí ëִּé . Strictly taken these words form a direct contradiction to the beginning of the verse, which declares that there shall be a ôָּìִéè or ùָׂøִéã , and the words éָùׁåּáåּ ìֹà ëִּé are no other than the confirmation of this statement. It is therefore natural to regard the words as a later addition, as Hitzig does. The brevity of the previous sentence, and its apparent contradiction of Jer_44:28 seemed to require this supplementation. In Jer_44:28 it is expressly stated that some, having escaped, will return, and it is hence evident that the declaration here, Jer_44:14, is not to be taken with absolute literalness.
2. On Jer_44:2-13. A mirror of the stubborn heart of man! For centuries unceasingly warned by the prophets—and how warned! Not by sentimental talk, but by words of thunder and strokes of power,—think only of Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, Isaiah, etc.!—yet Judah bowed not his stubborn neck. Then at last when long-suffering love was exhausted, the judgment of just love was executed. And yet in the wretched remnant the old root of unbelief and disobedience remains still unbroken.
3. On Jer_44:9. “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle as vetches, yet will his foolishness not depart from him (Pro_27:22). And he that sings songs to a heavy heart, it is like a torn garment in winter, and vinegar on nitre (Pro_25:20).” Cramer.
4. On Jer_44:15. “Hoc loco imaginem quandam conspicere licet seditionis, de qua Ethnicus: ἐí ôῆóôÜóåé ðᾶóá ἰäÝá êáêïí ͂ ἔíåóôéí ,—itemque confusionis plus quam cyclopicæ, de qua notum est illud tritum: ïὐäåὶò ïὐäåíὸò ïὐäὲí ἀêïýåé .” Förster.
5. On Jer_44:16. “Ungodliness continually extends and even goes beyond itself. In the foregoing chapter they wish it to be considered as having to do only with Jeremiah’s private person, but now they are become bolder so that they contradict him officially and thus God Himself, not considering that they know what he says to be spoken not on his own, but on God’s account, which is a great blasphemy of God.” Cramer.
6. On Jer_44:17. “The ungodly are blind. For they ascribe all their good fortune to their idolatry. When, however, a misfortune comes God and His word must be to blame, and they say: It is vain to serve God (Mal_3:14). The charge of the Papists is used again now-a-days. when times are dear and the country suffers such like chastisements, that it is the fault of the Gospel; since on the other hand their mass is regarded as a regular Egyptian Meleket, by which they think to obtain temporal and eternal blessings both for the living and the dead.” Cramer.
7. On Jer_44:17. “Non ovum ovo tam simile est atque huic Judæorum orationi nostrorum hominum vox contendentium, sub papatu aureum fuisse sæculum, cum tamen contrarium testentur historæ de bellis, peste et fame in papatu, præsertim ea, quæ incidit in annum Christi 1315, quo tempore fere tertia pars Germaniæ partim fame, partim peste extincta. Hinc versus: Ut lateat nullum tempus famis, ecce cucullum” Förster.
8. On Jer_44:17. “Non mirum, quod urbes peste vexentur, cum Æsculapius et Dii ab iis procul absint, nam ex quo Jesus colitur, nihil jam utilitatis a Diis consequimur. Porphyrius.” MS. note in my copy of Cramer’s Bible.
9. On Jer_44:19. “There is no doubt that the inconstant, frivolous women were the first to be seduced into idolatry, as Eve (2Co_11:3). When these are taken captive, he then proceeds farther, and knows how to bring in the Adam also. Therefore keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom (Mic_7:5).” Cramer.
10. On Jer_44:19. “The harmony and complaisance of married people is never more easily secured than when it is against the Lord, and it is nothing unusual for domestic peace to be adduced as the cause of a lack of zeal in religion. It is an ancient custom; Ahab, Ahaziah and Solomon only followed Adam. The wife had to be deceived by a subtle serpent; the man was bound to keep peace in the family; she gave him and he ate.” Zinzendorf.
11. On Jer_44:20. “God remembers the good and the evil; the good that He may reward it, the evil that He may punish it.” Cramer. [“God will have the last word. The prophets may be run down, but God cannot.” Henry.—S. R. A]
12. On Jer_44:26. “This is the severest punishment of all, that God takes away His holy name and word, as He says in Deu_32:20 : I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be. And this is the famine, not of bread, but of the word of God which they seek and yet do not find (Amo_8:11).” Cramer.
13. On Jer_44:29-30. Between Moses and Jeremiah, between the exodus from Egypt and the return thither of the remnant, there lies a period of almost a thousand years, and what a history! But the Pharaoh, under whom Israel made the exodus, Menephthes (comp. Lepsius in Herz., R.-Enc, I., S. 146) is described by Herodotus as an arrogant and ungodly man (II., 111), just like Hophra. And at both times Israel was a poor despised heap in the land of Egypt. But the heathen were to know that the God of this despised heap is the only true God, and that their idols were naught, as also Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius the Mede had also to learn (Daniel 2-6.).
2. On Jer_44:9-14. How ruinous a course it is to forget the chastisements of the Lord. This will be shown, if we ponder that this forgetfulness 1. implies chastisement already suffered, 2. proves its want of good results, 3. calls forth severer chastisements from God.
3. On Jer_44:15-18. The utmost alienation of a people from their God, shown in the example of the Jews in Egypt. 1. They place the benefits received to the account of their idols. 2. The evils suffered they place to the account of the Lord. 3. They renounce their obedience to the Lord. 4. They vow their service to their idols.
4. On Jer_44:26-27. The severest punishment which the Lord can bring upon a people, who have hitherto served Him. 1. It consists in this, that the Lord removes the candlestick of His word from among this people, i.e. that by depriving them of the means of grace, He brings Himself into forgetfulness among the people. 2. It is founded in this, that this people on their part have striven to forget the Lord. 3. It has the effect, that this people is given up to the powers of evil to their complete destruction.