Jeremiah 52:4

. Vid. Kimchi in loc. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Jeremiah 52:1 INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 52 This chapter contains the history of the besieging, taking, and destroying of Jerusalem; the moving cause of it, the wicked reign of Zedekiah, Jeremiah 52:1; the instruments of it, the king of Babylon and his army, which besieged and took it, Jeremiah 52:4; into whose hands the king of Judah, his sons, and the princes of Judah, fell; and were very barbarously and cruelly used by them, Jeremiah 52:8. Then follows an account of the burning of the temple, the king's palace, and the houses in Jerusalem, and the breaking down of the walls of it, Jeremiah 52:12; and of those that were carried captive, and of those that were left in the land by Nebuzaradan, Jeremiah 52:15; and of the several vessels and valuable things in the temple, of gold, silver, and brass, it was plundered of, and carried to Babylon, Jeremiah 52:17; and of the murder of several persons of dignity and character, Jeremiah 52:24; and of the number of those that were carried captive at three different times, Jeremiah 52:28; and the chapter is concluded with the exaltation of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and of the good treatment he met with from the king of Babylon to the day of his death, Jeremiah 52:31. Ver. 1. Zedekiah [was] one and twenty years old when he began to reign,....

52:1-11 This fruit of sin we should pray against above any thing; Cast me not away from thy presence, Ps 51:11. None are cast out of God's presence but those who by sin have first thrown themselves out. Zedekiah's flight was in vain, for there is no escaping the judgments of God; they come upon the sinner, and overtake him, let him flee where he will.

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign,.... Of Zedekiah's reign: in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month; the month Tebet, which answers to part of December and part of January; hence the fast of the tenth month, on account of the siege of Jerusalem, Zechariah 8:19; that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his army, against Jerusalem; from whence it appears that he came in person with his army at first to Jerusalem; but, during the siege, or some part of it, retired to Riblah; perhaps upon the news of the king of Egypt's coming to the assistance of the Jews: and pitched against it; or encamped against it: and built forts against it round about; wooden towers, as Jarchi and Kimchi explain it; from whence they could shoot their arrows and cast their stones.

Fate of King Zedekiah at the taking of Jerusalem; cf. 2 Kings 24:18 ; 2 Kings 25:7 , and Jeremiah 39:1-7 . The statements regarding Zedekiah's ascension and his government, Jeremiah 52:1-3 , agree word for word with 2 Kings 24:18-20 , even to the variation השׁליכו, Jeremiah 52:3 , for השׁליכו (Kings). The length of the siege of Jerusalem, Jeremiah 52:4-7 , and the flight, capture, and condemnation of King Zedekiah and the princes of Judah, Jeremiah 52:7-11 , not only agrees with 2 Kings 25:1-7 , but also with Jeremiah 39:1-7 , where it is merely the forcible entrance into the city by the Chaldeans that receives special detail; see on Jeremiah 39:3 . The variation ויּחנוּ, Jeremiah 52:4 , instead of ויּחן ( 2 Kings 25:1 ), does not affect the sense. As to the account given of the flight, capture, and condemnation of the king, both Jeremiah 39 and 2 Kings mit the notices given in Jeremiah 52:10 , "and also all the princes of Judah he caused to be slain (i.e., executed) at Riblah," and in Jeremiah 52:11 , "and he put him in the prison-house till the day of his death." בּית־הפּקדּות has been rendered οἰκία μυλῶνος by the lxx; on this fact Hitzig bases the opinion that the Hebrew words signify "the house of punishment," or "the house of correction," in which Zedekiah was obliged to turn the mill like other culprits, and as Samson was once obliged to do ( Judges 16:21 ).

But this meaning of the words cannot be substantiated. פּקדּה means "oversight, mustering, or visitation (Heimsuchung), or vengeance," e.g., Isaiah 10:3 , but not punishment (Strafe), and the plural, "watches" ( Ezekiel 9:1 ) and "custody," Ezekiel 54:11 ; hence the expression used here signifies "the house of custody," or "the house of the watches." The translation of the lxx can decide nothing against this, because their interpretation is based upon traditions which are themselves unfounded. Regarding this, Ewald well remarks (History of the People of Israel, iii. p. 748 of 2nd:ed.): "That Zedekiah must have laboured at the mill, as is mentioned in later chronicles (see Aug. Mai, Scriptorum veterum nova collectio, t. i. P. 2, p. 6; cf. Chr. Sam. Ch. xlv.), is probably a mere inference from Lamentations 5:13 ."

The literal occurrence of what is predicted here is related in Jeremiah 39:1., Jeremiah 52:4.; 2 Kings 25:4. When the Chaldeans forced their way into the city after a two years' siege, Zedekiah and his men of war fled by night out of the city through the gate between the two walls. It is not expressly stated, indeed, in the historical accounts that a breach was made in the wall; but the expression "through the gate between the two walls" (Jeremiah 39:4; Jeremiah 52:7; 2 Kings 25:4) renders this very probable, whether the gate had been walled up during the siege, or it was necessary to break through the wall at one particular spot in order to reach the gate. The king's attendants would naturally take care that a breach was made in the wall, to secure for him a way of escape; hence the expression, "they will break through." The covering of the face, also, is not mentioned in the historical accounts; but in itself it is by no means improbable, as a sign of the shame and grief with which Zedekiah left the city.

The literal occurrence of what is predicted here is related in Jeremiah 39:1., Jeremiah 52:4.; 2 Kings 25:4. When the Chaldeans forced their way into the city after a two years' siege, Zedekiah and his men of war fled by night out of the city through the gate between the two walls. It is not expressly stated, indeed, in the historical accounts that a breach was made in the wall; but the expression "through the gate between the two walls" (Jeremiah 39:4; Jeremiah 52:7; 2 Kings 25:4) renders this very probable, whether the gate had been walled up during the siege, or it was necessary to break through the wall at one particular spot in order to reach the gate. The king's attendants would naturally take care that a breach was made in the wall, to secure for him a way of escape; hence the expression, "they will break through." The covering of the face, also, is not mentioned in the historical accounts; but in itself it is by no means improbable, as a sign of the shame and grief with which Zedekiah left the city.