‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’ ”
“So Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to Yahweh’s word, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours. Buy it for yourself.’ “Then I knew that this was Yahweh’s word.
I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances to him. So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open; and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.
“I commanded Baruch before them, saying, Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.’ For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land.’
Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to Yahweh, saying,
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16 But in the first place, let us see whether…
But in the first place, let us see whether this was, as they say, a naked vision, or a real transaction. Some think that it was exhibited to Jeremiah by the prophetic Spirit; but it may be easily gathered from the context that the field was actually bought. It is first said, that the word came to Jeremiah; but shortly after it is added, that after his uncle’s son came, Jeremiah was informed that the whole business was directed by God. God then foretold the Prophet what was to be, Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum, thine uncle, shall come to thee, and shall offer to sell his field to thee. This is what God said to the Prophet; and thus far we may say, that Jeremiah was informed of what was to be either by a dream or a vision; but when he afterwards adds, that Hanameel himself came, and that Jeremiah testifies that he now knew that it was from the Lord, there is no doubt but that it is a real narrative. God then inducedHanameel to come to Jeremiah and to offer him the field on sale, and to ask him to buy it, because he was the next heir, and therefore had the right of redemption. We then perceive that it was a communication from above, but then the reality was connected with it, for Hanameel came and sold the field before witnesses; and all this was necessary, not so much on account of Jeremiah as of the whole people, and especially of the faithful, for whom this prophecy was particularly designed; for God did not intend this to be a common treasure, but laid it up for his chosen people, as we may gather from the conclusion.
Before Hanameel then came, the Prophet was instructed that nothing was done unadvisedly, but that God had arranged and ordered the whole. He was then commanded to buy the field, and as it were to cast away his money; for who would not have said that it was the same thing as to throw it away? And then we are to notice a circumstance as to the time; for the Prophet was then in danger of his life, to what purpose then was the field to him? We have also said that he could not have a free access to it, had he not been shut up in prison; for he could not have ventured to go out of the city. It was then a most strange and ridiculous purchase according to the judgment of the flesh; for Jeremiah squandered away his money, and the possession of the field was only imaginary. But yet as God would have him to buy it, he spared not his money, but purchased the field from his uncle’s son.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 11, 14 Or, right to redeem it.
Or, right to redeem it.
Because he was next of the kindred, as Ruth 4:4.
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Whereby was meant that the people should return again out of captivity and enjoy their possessions and vineyards, as verses 15 and 44.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–16 Jer 32:7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine…
Jer 32:7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that [is] in Anathoth: for the right of redemption [is] thine to buy [it].
Ver. 7. Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum.] This Shallum and Hilkiah the father of Jeremiah were brethren. And it was no less an honour to Hanameel to have such a kinsman as Jeremiah, than afterwards it was to Mark to be Barnabas’s sister’s son.
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Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth.] The priests, though they had no grain fields, yet they had meadows for their cattle, gardens and orchards in the suburbs of their cities, which in some cases they might sell one to another, till the year of jubilee howsoever. Some say that if such a field were so sold to a kinsman as here, it remained to him for ever. But the possession of the Levites might at any time be redeemed. {Lev 25:32}
For the right of redemption is thine.] See Lev 25:25; Lev 25:32 Rth 3:12; Rth 4:3-4.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 From hence may be concluded the certainty of future…
From hence may be concluded the certainty of future contingency in God’s eye; the coming of
Hanameel was a future contingency, yet certainly known to God, so as he could tell the prophet he would come. Anathoth (as appears from Jos 21:18) was one of the cities of the Levites; hence ariseth a question, how it could be sold to Jeremiah, who by the law might not possess it, Num 18:20, being a Levite.
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1. Some excuse it from the command of God, who might dispense with his own law; but this seemeth not enough, because it is said afterward, the right of redemption is thine.
2. Others therefore say the Levites might have some small possessions, though no ploughed land; they might have houses, and orchards, and gardens, in cities and suburbs. But that these might be sold seemeth contrary to the law, Lev 25:34. It is therefore rather thought to be meant of some small estate left to Hanameel from his ancestors.
The right of redemption belonged to the next of kin, Lev 25:25; Rth 4:4.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v16 We have here Jeremiah's prayer to God upon occasion…
We have here Jeremiah's prayer to God upon occasion of the discoveries God had made to him of his purposes concerning this nation, to pull it down, and in process of time to build it up again, which puzzled the prophet himself, who, though he delivered his messages faithfully, yet, in reflecting upon them, was greatly at a loss within himself how to reconcile them; in that perplexity he poured out his soul before God in prayer, and so gave himself ease. That which disturbed him was not the bad bargain he seemed to have made for himself in purchasing a field that he was likely to have no good of, but the case of his people, for whom he was still a kind and faithful intercessor, and he was willing to hope that, if God had so much mercy in store for them hereafter as he had promised, he would not proceed with so much severity against them now as he had threatened. Before Jeremiah went to prayer he delivered the deeds that concerned his new purchase to Baruch, which may intimate to us that when we are going to worship God we should get our minds as clear as may be from the cares and incumbrances of this world. Jeremiah was in prison, in distress, in the dark about the meaning of God's providences, and then he prays. Note, Prayer is a salve for every sore. Whatever is a burden to us, we may by prayer cast it upon the Lord and then be easy.
