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Book of Jeremiah, chapter 39 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeremiah 39 is the thirty-ninth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It is numbered as Jeremiah 46 in the Septuagint. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter is part of a narrative section consisting of chapters 37 to 44.[1] Chapter 39 records the fall of Jerusalem, verses 1–10, and Jeremiah's fate, verses 11–18.[2]
Jeremiah 39 | |
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![]() A high resolution scan of the Aleppo Codex showing the Book of Jeremiah (the sixth book in Nevi'im). | |
Book | Book of Jeremiah |
Hebrew Bible part | Nevi'im |
Order in the Hebrew part | 6 |
Category | Latter Prophets |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 24 |
The original text was written in Hebrew. This chapter is divided into 18 verses.
The order of chapters and verses of the Book of Jeremiah in the English Bibles, Masoretic Text (Hebrew), and Vulgate (Latin), in some places differs from that in the Septuagint (LXX, the Greek Bible used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and others) according to Rahlfs or Brenton. The following table is taken with minor adjustments from Brenton's Septuagint, page 971.[3]
The order of Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint/Scriptural Study (CATSS) based on Alfred Rahlfs' Septuaginta (1935), differs in some details from Joseph Ziegler's critical edition (1957) in Göttingen LXX. Swete's Introduction mostly agrees with Rahlfs' edition (=CATSS).[3]
Hebrew, Vulgate, English | Rahlfs' LXX (CATSS) | Brenton's LXX |
---|---|---|
39:1-3,14-18 | 46:1-3,14-18 | 46:1-4,15-18 |
39:4-13 | none | |
32:1-44 | 39:1-44 | |
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).[4]
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (with a different chapter and verse numbering), made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; Q; 6th century).[5] The Septuagint version does not contain the part what is generally known to be verses 4–13 in Christian Bibles.[3]
The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex.[6] Jeremiah 39 is a part of the "Fifteenth prophecy (Jeremiah 36-39)" in the section of Prophecies interwoven with narratives about the prophet's life (Jeremiah 26-45). {P}: open parashah; {S}: closed parashah.
Chronologically and thematically this chapter is a continuation of the previous one, describing Babylon's invasion of Jerusalem and its consequences, particularly for Zedekiah (verses 1–10) and Jeremiah (verses 11–18).[9] The narrative places the invasion as background to larger issues (cf. Jeremiah 52:4–16 and 2 Kings 25:1–12), as the focus is more on the Zedekiah's cowardly behavior, escape, and capture (verses 4–5) under the fulfillment of the prophecy, with the ending of the king being blinded, physically as already spiritually.[9] On the other hand, Jeremiah simultaneously obtains release and protection from Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, at the command of Nebuchadrezzar (verses 11–13) and then under the protection of Gedaliah, the governor appointed by Babylon, and son of Ahikam (cf. Jeremiah 26:24).[10] This signifies the fulfillment of another prophecy that by submitting to Babylon, people could save their lives as the prize of war and returned home (verses 11–14).[11] The episode with Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian rescuer of Jeremiah (verses 15–18), further emphasizes the fulfillment of the divine message (Jeremiah 38:7-13) about his life as a prize of war because he trusted in YHWH (verse 18).[11]
Verses 1–3 detail the events of the Babylonian invasion to Jerusalem from the ninth to the eleventh year of Zedekiah when finally the city was captured, occupied and destroyed by the Babylonian army. Verses 4–5 focus on Zedekiah's failed effort to escape and the fulfillment of the prophecy that Zedekiah's offspring were killed in front of him before he himself was blinded and taken to captivity. The houses of Jerusalem were burned and people were exiled, except the poor ones who remained and given their land back by Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian captain of the guard (verses 8–10).[9]
Cross reference: 2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 52:1–4; Ezekiel 24:1–2
"The ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month" refers to January 587 BCE.[13] 2 Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 52:4 and Ezekiel 24:1 provide the date as "the tenth day of the month".[14]
Cross reference: 2 Kings 25:2–4; Jeremiah 52:5–7
The Jerusalem Bible merges the last part of Jeremiah 38:28 with verse 3: Now when Jerusalem was captured … all the officers of the King of Babylon marched in...[18]
The medieval Jewish commentator Rashi considered the statement "All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate" as the fulfillment of the prophecy, "They shall come and each one set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem" in Jeremiah 1:15.[19]
Various language versions have rendered the list of names differently:[20]
Hebrew: |
נֵרְגַל שַׂרְ-אֶצֶר סַמְגַּר-נְבוּ שַׂר-סְכִים רַב-סָרִיס נֵרְגַל שַׂרְאֶצֶר רַב-מָג |
Hebrew (Romanized): | Nêrəḡal Śar’eṣer Samgar Nəḇū-Śarsəḵîm Raḇsārîs Nêrəḡal Śar’eṣer Raḇmāḡ |
Greek: |
Μαργανασαρ και Σαμαγωθ και Ναβουσαχαρ και Ναβουσαρεις Ναγαργας Νασερραβαμαθ |
Vulgate: | NEREGEL SERESER SEMEGAR NABV SARSACHIM RABSARES NEREGEL SERESER REBMAG |
Cross references: 2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 52:11
Jeremiah survived because of his trust to YHWH and together with other people who were left behind by the Babylonians, he could go to his own home (verses 11–14), under the protection of Gedaliah.[10] Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian who had rescued Jeremiah also survived (verses 15–18), because he trusted in YHWH.[11] The many topics of these narratives converge to a single persuasion effort that the exiles should submit to Babylon as the only way of life forward.[11]
"Rabsaris"; and "Rabmag" are "titles of Babylonian officials" according to the New Oxford Annotated Bible.[13]
According to Jeremiah 40:1 the court of the prison was located in Ramah, from where Jeremiah was released into the protection of Gedaliah (cf. Jeremiah 26:24).[10]
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