Jeremiah 52:13
Ver. 13. And burnt the house of the Lord,.... The temple built by Solomon, after it had stood four hundred and seventy years, six months, and ten days, according to Josephus {z}: but the Jews say it stood but four hundred ten years {a}:
and the king's house; the royal palace; probably that which was built by Solomon, 1Ki 7:1;
and all the houses of Jerusalem: of any note or strength:
and all the houses of the great [men] burnt he with fire; of the princes and nobles in Jerusalem; it is in the singular number, "and every house of the great one"; or "every great house" {b}; Jarchi interprets it of the synagogue, where prayer was magnified; and others, he says, understood it of the schools, where the law was magnified. {z} Autiqu. l. 10. c. 8. sect. 5. {a} T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 3. 2. & Gloss. in ib. {b} lwdgh tyb lk taw "omnem domum magnatis", Cocceius; "omnemque domum magnam", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt. Jeremiah 52:14Ver. 14. And all the army of the Chaldeans, that [were] with the captain of the guard,.... Which he brought with him from Riblah, or were left at Jerusalem by those that pursued after Zedekiah when the city was taken, which the captain of the guard now had the command of:broke down all the walls of Jerusalem round about:See Gill on "Jer 39:8". Jeremiah 52:15Ver. 15. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive [certain] of the poor of the people,.... That is, of the city, as distinct from the poor of the land of Judea he left, afterwards observed:and the residue of the people that remained in the city; that died not by the sword or famine, and fled not with Zedekiah: or "even the residue of the people"; and so are the same with the poor people in the former clause; though Kimchi explains it thus,"some of the poor of the people he carried captive, and some of them he left:''and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon; that fell off from the Jews, and surrendered to the king of Babylon during the siege; or that voluntarily came in, and put themselves into the hands of the captain of the guard:and the rest of the multitude; of the people, both in city and country. Jeremiah 52:16Ver. 16. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left [certain] of the poor of the land,.... Of the land of Judea, who lived in the country, and had not been concerned in defending the city against the Chaldeans:for vinedressers, and for husbandmen; to look after the vineyards and fields, and dress and manure them, that the king of Babylon might receive some advantage by the conquest he had made;See Gill on "Jer 39:10". Jeremiah 52:17Ver. 17. Also the pillars of brass that [were] in the house of the Lord,.... The two pillars in the temple, called Jachin and Boaz, which were made of cast brass, 1Ki 7:15;and the bases; which were in number ten, and which were also made of cast brass, and were all of one measure and size; and on which the ten lavers of brass were set, five on the right side and five on the left side of the house, 1Ki 7:37;and the brasen sea that [was] in the house of the Lord; called the molten sea; a sea, because of the large quantity of water it held; and brasen and molten, because made of molten brass, 1Ki 7:23;the Chaldeans broke, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon: they broke them to pieces, that they might carry them the more easily. This account is given, and which is continued in some following verses, partly to show the accomplishment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer 27:19; and partly to show that what was left in the temple, at the former captivities of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah, were now carried clear off. Jeremiah 52:18Ver. 18. The cauldrons also,.... Or "pots", as it is rendered, 2Ki 25:14; which were made of bright brass, 1Ki 7:45; these were used to boil the flesh of the sacrifices in:and the shovels; used to remove the ashes from off the altar of burnt offerings, and were of brass also: the Targum renders them "besoms", whose handles perhaps were of brass:and the snuffers; the Vulgate Latin translates it "psalteries"; and so Jarchi interprets it of musical instruments; some think "tongs" are meant:and the bowls; or "basins"; either to drink out of, or to receive the blood of the sacrifice:and the spoons: ladles, cups, or dishes, vessels used about the sacrifices:and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered; that is, the priests in the temple:took they away; the Chaldeans took them away. Jeremiah 52:19Ver. 19. And the basins,.... Or "bowls"; these are omitted, 2Ki 25:15; they were of gold, 1Ki 7:50;and the firepans; or "censers"; these were those of gold, which belonged to the golden altar, 1Ki 7:50;and the bowls; or "basins"; there were a hundred of them made of gold, 2Ch 4:8;and the cauldrons; or "pots"; these are not mentioned, 2Ki 25:15; what they should be, that were either of gold or silver, cannot be said:and the candlesticks; of which there were ten in number, made of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, 1Ki 7:49;and the spoons; which were also of gold, 1Ki 7:50;and the cups: the word is rendered "bowls", to cover withal, Ex 25:29; it was some kind of instrument or vessel used about the shewbread table, made of pure gold; according to Jarchi, these were little golden forks, upon which they placed the shewbread, to keep it from moulding; according to the Misna {c}, there were four of them:[that] which [was] of gold [in] gold, and [that] which [was] of silver [in] silver, took the captain of the guard away; that is, everything that was of gold or silver he took away; the golden things by themselves, and the silver things by themselves, as some think.