Jeremiah 29:2

29:1-7 The written word of God is as truly given by inspiration of God as his spoken word. The zealous servant of the Lord will use every means to profit those who are far off, as well as those who are near him. The art of writing is very profitable for this end; and by the art of printing it is rendered most beneficial for circulating the knowledge of the word of God. God's sending to the captives by this letter would show that he had not forsaken them, though he was displeased, and corrected them. If they live in the fear of God, they may live comfortably in Babylon. In all conditions of life, it is our wisdom and duty not to throw away the comfort of what we may have, because we have not all we would have. They are directed to seek the good of the country where they were captives. While the king of Babylon protected them, they must live quiet and peaceable lives under him, in all godliness and honesty; patiently leaving it to God to work deliverance for them in due time.

After that Jeconiah the king,.... Of Judah; the same with Jehoiachin, who was carried captive into Babylon when he had reigned but three months: and the queen; not Jeconiah's wife, for he had none; but his mother, whose name was Nehushta, and who was carried captive with him, 2 Kings 24:8; and the eunuchs; or "chamberlains" to the queen; the Targum calls them princes; these were of the king's household, his courtiers; and such persons have been everywhere, and in all ages, court favourites: and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem; the noblemen and grandees of the nation: and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem; whom Nebuchadnezzar took with him, partly for his own use in his own country; and partly that the Jews might be deprived of such artificers, that could assist in fortifying their city, and providing them with military weapons; See Gill on Jeremiah 24:1.

Jeremiah 29:2-3 . After that Jeconiah and the queen, &c. — By the queen is meant Jeconiah’s mother: see 2 Kings 24:12-15 , where an account is given of this captivity. And the eunuchs — Or court-officers, as Dr. Waterland renders it; and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem — Men of authority and influence among the people. By the hand of Elasah, &c. — Zedekiah having some occasion to send two messengers to Babylon, Jeremiah, knowing that as there were false prophets at Jerusalem who fed the people with hopes of a speedy return, so there were some with them in Babylon, writes and sends the following prophecy by these two messengers, to quiet the people’s minds, disturbed by these false prophets, and excited to vain hopes, for which there was no ground at all.

Verse 2. - The queen ; rather, the queen, mother ( see on Jeremiah 13:18) The eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem . A marginal gloss appears to have intruded itself into the text, for there is no other passage in which the "eunuchs," or (as the word may equally well be rendered, with the margin), "chamberlains," are called "princes of Judah." Jeremiah 29:2

2 . The letter appears to have been later than ch. 24, to which it plainly alludes more than once. Cp. Jeremiah 29:17 with Jeremiah 24:2 ; Jeremiah 24:8 , and Jeremiah 29:18 with Jeremiah 24:9 . the queen-mother ] Nehushta. See on ch. Jeremiah 13:18 . the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths ] Cp. ch. Jeremiah 24:1 , with note on “smiths.” were departed ] not merely, had surrendered, as the same verb in the Heb. means in the parallel passage, 2 Kings 24:12 , but, as the amplification “the craftsmen and the smiths” here indicates, had gone into exile.

(2) The queen. —This was probably the queen-mother, Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan ( 2Kings 24:8 ). The name probably indicates a connection with the Elnathan the son of Achbor, of Jeremiah 26:22 , but we cannot assert with any confidence the identity of the one with the other. The carpenters, and the smiths.—See Note on Jeremiah 24:1. Among the exiles thus referred to as “princes” we have to think of Daniel, and those who are best known to us by their Babylonian names as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (Daniel 1:6-7). The conduct, we may well believe, was in accordance with Jeremiah’s teaching.

2. queen—Nehushta, the queen mother, daughter of Elnathan (2Ki 24:8, 15). (Elnathan, her father, is perhaps the same as the one mentioned in Jer 26:22). She reigned jointly with her son. princes—All the men of authority were taken away lest they should organize a rebellion. Jeremiah wrote his letter while the calamity was still recent, to console the captives under it.

A Letter from Jeremiah to the Captives in Babylon, together with Threatenings against their False Prophets. - As in Jerusalem, so too in Babylon the predictions of the false prophets fostered a lively hope that the domination of Nebuchadnezzar would not last long, and that the return of the exiles to their fatherland would soon come about. The spirit of discontent thus excited must have exercised an injurious influence on the fortunes of the captives, and could not fail to frustrate the aim which the chastisement inflicted by God was designed to work out, namely, the moral advancement of the people. Therefore Jeremiah makes use of an opportunity furnished by an embassy sent by King Zedekiah to Babel, to address a letter to the exiles, exhorting them to yield with submission to the lot God had assigned to them. He counsels them to prepare, by establishing their households there, for a long sojourn in Babel, and to seek the welfare of that country as the necessary condition of their own. They must not let themselves be deceived by the false prophets' idle promises of a speedy return, since God will not bring them back and fulfil His glorious promises till after seventy years have passed ( Jeremiah 29:4-14 ). Then he tells them that sore judgments are yet in store for King Zedekiah and such as have been left in the land ( Jeremiah 29:15-20 ); and declares that some of their false prophets shall perish miserably ( Jeremiah 29:21-32 ).

Heading and Introduction. - The following circular is connected, in point of outward form, with the preceding discourses against the false prophets in Jerusalem by means of the words: "And these are the words of the letter," etc. The words of the letter, i.e., the main contents of the letter, since it was not transcribed, but given in substance. "Which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captives, and to the priests and prophets, and to the whole people, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon." "The residue of the elders," Hitz. and Graf understand of those elders who were not at the same time priests or prophets. On this Ng. pronounces: "It is impossible that they can be right, for then 'the residue of the elders of the captivity' must have stood after the priests and prophets." And though we hear of elders of the priests, there is no trace in the O.T. of elders of the prophets. Besides, the elders, whenever they are mentioned along with the priests, are universally the elders of the people. Thus must we understand the expression here also. "The residue of the elders" can only be the remaining, i.e., still surviving, elders of the exiles, as יתר is used also in Jeremiah 39:9 for those still in life.