In this prayer, or meditation,
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I. Jeremiah adores God and his infinite perfections, and gives him the glory due to his name as the Creator, upholder, and benefactor, of the whole creation, thereby owning his irresistible power, that he can do what he will, and his incontestable sovereignty, that he may do what he will, Jer 32:17-19. Note, When at any time we are perplexed about the particular methods and dispensations of Providence it is good for us to have recourse to our first principles, and to satisfy ourselves with the general doctrines of God's wisdom, power, and goodness. Let us consider, as Jeremiah does here, 1. That God is the fountain of all being, power, life, motion, and perfection: He made the heaven and the earth with his outstretched arm; and therefore who can control him? Who dares contend with him? 2. That with him nothing is impossible, no difficulty insuperable: Nothing is too hard for thee. When human skill and power are quite nonplussed, with God are strength and wisdom sufficient to master all the opposition. 3. That he is a God of boundless bottomless mercy; mercy is his darling attribute; it is his goodness that is his glory: "Thou not only art kind, but thou showest lovingkindness, not to a few, to here and there one, but to thousands, thousands of persons, thousands of generations." 4. That he is a God of impartial and inflexible justice. His reprieves are not pardons, but if in mercy he spares the parents, that they may be led to repentance, yet such a hatred has he to sin, and such a displeasure against sinners, that he recompenses their iniquity into the bosom of their children, and yet does them no wrong; so hateful is the unrighteousness of man, and so jealous of its own honour is the righteousness of God. 5. That he is a God of universal dominion and command: He is the great God, for he is the mighty God, and might among men makes them great. He is the Lord of hosts, of all hosts, that is his name, and he answers to his name, for all the hosts of heaven and earth, of men and angels, are at his beck. 6. That he contrives every thing for the best, and effects every thing as he contrived it: He is great in counsel, so vast are the reaches and so deep are the designs of his wisdom; and he is mighty in doing, according to the counsel of his will. Now such a God as this is not to be quarrelled with. His service is to be constantly adhered to and all his disposals cheerfully acquiesced in.
II. He acknowledges the universal cognizance God takes of all the actions of the children of men and the unerring judgment he passes upon them (Jer 32:19): Thy eyes are open upon all the sons of men, wherever they are, beholding the evil and the good, and upon all their ways, both the course they take and every step they take, not as an unconcerned spectator, but as an observing judge, to give every one according to his ways and according to his deserts, which are the fruit of his doings; for men shall find God as they are found of him.
III. He recounts the great things God had done for his people Israel formerly. 1. He brought them out of Egypt, that house of bondage, with signs and wonders, which remain, if not in the marks of them, yet in the memorials of them, even unto this day; for it would never be forgotten, not only in Israel, who were reminded of it every year by the ordinance of the passover, but among other men: all the neighbouring nations spoke of it, as that which redounded exceedingly to the glory of the God of Israel, and made him a name as at this day. This is repeated (Jer 32:21), that God brought them forth, not only with comforts and joys to them, but with glory to himself, with signs and wonders (witness the ten plagues), with a strong hand, too strong for the Egyptians themselves, and with a stretched-out arm, that reached Pharaoh, proud as he was, and with great terror to them and all about them. This seems to refer to Deu 4:34. 2. He brought them into Canaan, that good land, that land flowing with milk and honey. He swore to their fathers to give it them, and, because he would perform his oath, he did give it to the children (Jer 32:22) and they came in and possessed it. Jeremiah mentions this both as an aggravation of their sin and disobedience and also as a plea with God to work deliverance for them. Note, It is good for us often to reflect upon the great things that God did for his church formerly, especially in the first erecting of it, that work of wonder.
IV. He bewails the rebellions they had been guilty of against God, and the judgments God had brought upon them for these rebellions. It is a sad account he here gives of the ungrateful conduct of that people towards God. He had done every thing that he had promised to do (they had acknowledged it, Kg1 8:56), but they had done nothing of all that he commanded them to do (Jer 32:23); they made no conscience of any of his laws; they walked not in them, paid no respect to any of his calls by his prophets, for they obeyed not his voice. And therefore he owns that God was righteous in causing all this evil to come upon them. The city is besieged, is attacked by the sword without, is weakened and wasted by the famine and pestilence within, so that it is ready to fall into the hands of the Chaldeans that fight against it (Jer 32:24); it is given into their hands, Jer 32:25. Now, 1. He compares the present state of Jerusalem with the divine predictions, and finds that what God has spoken has come to pass. God had given them fair warning of it before; and, if they had regarded this, the ruin would have been prevented; but, if they will not do what God has commanded, they can expect no other than that he should do what he had threatened. 2. He commits the present state of Jerusalem to the divine consideration and compassion (Jer 32:24): Behold the mounts, or ramparts, or the engines which they make use of to batter the city and beat down the wall of it. And again, "Behold thou seest it, and takest cognizance of it. Is this the city that thou has chosen to put thy name there? And shall it be thus abandoned?" He neither complains of God for what he had done nor prescribes to God what he should do, but desires he would behold their case, and is pleased to think that he does behold it. Whatever trouble we are in, upon a personal or public account, we may comfort ourselves with this, that God sees it and sees how to remedy it.