{c} Menachot, c. 11. sect. 6. Jeremiah 52:20Ver. 20. The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls,.... The two pillars of Jachin and Boaz before mentioned, and the molten or brasen sea, with the twelve bulls or oxen the sea stood upon, 1Ki 7:25;that [were] under the bases; or "by the bases", as Jarchi; or rather, "that were instead of bases" {d}; for the twelve oxen were the bases on which the molten sea stood:which King Solomon had made in the house of the Lord; this is mentioned to show that these were the selfsame pillars, sea, and oxen, and other vessels, that Solomon made, that were now carried away; for though Ahaz took down the sea from off the brasen oxen, and put it on a pavement of stones, yet it seems not to have been destroyed; and might be restored to its proper place by Hezekiah, or some other prince;the brass of all these vessels was without weight; there was no weight sufficient to weigh them; the weight of them could not very well be told; they were so heavy, that in Solomon's time the weight of them was not taken, when they were placed in the temple, so neither when they were taken away, 1Ki 7:47.{d} twnkmh txt rva "qui erant in loco basium", Piscator, Jeremiah 52:21Ver. 21. And [concerning] the pillars, the height of one pillar [was] eighteen cubits,.... As in 1Ki 7:15; said to be thirty five, 2Ch 3:15; of the reconciliation of which,See Gill on "2Ch 3:15":and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; a thread or line of that measure encompassed each of the pillars, 1Ki 7:15;and the thickness thereof [was] four fingers; either of the pillar, or the fillet about it; that is, the brass of it was four fingers thick:[it was] hollow; that is, the pillar was hollow. Jeremiah 52:22Ver. 22. And a chapiter of brass [was] upon it,.... Or a coronet of brass, of molten brass, was set upon the top of the pillar:and the height of one chapiter [was] five cubits; as in 1Ki 7:16; but in 2Ki 25:17; the height is said to be but three cubits; which is reconciled by the Jewish Rabbins thus, the three superior cubits of it were with ornaments, the two inferior without any; the whole together was five cubits; but, as ornamented, only three:with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all [of] brass; the nets were of chequer work, and wreaths of chain work, and there were seven of them to each chapiter, 1Ki 7:17;the second pillar also, and the pomegranates, [were] like unto these; one pillar was exactly like the other, and the ornaments of it the same. Jeremiah 52:23Ver. 23. And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side,.... Or, "to the wind" {e}; to the four winds; towards every corner or wind twenty four, which make up ninety six:[and] all the pomegranates upon the network [were] an hundred round about; four, standing upon the four angles, made the ninety six a hundred; in 1Ki 7:20; they are said to be two hundred; and in 2Ch 4:13; are said to be four hundred upon the two wreaths; which may be accounted for thus, there were two rows of them on each pillar, in every row were a hundred, which made two hundred in one pillar, and four hundred in both. These were the things in the temple carried away in the last captivity.{e} hxwr "ad ventum", Montanus; "ad omnem ventum", Tigurine version; so Ben Melech; "versus ventos", Schmidt; "ventum versus", Piscator; "in ventum", Cocceius. Jeremiah 52:24Ver. 24. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest,.... That is, out of the temple, where he was ministering, or fled for safety; this is supposed to be the father of Ezra, 1Ch 6:14;and Zephaniah the second priest: or deputy priest: the "sagan" of the priests, as the Targum calls him, who was deputed to minister for the high priest, in case anything happened which hindered him from officiating; such an one there always was in later times on the day of atonement, as appears from the Misna {f}; this man is thought to be the same with Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, Jer 21:1;and the three keepers of the door; that is, of the temple. The Targum calls them three "amarcalin"; who had, as Jarchi says, the keys of the court committed to them. The number seems better to agree with the "gizbarim" or treasurers; of whom, it is said, they never appoint less than three treasurers, and seven "amarcalin" {g}.