Jeremiah 52:17

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 52:16 Ver. 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 "Jeremiah 39:10". Jeremiah 52:17 Ver. 17. Also the pillars of brass that [were] in the house of the Lord,....

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, 1 Kings 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, 1 Kings 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, 1 Kings 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, Jeremiah 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 52:17-20 . Also the pillars of brass, &c., the Chaldeans brake — See note on 2 Kings 25:13 . The temple was rifled of its riches and furniture at several times. The first was when Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jehoiakim, Daniel 1:2 . The second time was at the captivity of Jechoniah, Jeremiah 27:19 ; 2 Kings 24:13 ; and now at the final destruction of the city and temple they made a clear riddance of all its ornaments. And twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases — Or rather, which were instead of bases, to support the brazen sea, ( 1 Kings 7:25 ,) the Hebrew word תחת , in other places, signifying instead, or, in the place of another. So the LXX. understand it here.

17 . This description of the fate of the Temple furniture is much fuller than that in the Kings passage, and has no parallel in ch. 39. For the vessels mentioned in this v ., see on ch. Jeremiah 27:19 with note. They were too large to be conveniently carried as they were, and so were broken and taken to Babylon for the sake of the material. For “brass” and “brasen” read bronze in this and the following vv . Jeremiah 52:17

The particular enumeration of the parts and utensils of the temple, mentioned in this and in the following verses, may be conceived to have been to justify the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 27:19 , where there is a particular mention made of the pillars, the bases, and the sea, that they should all, with the residue of the vessels of the temple, be carried into Babylon. Of these pillars we read 1 Kings 7:15 ; they were of brass, eighteen cubits high, they were in the porch of the temple, Jeremiah 52:21 : of the bases we read there also largely, 1 Kings 7:27-37 ; they also were all of brass: and of the sea, Jeremiah 52:23-26 . These being all made of brass, were, for conveniency of carriage, broken by the Chaldeans.

17. brake—that they might be more portable. Fulfilling the prophecy (Jer 27:19). See 1Ki 7:15, 23, 27, 50. Nothing is so particularly related here as the carrying away of the articles in the temple. The remembrance of their beauty and preciousness heightens the bitterness of their loss and the evil of sin which caused it. brass … brazen—rather "copper … of copper."

The carrying away of the vessels of the temple is more fully stated than in 2 Kings 25:13-17 . The large brazen articles, the two pillars at the porch (cf. 1 Kings 7:15 .), the bases ( 1 Kings 7:27 .), and the brazen sea ( 1 Kings 7:23 .), which were too vast in their proportions to be easily carried away to Babylon, were broken to pieces by the Chaldeans, who carried off the brass of which they were made. אשׁר לבּית is more correct than אשׁר (Kings), and "all their brass" is more precise than simply "their brass" (Kings). In the enumeration of the smaller brazen vessels used for the temple service, Jeremiah 52:18 , there is omitted, in 2 Kings, ואת־המּזרקות, "and the bowls" (used in sacrifice); this omission is perhaps due merely to an error in transcription. The enumeration of the gold and silver vessels in Jeremiah 52:19 has been much more abbreviated in 2 Kings 25:15 , where only "the fire-pans and the bowls" are mentioned, while in the text here, besides these there are named "the basons," then "the pots (Eng. vers. caldrons), and the candlesticks, and the pans (Eng. vers. spoons), and the cups." For particulars regarding these different vessels, see on 1 Kings 7:40 , 1 Kings 7:45 , 1 Kings 7:50 . In Jeremiah 52:20 , reference is made to the fact that the mass of metal in the vessels that were carried away was without weight.

The same is stated in 2 Kings 25:16 , where, however, there is no mention of the twelve brazen bulls; while in the text of Jeremiah, אשׁר תּחת המּכנות is faulty, and we must read instead, אשׁר תּחתּיו והמּכנות. The assertion of Graf, in his commentary on this verse, and of Thenius on 2 Kings 25:16 , - that the notice regarding the twelve brazen bulls is incorrect, because these were then no longer in Jerusalem (27:19), but had previously been removed by Ahaz from under the brazen sea for Tiglath-pileser, - we have already, under 2 Kings 16:17 , shown to be erroneous. The apposition of כּל־הכּלים to לנחשׁתּם explains the reference of the suffix. In Jeremiah 52:21-23 , the narrator, in order to call attention to the amount of art exhibited on the vessels destroyed by the Chaldeans, gives a brief description of the brazen pillars with their capitals. This description is much shortened in 2 Kings 25:17 , and contains notices completing that which is given of these works of art in 1 Kings 7 . For details, see the passage referred to.

(15-22) With regard to the two pillars, Jachin (“He shall establish”) and Boaz (“In it is strength”), the text gives no account of their destination, except that they were set up in the porch of the Temple ( 1Kings 7:21 ). Mr. Fergusson considers that they were supports to the roof of the vestibule; and if this were thirty cubits high, the twenty-seven cubits of each pillar, allowing for the slope of the roof to the apex, would suit well enough. But the absence of all reference to their position as parts of the building, and the entire separation of the description of their fabrication from the account of the building itself, rather favoured the other supposition, that they were isolated pillars set up in front of the porch as symbolic monuments, conveying the idea of Psalms 46, “God is our hope and strength;” “God is in the midst of her, therefore shall she not be removed.” It is particularly noticed ( 2Kings 25:13-16 ; Jeremiah 52:17 ; Jeremiah 52:20-23 ) that they were broken up by the Chaldæans. on the capture of Jerusalem, and the brass carried away. The description is exceedingly elaborate, and, except in one or two parts, clear enough. The shaft of each pillar was twenty-seven feet high, and its diameter something less than six feet. Josephus says that it was hollow, but of considerable thickness.