V. He seems desirous to be let further into the meaning of the order God had now given him to purchase his kinsman's field (Jer 32:25): "Though the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and no man is likely to enjoy what he has, yet thou hast said unto me, Buy thou the field." As soon as he understood that it was the mind of God he did it, and made no objections, was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; but, when he had done it, he desired better to understand why God had ordered him to do it, because the thing looked strange and unaccountable. Note, Though we are bound to follow God with an implicit obedience, yet we should endeavour that it may be more and more an intelligent obedience. We must never dispute God's statutes and judgments, but we may and must enquire, What mean these statutes and judgments? Deu 6:20.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–16 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came unto me,.... Freely…
So Hanameel mine uncle's son came unto me,.... Freely and voluntarily, of his own accord; though it was determined he should, as it was predicted he would; for God's decrees do not infringe the liberty of the will: this man came from Anathoth, very probably, to Jerusalem, to the place where the prophet was:
in the court of the prison, according to the word of the Lord; which had been made known before to Jeremiah:
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and said unto me, buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth,
which is in the country of Benjamin; it belonged to that tribe:
for the right of inheritance is thine; the reversion of this field; it would come to him after the death of his cousin, as being next heir:
and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself; since, if it was sold to another, he, according to law, was obliged to redeem it; and therefore it was much better to buy it at once for himself:
then I knew that this was the word of the Lord; that it was the word of the Lord which came to him before, and that it was the will of the Lord that he should make this purchase; since there was such an exact agreement between the prophecy and the event.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12 The money - The price of land was strangely…
The money - The price of land was strangely fallen at this time, when the enemy was besieging the chief city of the country.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 Verse 7. The right of redemption is thine] The…
Verse 7. The right of redemption is thine] The law had established that the estates of a family should never be alienated. If, therefore, a man through poverty was obliged to sell his patrimony, the nearest relative had a right to purchase it before all others, and even to redeem it, if it had been sold to another. This is what is called the right of goel, or kinsman, Le 25:25. And in the year of jubilee the whole reverted to its ancient master Le 25:13.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 16 Jer 32:9. I weighed him the money — In…
Jer 32:9. I weighed him the money — In ancient times all money was paid by weight, a custom still used in several countries; even seventeen shekels of silver — A sum which, in our money, is not much above forty shillings; a small price for a field or piece of ground. It must be considered, however, “that the quantity of land is uncertain, and that the circumstances of the times must have greatly tended to lessen the value of land. The field in question was at the time of the purchase in the enemy’s possession; and the purchaser well knew that he or his heirs had no chance of entering upon it till after the expiration of the seventy years’ captivity. Besides, the seller, it is likely, was in the immediate want of the money, and could get no one else to purchase in the precarious situation things were in. He might therefore be glad to take what the prophet, who, doubtless, was not rich, was able to give, and who would not have thought of making the purchase at any rate had he not acted under the divine direction for a special purpose.” — Blaney.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 15 Hanameel was strictly the first-cousin of Jeremiah. In Hebrew…
Hanameel was strictly the first-cousin of Jeremiah. In Hebrew all the terms of relationship are used in a more loose way than with us.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 11, 14 Next. Priests could sell only to their fellow priests,…
Next. Priests could sell only to their fellow priests, Leviticus xxv. 34. (St. Jerome) --- Others might dispose of their landed property to any, until the year of jubilee. The nearest relation had the first offer, but he was not obliged to purchase. Jeremias now consented, to shew that the people should return to possess the land, though it was now in the enemy’s hands. (Calmet) --- Thus a Roman purchased the land on which Hannibal was encamped, despising his power and threats. (V. Max. iii. 8.; Livy xxvi.) (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v16 2. A Prayer of Praise and Inquiry.
2. A Prayer of Praise and Inquiry.
Jer_32:16-25
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16Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of 17Neriah, I prayed unto the Lord, saying, Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there Isaiah 18 nothing too hard for thee [hid from thee]:6 Thou shewest loving-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom7 of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts [Jehovah 19Zebaoth] is his name. Great in counsel, and mighty in work8: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, 20and according to the fruit of his doings. Which [who]9 hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and 21hast made thee a name, as at this day; And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand22and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror; And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk 23and honey; And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law10; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst 24them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them.11 Behold the mounts [ramparts], they are come unto the city to take it: and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of [οί in con sequence of] the sword and the famine and of the pestilence: and what thou hast 25spoken is come to pass; and, behold thou seest it. And thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for [and yet] 12 the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The main thought of this prayer is praise of the omnipotence, justice and grace of God. It consists of three parts: 1. Jer_32:17-19; Jeremiah 2, Jer_32:20-23; Jeremiah 3, Jer_32:24-25. In the first part God’s omnipotence is shown from the creation (Jer_32:17), then His justice from His providence in history (Jer_32:18-19). In the second part God’s omnipotence is shown from His leading of the people of Israel, as it was especially glorified in the deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Jer_32:20-22), then His justice from the terrible calamity which has now come upon the disobedient nation (Jer_32:23). In the third part, which is least in extent, but the most important, a problem or unsolved riddle appears to be proposed. It is said that the Lord sees this calamity, and yet commands the prophet to buy the lot of ground (Jer_32:24). All however which has been previously said of the Lord’s omnipotence, especially “nothing is too hard for thee,” in union with that which must be extolled of the Lord’s grace towards Israel (Jer_32:21 sqq.), gives the key for the solution of that riddle.
Jer_32:16-19. Now when … fruit of his doings On Jer_32:17 comp. Jer_27:5; Deu_29:9.—Thou shewest loving-kindness, etc. Comp. Exo_20:6; Exo_34:7; Deu_5:10. For לַֽאֲלָפִים we find in Deu_7:9לְאֶלֶף דִּוֹר. If we compare with this the phrase in the parallel clause שִׁלֵשִׁים ,רִבֵּעִם (Exo_20:5; Exo_34:7; Num_14:18; Deu_5:9) which can only signify the off spring of the third and fourth generation, it is clear that the phrase in the text is taken in such a general signification that the idea of “thousands, belonging to the thousandth generation” is included.—And recompensest, etc. Comp. rems. on Jer_31:29-30.—The mighty God. Comp. Deu_10:17.—Jehovah Zebaoth. Comp. Jer_10:16; Jer_31:15, etc.—Great in counsel. etc. Comp. Isa_28:29; Psa_66:5.—To give every one, etc. Comp. Jer_17:10.