{f} Yoma, c. 1. sect. 1. {g} Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 2. Jeremiah 52:25Ver. 25. He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war,.... The master-master-general of the army:and seven men of them which were near the king's person which were found in the city; or, "saw the face of the king": or rather, "made to see [his] face" {h}; these were ministers of state, who were always at court, and assisted in councils of state, and introduced persons into the king's presence; in 2Ki 25:19; they are said to be but "five"; but Josephus {i} has seven, as here; perhaps two of them were of less note, and so not reckoned, as Jarchi observes: some will have it, that the two scribes of the judges are left out; but others, more probably, Jeremiah and Baruch, who were first taken, and afterwards dismissed:and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; or the scribe of the prince of the army, as the Targum; the general's secretary:and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city: persons of prime note, who, upon the invasion, betook themselves from the country to the city of Jerusalem with their effects, and to defend it. Josephus {k} calls them rulers or governors.{h} Klmh ynp yarm "ex videntibus facies, [vel] faciem regis", Montanus, Piscator; "de videre facientibus facies regis", Schmidt. {i} Antiqu. l. 10. c. 8. sect. 5. {k} Ibid. Jeremiah 52:26Ver. 26. So Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took them,.... In the city, and made them captives:and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah; to knew his mind concerning them; how they should be disposed of; and for him to pass sentence on them: as he had done on the king of Judah, his sons, and his princes, in the same place. Jeremiah 52:27Ver. 27. And the king of Babylon smote them,.... Or ordered them to be smitten with the sword; to have their heads cut off, according to Josephus {l}:and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath; these being such, no doubt, who obstinately defended the city, and persuaded the prince and people not to surrender the city into the hand of the Chaldeans; and therefore were put to death in cold blood:thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land: at different times, of which this was the completion; and of which a particular account is given, even of the number of the captives at these several times, in Jer 52:28.{l} Antiqu. l. 10. c. 8. sect. 5. Jeremiah 52:28Ver. 28. This [is] the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive in the seventh year,.... That is, of his reign: in 2Ki 24:12; it is said to be in the eighth year of his reign; it being at the latter end of the seventh, and the beginning of the eighth, as Kimchi observes; this was the captivity of Jeconiah: the number of the captives then werethree thousand Jews, and three and twenty; but in 2Ki 24:14; they are said to be ten thousand; which may be reconciled thus, there were three thousand twenty and three of the tribe of Judah, here called Jews; and the rest were of the tribe of Benjamin, and of the ten tribes that were mixed among them; see 2Ki 24:16. Jeremiah 52:29Ver. 29. In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,.... Said to be the nineteenth, Jer 52:12; it was at the end of the eighteenth, and the beginning of the nineteenth, as Kimchi; or this was before the taking of the city, when he raised the siege, and departed to meet the king of Egypt, at which time he might carry captive many, as here said:he carried away captive from Jerusalem, eight hundred thirty and two persons; which is more likely to be then done than at the taking of the city; when it is very probable a greater number was carried captive, which are not here taken notice of. Jeremiah 52:30Ver. 30. In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar,.... In this year of his reign, the Jews say {m}, Tyre was delivered into his hands; and he carried off the Jews in Moab, Ammon, and the neighbouring nations, to the number after mentioned; though some think these were the poor people of the land he took from thence, after the murder of Gedaliah, and in revenge of that:Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons; all which being put together make the following sum:all the persons [were] four thousand and six hundred; this is the sum total of the three mentioned captivities.{m} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 26. p. 77. Jeremiah 52:31Ver. 31. And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah,.... He was eighteen years of age when he was carried captive; so that he must be now fifty five years old; see 2Ki 24:8;in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth [day] of the month; in the month Adar, which answers to part of February, and part of March: in 2Ki 25:27; the favour shown by the king of Babylon to Jeconiah, after related, is said to be in the twenty seventh day of the month; it might have been determined and notified on the twenty fifth, but not executed till the twenty seventh; or it might be begun to be put in execution on the twenty fifth, and not finished till the twenty seventh, The Jews, in their chronicle, say {n} that Nebuchadnezzar died on the twenty fifth, and was buried; that, on the twenty