Jeremiah 34:7

When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem,.... Had laid close siege to it, and still continued it: and against all the cities of Judah that were left; unconquered by him; when he invaded the land, he fought against, and took, and ravished all the cities that lay in his way; and it seems there were none that stood out against him but Jerusalem, now besieged by him, and two others, next mentioned: against Lachish, and against Azekah; for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah; two cities that had been fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 11:9; and were the only ones besides Jerusalem, which as yet had not fallen into the hands of the king of Babylon.

Jeremiah 34:7 . When the king of Babylon fought against Lachish and against Azekah — See 2 Kings 18:13 ; 2 Kings 19:8 . These two cities were not far from Jerusalem, and had been fortified by Rehoboam, for the defence of his kingdom, 2 Chronicles 11:9 . After that Zedekiah had made a covenant with the people to proclaim liberty, &c. — “By the law of Moses, ( Exodus 21:2 ; Deuteronomy 15:12 ,) the Israelites were not allowed to detain their brethren of the Hebrew race in perpetual bondage, but were required to let them go free after having served six years. This law had, it seems, fallen into disuse; but King Zedekiah, upon the approach of the Chaldean army, whether from religious motives, or a political view to employ the men who were set free in the service of the war, engaged the people in a covenant to act conformably to the law; and they released their brethren accordingly. But no sooner were their fears abated, by the retreat of the Chaldeans, than, in defiance of every principle of religion, honour, and humanity, they imposed the yoke of servitude anew upon those unhappy persons. Archbishop Usher computes the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign to have been the sabbatical year, and supposes that, on this account, the covenant of general release was entered into at the beginning of that year.

But the sabbatical year, which was every seventh year from that in which the Israelites entered into the possession of the land of Canaan, had nothing at all to do with the release of servants. In the year of sabbath they were only restrained from sowing their ground, and pruning their vineyards. But every seventh year, from the beginning of their service, the Hebrew bond-slaves were to be discharged. Six years were they to serve, and in the seventh they were to go out free. Only the fiftieth year, or year of jubilee, was also to be a time of general release, Leviticus 25:39-41 . But, that the sabbatical year was so, I see not the least reason to conclude, but quite the contrary.” — Blaney.

7 . all … that were left ] The LXX give some support to the probability that this part of the v . is an interpolation, seeing that “all” resolves itself into two only. Lachish ] now Tell el-Ḥesy , about 35 miles S.W. of Jerusalem. Azekah has not been identified, but it was probably about 15 miles S.W. of Jerusalem. See Joshua 15:35 ; 1 Samuel 17:1 . Jeremiah 34:7

(7) Against Lachish, and against Azekah . . . —The two cities are named in this book for the first time. Lachish was one of the strongest towns of the Amorites in the time of Joshua ( Joshua 10:3 ; Joshua 10:5 ), and was situated in the Shephelah, or lowland district ( Joshua 15:39 ). It was restored or fortified by Rehoboam, as a defence against the northern kingdom ( 2Chronicles 11:9 ). Amaziah took refuge there on his flight from the conspiracy at Jerusalem (2 Chron. 14:19; 2Chronicles 25:27 ). It was taken by Sennacherib on his way from Assyria to Egypt, and made the monarch’s headquarters ( 2Chronicles 32:9 ; 2Kings 18:17 ). A slab at Kouyunjik (Layard’s Nineveh and Babylon, 149-152; Monuments of Nineveh, 2nd Series, Plates xxi, 24) represents the siege of Lakhisha by the armies of Sennacherib, and gives something like a ground-plan of the city. Its site has not been identified with certainty, but ruins still known as Um-lakis are found between Gaza and Eleutheropolis. It is mentioned here as being, next to Jerusalem, one of the strongest fortresses of the kingdom of Judah, which as yet had resisted the attack of Nebuchadnezzar’s armies. Azekah, less conspicuous in history, was also in the Shephelah region, and is named with other cities in Joshua 10:10-11 ; Joshua 15:35 . The Philistines were encamped between it and Shochoh in the days of Saul ( 1Samuel 17:1 ). It also was fortified by Rehoboam ( 2Chronicles 11:9 ).

This marks the exact time, that it was early in the campaign, while the outlying fortresses still occupied the attention of Nebuchadnezzars army. Lachish and Azekah were strong cities in the plain toward Egypt and must be taken before the Chaldseans could march upon Jerusalem: otherwise the Egyptians might collect there and fall upon them.

The prophet was not afraid to go and do the message God had intrusted him with to the king, upon which he was imprisoned, as we read before, Jeremiah 32:3 : the time it should seem was after that the king of Babylon had invaded the country, and, taken the greatest part of it; only three fortified places remained, which he was besieging, viz. Jerusalem, which was the chief city of that country, and Lachish, of the conquest of which we read Joshua 10:31 , disposed of to the tribe of Judah. Joshua 15:39 , and Azekah, which was a city of Judah, of which we read in the same chapters.

"Thus saith Jahveh: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, that he may burn it with fire. Jeremiah 34:3 . And thou shalt not escape from his hand, but shalt certainly be seized and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with thy mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. Jeremiah 34:4 . But hear the word of Jahveh, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. Thus saith Jahveh concerning thee: Thou shalt not die by the sword. Jeremiah 34:5 . In peace shalt thou die; and as with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings who were before thee, so shall they make a burning for thee, and they shall wail for thee, [crying,] 'Alas, lord!' for I have spoken the word, saith Jahveh. - On Jeremiah 34:2 , Jeremiah 34:3 , cf. Jeremiah 32:3-5 . "But hear," Jeremiah 34:4 , introduces an exception to what has been said before; but the meaning of Jeremiah 34:4 , Jeremiah 34:5 is disputed. They are usually understood in this say: Zedekiah shall be carried into exile to Babylon, but shall not be killed with the sword, or executed, but shall die a peaceful death, and be buried with royal honours. But C. B. Michaelis, Venema, Hitzig, and Graf take the words as an exception that will occur, should Zedekiah follow the advice given him to deliver himself up to the king of Babylon, instead of continuing the struggle.