Jer_32:20-23. Who hast set … evil to come upon them. It is as though it were said, thou who in Egypt didst set in operation a wonder working power, which continues to operate until this day.—The antithesis of Israel and other men, as in Isa_43:4; Psa_73:5.—As at this day. Comp. Jer_25:18.—With signs. Comp. Deu_4:34; Deu_26:8.—Which thou didst swear. Comp (Gen_12:7; rems. on Jer_11:5.
Jer_32:24-25. Behold the ramparts … the Chaldeans. הסללות are ramparts set up by the besiegers. Comp. Jer_33:4; Jer_6:6.—Given, etc. The Chaldeans are indeed still without the city, but according to the prophet’s idea this is as good as surrendered, and on the fall of the chief city naturally follows the exile and the impossibility of further cultivation of the soil.—In consequence of depends on given. Sword, famine and pestilence, bring the city into the hands of the enemies. Comp. Jer_14:16; Jer_25:16; Jer_25:27; Jer_38:9. The Lord sees the condition of the city and yet He commands the prophet to buy a field. The fact that the prayer closes with this paradox must be regarded as an expression of the most tormenting uncertainty and helplessness, if the prophet had not himself in the previous context accumulated the most ample material to dispel such doubts. This apparently unsatisfactory conclusion is thus in the highest degree skilful and elevated. He leaves it to the reader to find the solution of the problem, after giving him all the aid that he needs. The concluding sentence, and the city, etc., Jer_32:25 b, viewed as spoken by the prophet, appears at first sight a tautological repetition. We might therefore be tempted to take it as spoken by Jehovah; buy the field although the city, etc. But although is not suitable in the mouth of Jehovah, for whom, in fact, the apparent contradiction is non-existent. The sentence is then spoken by the prophet; but it is not co-ordinate with buy thee, but an exclamation, in which the main point in the apparent contradiction is expressly repeated from Jer_32:24. Comp. the translation and Textual Notes.
Footnotes:
[6]Jer_32:17.—–יפלא לא. Comp. Gen_18:14; Deu_17:8 : Zec_8:6; Naegelsb. Gr., § 75, 2, 4.
[7]Jer_32:18.—Instead of חֵיק אֵל we find in Deu_7:10, פנים אל. Comp. besides Isa_65:6-7; Psa_79:12.
[8]Jer_32:19.—The form עֲלִילִיּהָ is found here only.
[9]Jer_32:20.—The construction in the sentence שׂמת אשׁר to הזה היום עד, is as in Jer_11:7. In both cases עד is to be regarded as depending on the idea latent in the verb of “stretching, lasting.” It is accordingly a constructio prægnans. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 112, 7.
[10]Jer_32:23.—ובתרותך. The reading of the Chethibh which is תֹרוֹתֶךָ (Jer_38:22; comp. Naegelsb. Gr. § 44, 4, Anm.) is probably to be explained by a mere oversight of the ו. Comp. rems. on Jer_17:23.
[11]Jer_32:23.—ותקרא. Hiphil here only. Comp. Deu_31:29.
[12]Jer_32:25.—והעיר. To obtain the meaning: although the city, as spoken by Jehovah, we should have to read כִּי גַם. On the וְ comp. Ewald, § 341 a; Naegelsb. Gr., § 110, 4.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 son of Shallum thine uncle--therefore, Jeremiah's first cousin.
son of Shallum thine uncle--therefore, Jeremiah's first cousin.
field . . . in Anathoth--a sacerdotal city: and so having one thousand cubits of suburban fields outside the wall attached to it (Num 35:4-5). The prohibition to sell these suburban fields (Lev 25:34) applied merely to their alienating them from Levites to another tribe; so that this chapter does not contravene that prohibition. Besides, what is here meant is only the purchase of the use of the field till the year of jubilee. On the failure of the owner, the next of kin had the right of redeeming it (Lev 25:25, &c.; Rut 4:3-6).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 JEREMIAH BUYS THE FIELD IN ANATHOTH, Jer_32:6-15.
JEREMIAH BUYS THE FIELD IN ANATHOTH, Jer_32:6-15.
7. Thine uncle — This, as we learn from the following verse, refers to Shallum, and not Hanameel, to which name, according to the laws of Hebrew construction, it is also applicable. The original word for “uncle” is very general in its import, being sometimes rendered “beloved,” as for instance in Isa_5:1, which is literally, “I will sing to my well beloved a song of my uncle (beloved) touching his vineyard.”
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The right of redemption — See Lev_25:25. He who had the right of redemption had also the right of pre-emption, both having the same object, namely, to preserve the possession for the family.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 7. Hanamel the son of Shallum thine uncle] The…
7. Hanamel the son of Shallum thine uncle] The distinct statement in Jer_32:8-9 however that Hanamel was Jeremiah’s first cousin makes it necessary to refer the word uncle of this v. to Shallum, and to consider the word for son in Jer_32:12 to have been accidentally omitted by a Heb. copyist.
Anathoth] See Intr. p. x.