sixth, Evilmerodach took him out of his grave, and dragged him about, to abolish his decrees, and to confirm what is said of him in Isa 14:19; and on the twenty seventh he brought Jeconiah out of prison; but this is no reconciliation at all; the former is best;[that] Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the [first] year of his reign; who succeeded Nebuchadnezzar, having reigned forty three years; this king is called by Ptolemy {o} Iloarudamus; by Abydenus {p} Evilmaluruch; by Josephus {q} Abilamarodach; but by Berosus {r} as here: his proper name was Merodach, a name of one of the Chaldean idols, Jer 50:2. "Evil" was a nickname, which signifies "foolish"; he was called "foolish Merodach", on account of his ill conduct, or bad life: as soon as he came to the throne, helifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison; that is, he changed his condition for the better; he raised him out of a low estate to a more honourable one; he brought him out of a state of imprisonment and misery into a state of liberty and honour; what was the reason of this is not easy to say. The Jews have a tradition, that Nebuchadnezzar, after seven years' madness, coming to himself, and to his kingdom, and understanding that his son Evilmerodach had been guilty of mal-administration during that time, and particularly that he rejoiced at his madness, cast him into prison, where he contracted a friendship with Jeconiah; and when he came to the throne, upon the death of his father, released him: but others think that Jeconiah being a comely young man, when he was brought a captive to Babylon, and about the age of this prince, he took a liking to him, and, pitying his case, showed him this favour, as soon as he had an opportunity.{n} Seder Olam, c. 28. p. 81. {o} Canon, Ed. Bainbridge, p. 48. {p} Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457. {q} Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 8. {r} Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 20. Jeremiah 52:32Ver. 32. And spake kindly unto him,.... Used him with great familiarity, treated him with great respect: or, "spake good things to him" {s}; comforted him in his captive state, and promised him many favours; and was as good as his word:and set his throne above the throne of the kings that [were] with him in Babylon; these kings were either petty kings over the several provinces that belonged to the Chaldean monarchy, that were occasionally at Babylon; or rather the kings Nebuchadnezzar had conquered, and taken captive, as Jehoiachin; such as the kings of Moab, Ammon, Edom, &c. these, notwithstanding they were captives, had thrones of state, partly in consideration of their former dignity, and partly for the glory of the Babylonish monarch; now Jehoiachin's throne was higher and more grand and stately than the rest, to show the particular respect the king of Babylon had for him.{s} twbj wta rbdyw "ac locutus est cum eo bona", V. L. Schmidt. Jeremiah 52:33Ver. 33. And changed his prison garments,.... Which were filthy, and of an ill smell; and put on him raiment more comfortable, as well as more honourable, and suitable to his dignity, and more fit to appear in, in the presence of the king and his court:and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life: either at the same table with the king; or at other near him, in his sight, in the same apartment; though the former seems more likely; and this he did as long as he lived; either Evilmerodach, or rather Jeconiah; though perhaps they both died much about the same time. All this was done about the year of the world 3444, and about five hundred sixty years before Christ, according to Bishop Usher {t} and Mr. Bedford {u}; the authors of the Universal History {w} place it a year earlier.{t} Annales Vet. Test. p. 138. {u} Scripture Chronology, p. 710. {w} Vol. 21. p. 64. Jeremiah 52:34Ver. 34. And [for] his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon,.... This seems to design not food only, and for himself, which he had daily at the king's table, but all necessary provisions for himself, family, and servants:every day a portion, until the day of his death, all the days of his life; that is, of Jeconiah's; how long he lived after this is not known; he was now fifty five years of age, and cannot be thought to have lived a great while after, having been imprisoned so many years; and it is certain he did not live to the return from the captivity. Of the death of Zedekiah we have no account, only that he died in prison. The Jews say {x} he died at this very time, when Jeconiah was advanced. The account here given of Jeconiah has led some to conclude that this chapter was not written by Jeremiah; since it cannot be well thought he should live so long as to the death of this prince; and, besides, had given an account of the destruction of Jerusalem in the thirty ninth chapter, which he would hardly repeat: though that he might do, partly for the sake of new circumstances here added; and partly as an introduction to the book of the Lamentations, which follows.{x} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 28. p. 81.