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the right of redemption is thine to buy it] According to the law, as formulated in Lev_25:24 f.; Rth_4:6, if land was, or was about to be, sold, the nearest of kin, in this case Jeremiah, had a right to purchase or re-purchase it as the case might be, so that it should not pass from one family to another. For the system of land tenure (although it is doubtful whether the laws regulating it were ever reduced to practice) see HDB. IV. 325 a.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 (7) Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum . .…
(7) Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum . . .—The teaching of the narrative that follows lies almost on the surface, and is brought out distinctly in Jer_32:44. “With all the certainty of desolation, misery, exile in the immediate future, the prophet was to give a practical proof that he was as certain of the ultimate restoration. It was worth while to buy a field even for what might seem the contingency of that remote reversion. Roman history records a parallel act of patriotic faith in the purchase of land at Rome at its full market value, at the very time when the armies of Hannibal were marching to the gate of the city (Livy, xxvi. 11). Nothing more is known of the Hanameel who is here mentioned than that he was the first cousin of the prophet (Jer_32:8-9). The word “uncle” in this verse therefore applies strictly to Shallum. As the lands belonging to the priests and Levites as such could not be alienated (Lev_25:34), we must assume either that the land in question had come into the family by marriage and was private property, or that the law had been so far relaxed as to allow of the transfer of land within the limits of the family, and up to the date of the next year of jubilee. In such a case, as in Rth_3:12; Rth_4:4, the option of purchase was offered in the first instance to the next of kin (the Goël, or “redeemer,” of the family), so that it might still be kept in the line of succession (Lev_25:24; Lev_25:32). The prophet naturally lays stress on the fact that he was warned beforehand of the visit of Hanameel and of its object. The coincidence was to him what the arrival of the messenger of Cornelius was to Peter (Act_10:19-21).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 Hanameel. Another form of Hananeel; comp. Gesam , in…
Hanameel. Another form of Hananeel; comp. Gesam , in the Septuagint = Goshen, Madiam = Midian. In Jer_31:38 the Authorized Version has Hananeel, and the Septuagint Anamehl (of course, the persons referred to are different). The son of Shallum thine uncle. It is strange that Hanameel should be called at once Jeremiah"s uncle"s son and his uncle; and yet this is the case the former in vers. 8, 9, the latter in ver. 12. There is, therefore, no reason why we should deviate (as most commentators do) from the ordinary Hebrew usage, and suppose "thine uncle" in this verse to refer to Shallum, and not rather to Hanameel. But how are we to explain this singular variation in phraseology? Either from the fact that the Hebrew for "uncle" is simply a word expressive of affection, (it means "beloved," see e.g. Isa_5:1) and might, therefore, just as well be applied to a cousin as to an uncle: or else. upon the supposition that the word for "son (of)" has fallen out of the text before "mine uncle," both in this verse and in ver. 12.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv8, 14 Then I knew that this was the Word of…
Jer_32:8
Then I knew that this was the Word of the Lord.
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Missed opportunities
No person who understands, and still less he who values, life as a sacred opportunity of doing something for the world before he dies, but has often wished that he could overleap the bounds of the present and understand what the result of his action shall be, so that, with the larger experience of the future, he might go the better armed against the perplexing problems and conditions of duty which beset him in the present. If only we had the education which will come in the future, how we should be protected against the mistakes of the present! And thus we feel a certain impatience against time. Now, the incident recorded in this chapter suggests to us exactly that thought of the way in which time may rebuke our rashness and rebuke also our dulness. The incident which is recorded is a very simple one, but it is suggestive and significant. A certain sort of dream, as we might call it, passed through the mind of Jeremiah, then in close imprisonment because of the jealous anger of the king. Whatever else he was, he was a Jew at heart, and he had that capacity which was singularly, I suppose, possessed by the Jew--the tenacious love of the soil which gave him birth. It was a joy for him to think that the land which was given by God to his forefathers belonged in succession of family inheritance to his own kinsman of that day; and the dream crossed his mind that perchance that moment might come when he would have the opportunity of becoming the possessor of his ancestral heritage. That was his thought. It came to him as a dream; he describes it afterwards as the direction of the Word of the Lord coming to him. But it was not, I imagine, realised as the Word of God at the first moment of its approach: it was only a later circumstance an actual incident which occurred in his life--which enabled him to see that the first suggested thought was, indeed, the Word of the Lord. Now, the first thought which naturally arises from a thing like that is this. We may act upon our first impressions, our impressions may be very strong, and they may be ready to link themselves with our natural ambitions, but it is not every impression that is the word of light, still less the Word of the Lord. Religion divides itself very often, if we were to classify it, into two families or types. It has often been made the subject of mere mental impressions. The presence of the Spirit, the consciousness of a spirit working within, that has been emphasised to such a degree that at last men, driven by their impulse or suggestion of some passing impression, have committed deeds of violence and wrong which the common conscience of humanity condemns. That is to say, early impressions, strong impressions, even impressions which jump with the spirit of what we believe to be right, impressions which wed themselves to our darling dreams, however much they may justify themselves by the exercise of our imaginative conscience, are not in themselves to be accepted as truly Divine suggestions. We must wait for the light of other circumstances. Authority in religion is never on the one side or the other; authority is never wholly within, nor yet wholly without. If it is wholly within, it is open to the declaration of being a mere subjective impression; if it is wholly without, it lays no weight upon the spiritual nature of man, and receives no response from his conscience. But, when there comes to us this which, on the one hand, links itself with our inner nature, and by its own commanding presence makes us feel that it is true, and brings to it also the verifying evidence of providential opportunity--then duty leaps up and can draw her sword, because she knows that she is not the victim of a passing impression alone, but that two things, the law without and the law within, have been combining within his life--then he may know that this also is the Word of the Lord. But if, on the one side, an accident like this may be taken to rebuke the rash impulsiveness of men who would act upon their own subjective impressions, it also, and I think still more strikingly, witnesses against our dulness, which fails to perceive the true significance of the incidents of life as they occur. It was an impression on Jeremiahs mind, and it was only afterwards, when the light of that later circumstance of Hanameels visit occurred, that he perceived its full significance. Then I knew that this was the Word of the Lord. Now mark that this experience is very true in our ordinary life. How often it happens that we have failed to realise the full value of our opportunities till later circumstances flash new light on their meaning! To take the simplest illustration which might come to our minds, you are in the midst of a crowd; you are anxiously looking out because it is a crowd where many of the celebrities of life are gathered; and after you have passed some one suddenly says to you, Did you see him? and immediately there flashes upon you the thought, you have been close to one whose name you have heard, whose works perchance you have read, of whom you have had the greatest desire to have some knowledge. Just then the after circumstance of the utterance of your friend flashes upon you the true meaning of this; you have been close to that greatness which you have worshipped, you have massed the opportunity. Or there are incidents in your own life. Have you never had some friend who in early life was your familiar companion? You played with him, studied the same tasks with him; and now life has diverged, and he has risen to greatness, and we remain where we were on the commonplace level of life. People meet us and say, You knew him; tell me some incidents of his early life. But now the dimness of the past comes upon your memory, and all the anecdotes have dropped away; the multitude of other affairs has obscured your recollection. But then, by the light of this after greatness, you know you have been by the side of one who was possessed of conspicuous genius, one of whom you would say, Would that I had husbanded those stories of the past; would that I had observed him, for his life would have a further meaning to me had I been one who had noted carefully the characteristics, the features of his talent, of his life. In other words, later circumstances are constantly forcing upon us the dulness with which we have confronted the incidents of life as they have occurred. And surely that is the common witness of history. What is the history of all human progress? What is the history of literary life? Who killed John Keats? has often been asked. To the men of his day he was but a raw youth, full of a kind of rude desire for poetic fame; but now we recognise the genius which lay there; we go back and say how true it is that the men of their day failed to recognise the glory of these men, have persecuted them, and let them starve, and afterwards have built their monuments. It is the same in the history of our Lord. You are not surprised that the same thing should be fulfilled in His life who was in all points as we are--tempted, yet without sin. We say, If we had lived in those days our hand would not have been lifted up against that sacred life, we should have torn the crown of thorns from His brow, we should have welcomed His mission, we should have adored Him. But the men of that day did not see the beauty that they should desire Him. Thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil, were the words with which He was greeted. John the Baptist pointed out their dulness--There standeth One among you Whom ye know not. But we forget that this may be true in us. Even in our midst Christ stands, and we fail to recognise Him. Why is it we are perpetually visiting with our severe criticism the dulness of the past, when we may be dull ourselves--dull to duty, dull to opportunity, dull to the meaning of the age in which we are living, dull to the very call of God, dull to the presence of Christ? Every duty, every opportunity of kindness, every incident of our life, if we are alive to see it in its brighter light, in its true significance, would never be deemed to be trivial and insignificant at all. When we begin to see light, when the light shall flash upon it, when the grave is opening upon us, this very flash of the circumstance which we call death may shine so back upon the trivial incidents of our life, that we shall realise for the first time that those commonplace things, those duties which I shirked, those things from which I turned away, thinking them of no moment at all--those also were the Word of the Lord. May I, then, ask you to observe the application of that truth, that time reveals to us our dulness in relation to certain aspects of our life?
1. First, the circumstances of the presence of God. We are often disposed to say that our lot in this century is cast in what we may call unfavourable circumstances for faith. Splendid miracles no longer happen. May not the presence of God be as real amongst the ordinary conventional aspects of our daily life--in the sun that rises and sets, in the harvests that are sown and reaped? And may it not be also that the hour might come upon us when the light from some new combination of circumstances might so flash upon our present or our past life as to reveal to us God was there indeed?
2. Or take it with regard to what we may call the providential circumstances of life. Have you never felt that your burden in life is a larger one to bear than your neighbours? We think that others who go cheerily through the world have less affliction than we; we wish we could change with them. But suppose the Lord Almighty did meet you, who understands exactly the conditions of flesh and blood, who knows those special conditions which you have inherited through the long succession of your ancestors, if He were to come to you and say, I am about to bring upon you this sorrow you will lose pecuniarily, or you shall have this illness, or that true one shall be swept from your side; I ask you to bear for My sake, My child, this burden; and if that measure your strength, I know exactly what you can bear; and I know also the sweet and the glorious bounty of grace which shall come to you in the bearing of it. Not one amongst us with the face of Gods strength looking into ours, and the smile of God encouraging us to patience and fortitude, would ever bear to shrink from the burden; we would gird up the loins of our mature to bear whatever it was--sorrow, bereavement, loss. But that which we would do if God so spake to us is surely that which we might lucre the faith to do--seeing that later circumstances may just flash upon us this revelation--It was God, indeed, who brought that burden upon me. That loss, that bereavement, that sickness--were brought by the loving hand of God, who sought to help you through the discipline of life into a better and truer faith and spirit.
3. Lastly, I would ask you to see the light which that thought throws upon the suggestions of duty--duty, stern daughter of the voice of God. If that has any meaning, it has a claim upon your life and mine. But what I ask you to observe is this. We never realise the splendour and the significance of the duties which are laid upon us, when measured by our own small life; they seem so trifling. Look for a moment at the prophet. That which he did might, from one standpoint, be said to be merely the desire of a man to possess some landed property, merely the wish of a man that he may be in the possession of his ancestral heritage; but when the opportunity came he said, This suggestion is the Word of the Lord. For his action was no longer a commercial action done between himself and his kinsman; it became then a great action, typical, representative, manifesting to Israel the real attitude of strength with which Israel should confront its dangers. Like the old Roman, it was the purchase of the land while the enemy was in possession which gave dignity to his action. The Roman by his action said, Though the enemy be at the gates, I do not despair of the welfare of the republic. Jeremiahs action said more: I do not believe that one rood of the sacred soil shall ever permanently be in the possession of the enemies of God; and it was the splendour therefore, the significance, of the action which was flashed upon him at the moment when the opportunity of the purchase came; and that which was once a dream is become a reality. And he could therefore prove to the people the reality of his faith in the hope and in the destiny of Israel. The meaning and the significance of that action none of his countrymen could gainsay, because he was ready to venture his money. That is the spirit of it. Every duty costs something: it costs some trouble, some pains, some thought, some money. Duty, whatever is in your life, is not always an easy thing, unless your nature has been celestialised, and duty has become a delight. But that, after all, belongs rather to the higher levels of life than that commonly apportioned to humankind. Would duty be less noble if duty were easy? Is it not precisely because the steep up which you climb is rocky; because you must sometimes fall, and climb on hands and knees ere you can get to the height where the light of God is shining; because it means the expenditure of fame, money--whatever it is; because the duty is shirked--that therefore the duty is noble? It does cost something; and the man who talks glibly about duty, but is never ready to pay the price of his duty, to purchase his duty by the laying down of some present price, either of money or of time--that man, whatever else he may say, does not believe in the splendid imperative of duty, he does not believe in the voice of God behind it. If I want now to correct the dulness of my eyesight and be illumined by that light which will enable me to perceive that the Divine light is there, which will enable me to hear in every call the voice of the Lord, what shall be my best means of achieving this? Let the past illumine the present; go back on your life and observe it. You now can perceive exactly where it was you missed your way, because you now know that, if you had done this or omitted to do that, if you had not been the victim of that delusion, you would have been in a different position- You see now that that voice at your side was indeed the voice of the Lord. Let the past illumine the present. Do not treat duties as trivial and commonplace, because as your present life illuminates your past life, and shows you how Gods voice has been in it, so the future may illumine the duties which appeal to you to-day. We often say that the dead are canonised in our memory. When they pass away with their greatness, they seem to move from the crowd of men and march with stately steps, and take their place in the great banquet-halls of those whom memory holds illustrious and dear; and from out those banquet-halls they look down with eyes brimming with reproach, because we do not value them as we might. So our duties, canonised by the light which the present throws upon them, march stately before us; they take their place high above, and there are reproaches in their eyes; and the future will have reproaches like this, if we do not perceive the voice of the Lord at our side. The real thing which dims our eyes is the limited light we bring, measuring all the incidents of life by self. Bring in the larger light. Why, that old Roman brought in the larger light, when he saw in the purchase of the land not his own private gain but the welfare of the republic. He saw his duty in the larger light of the well-being of the men and women about him. Let in the light of other mens interests, let in the light of the welfare of those about you, and then you cannot say that the duties are insignificant, then their voice will be to you the voice of humanitys need, and you will see a dignity in obeying it. Look upon every action of your life, not in relation to self or to the men and women about you, but in relation to God. Let in that larger light. Then every action of yours has its transcendent significance; then His Divine voice appeals to you; then you say, Every habit I contract, every word I speak, every opportunity I miss, may be a Divine opportunity slighted, the Divine voice turned back upon. (Bp. Boyd Carpenter.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v9 (1) A sign of Jeremiah’s faith in his own…
bought
(1) A sign of Jeremiah’s faith in his own predictions of the restoration of Judah Jer 32:15 for the field was then occupied by the Babylonian army; and
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(2) a sign to Judah of that coming restoration.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v16 Jeremiah’s Prayer and Jehovah’s Answer
Jeremiah’s Prayer and Jehovah’s Answer
v. 16. Now, when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch, the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the Lord, saying,
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v. 17. Ah, Lord God! his perplexity on account of the strange proceeding in which he had just taken part at God’s command causing him to take recourse to prayer, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched-out arm, the entire creation being evidence of Jehovah’s omnipotence, and there is nothing too hard for Thee, literally, "not is too difficult or miraculous beyond Thee anything. "
v. 18. Thou showest loving-kindness unto thousands and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them, so that they are obliged to accept and bear it, since they follow their parents in their wicked ways, Exo 20:5-6; Exo 34:7; the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is His name, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Commander of all the heavenly armies,
v. 19. great in counsel and mighty in work, His almighty power being directed by His boundless wisdom, both in devising and in executing His plans for the benefit of man; for Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, Pro 5:21, to give every one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings; Cf. Jer 17:10;
v. 20. which hast set signs and wonders, miraculous deeds, which served to bring out the majesty of His essence, in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, for the wonderworking power of Jehovah, set in operation at that time, had continued to exert its might through the centuries, and in Israel, and among other men, and hast made Thee a name, as at this day, so that the honor of the Lord was extolled wherever men heard of His deeds;
v. 21. and hast brought forth Thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and with great terror, Cf Deu 26:8;
v. 22. and hast given them this land, which Thou didst swear to their fathers, beginning with Abraham, to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey, unusually rich in resources;
v. 23. and they came in and possessed it, willing enough to receive rich benefits from the hand of Jehovah. But they obeyed not Thy voice, neither walked in Thy Law, rewarding the goodness of the Lord with base ingratitude; they have done nothing of all that Thou commandedst them to do, the complaint which the Lord had been obliged to voice time and again. Therefore Thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them, their punishment thus striking them in a measure agreeing with their transgression.
v. 24. Behold the mounts, the ramparts of the besieging army as it prepared to take the city, they are come unto the city to take it, and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it because of, or "in the presence of, as a consequence of," the sword and of the famine and of the pestilence. And what Thou hast spoken is come to pass, and, behold, Thou seest it, for the siege was then going on.
v. 25. And Thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, the prophet’s perplexity here finding expression, Buy thee a field for money and take witnesses; for, or "and yet," the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Although the city, by the word of the Lord and according to the evidence visible in the presence of the besieging army, was doomed to destruction, yet Jeremiah had received the command which, in view of the situation, seemed very strange to him. So he looks to the Lord for an explanation regarding the future.
v. 26. Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, in answer to his prayer, saying,
v. 27. Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, of all men, weak and mortal as they are; is there anything too hard for Me? as Jeremiah himself had stated, v. 17.
v. 28. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
v. 29. and the Chaldeans that fight against this city shall come and set fire on this city and burn it with the houses upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, in the flagrant form of idolatry which the Lord had taken occasion to reprove so often, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods to provoke Me to anger.
v. 30. For the children of Israel, upon whom the Lord’s punishment had already descended, and the children of Judah, who had not profited by their example, have only done evil before Me from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked Me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord, they indulged only in such things as were displeasing to Jehovah, the God of the covenant.
v. 31. For this city hath been to Me as a provocation of Mine anger and of My fury, an object calling forth His indignation, challenging His wrath and punishment, from the day that they built it even unto this day, that I should remove it from before My face, this, as it were, being the object which its inhabitants had in mind with their idolatrous behavior,
v. 32. because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, practically the entire nation indulging in the same transgressions.
v. 33. And they have turned unto Me the back and not the face, a complaint which the Lord had repeatedly voiced, Jer 2:27, though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, with eager and merciful zeal, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.
v. 34. But they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name to defile it, all pictures of idols being abhorred in the sight of the Lord, especially since the glory of His own name was besmirched by such acts.
v. 35. And they built the high places of Baal, the supreme idol of the Canaanitish nations, which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, or of Ben-hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech, in the loathsome sacrifice made to this chief idol of the Moabites, which I commanded them not, neither came it into My mind that they should do this abomination to cause Judah to sin, to bring transgression and guilt upon the entire nation. Jer 7:30-31.
v. 36. And now, therefore, thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, having passed from the extreme of self-confidence to the very depths of despair, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence, the Lord now, in spite of the fact that the great majority of the people had richly deserved their fate, giving them a gracious promise of deliverance.
v. 37. Behold, I will gather them out of all countries whither I have driven them in Mine anger and in My fury and in great wrath, the use of the synonyms serving to bring out the extremity of God’s indignation; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell in safety, all this stated of the future security of the Church.
v. 38. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God, Jer 30:22; Jer 24:7.
v. 39. And I will give them one heart and one way, directing them to the one road which was well-pleasing to Him, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and of their children after them, since this course would keep them from the various evil ways of the heathen.
v. 40. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, so that they would once more enter into the relation with Him which He desired, that I will not turn away from them to do them good, that is, not refrain from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from Me. The Lord here represents Himself as an eager and diligent Educator, a faithful Pedagog, who follows His pupils everywhere in order to impart to them the instruction which they needed for the proper way of living.
v. 41. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, it being His greatest delight to shower benefits upon them; and I will plant them in this land assuredly with My whole heart and with My whole soul, so that His faithfulness toward them would find its most emphatic expression in His treatment of them.
v. 42. For thus saith the Lord, Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, in having them led away into captivity, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. Jer 31:28. From this fact the Lord now draws a conclusion which serves as an answer to the question of Jeremiah.
v. 43. And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate, without man or beast, such statements expressing their despair of ever seeing the land restored to a habitable state; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Over against this fact stands the promise of Jehovah,
v. 44. Men shall buy fields for money, conducting their purchases in accordance with the forms required by law, and subscribe evidences, deeds of conveyance, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, where Jeremiah had made his symbolical purchase, and in the places about Jerusalem, which would again occupy the position of capital, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, in the northern and eastern part of Judea, and in the cities of the valley, the lowlands toward the west, and in the cities of the South, the semiarid plains bordering the Arabian Desert; for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord. Although the expressions refer to the restoration of Judah, the description clearly includes the Church of Jehovah as such; for only the believers are in truth members of the people of God.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 10, 13, 16 General Information:
General Information:
Jeremiah continues speaking, but he begins to speak of himself in first person. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
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the courtyard of the guard
This was an open area attached to the king's palace that was surrounded by buildings and in which they kept prisoners. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 32:2.
seventeen shekels
A shekel is 11 grams. AT: "17 shekels" or "187 grams" (See: Biblical Money and Numbers)
translationWords
declare
Benjamin
inherit
silver
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16 32:9-12 Many people might have thought that Jeremiah did…
32:9-12 Many people might have thought that Jeremiah did a foolish thing when he agreed to buy the land. After the fall of Jerusalem and the exile of many people, the value of the land would drop to almost nothing. Still, Jeremiah immediately bought the field. • Matthew 27:9-10 refers to the “prophecy of Jeremiah,” which might be an allusion to this event.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.