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Texts -- Jeremiah 36:1-28 (NET)

Context
Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll Containing the Lord’s Messages
36:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah . 36:2 “Get a scroll . Write on it everything I have told you to say about Israel , Judah , and all the other nations since I began to speak to you in the reign of Josiah until now . 36:3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the disaster I intend to bring on them , they will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. If they do, I will forgive their sins and the wicked things they have done.” 36:4 So Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah . Then Jeremiah dictated to Baruch everything the Lord had told him to say and Baruch wrote it all down in a scroll . 36:5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch , “I am no longer allowed to go into the Lord’s temple . 36:6 So you go there the next time all the people of Judah come in from their towns to fast in the Lord’s temple . Read out loud where all of them can hear you what I told you the Lord said , which you wrote in the scroll . 36:7 Perhaps then they will ask the Lord for mercy and will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. For the Lord has threatened to bring great anger and wrath against these people .” 36:8 So Baruch son of Neriah did exactly what the prophet Jeremiah had told him to do. He read what the Lord had said from the scroll in the temple of the Lord . 36:9 All the people living in Jerusalem and all the people who came into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah came to observe a fast before the Lord . The fast took place in the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah . 36:10 At that time Baruch went into the temple of the Lord . He stood in the entrance of the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan who had been the royal secretary . That room was in the upper court near the entrance of the New Gate . There, where all the people could hear him, he read from the scroll what Jeremiah had said. 36:11 Micaiah , who was the son of Gemariah and the grandson of Shaphan , heard Baruch read from the scroll everything the Lord had said . 36:12 He went down to the chamber of the royal secretary in the king’s palace and found all the court officials in session there. Elishama the royal secretary , Delaiah son of Shemaiah , Elnathan son of Achbor , Gemariah son of Shaphan , Zedekiah son of Hananiah , and all the other officials were seated there . 36:13 Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people . 36:14 All the officials sent Jehudi , who was the son of Nethaniah and the grandson of Cushi , to Baruch . They ordered him to tell Baruch, “Come here and bring with you the scroll you read in the hearing of the people .” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them, carrying the scroll in his hand . 36:15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch sat down and read it to them . 36:16 When they had heard it all , they expressed their alarm to one another . Then they said to Baruch , “We must certainly give the king a report about everything you have read!” 36:17 Then they asked Baruch , “How did you come to write all these words ? Do they actually come from Jeremiah’s mouth ?” 36:18 Baruch answered , “Yes, they came from his own mouth . He dictated all these words to me and I wrote them down in ink on this scroll .” 36:19 Then the officials said to Baruch , “You and Jeremiah must go and hide . You must not let anyone know where you are.” 36:20 The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama , the royal secretary , for safekeeping . Then they went to the court and reported everything to the king . 36:21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll . He went and got it from the room of Elishama , the royal secretary . Then he himself read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him . 36:22 Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter quarters . A fire was burning in the firepot in front of him. 36:23 As soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king would cut them off with a penknife and throw them on the fire in the firepot . He kept doing so until the whole scroll was burned up in the fire . 36:24 Neither he nor any of his attendants showed any alarm when they heard all that had been read. Nor did they tear their clothes to show any grief or sorrow. 36:25 The king did not even listen to Elnathan , Delaiah , and Gemariah , who had urged him not to burn the scroll . 36:26 He also ordered Jerahmeel , who was one of the royal princes, Seraiah son of Azriel , and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah . However, the Lord hid them.
Baruch and Jeremiah Write Another Scroll
36:27 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after Jehoiakim had burned the scroll containing what Jeremiah had spoken and Baruch had written down . 36:28 “Get another scroll and write on it everything that was written on the original scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned .

Pericope

NET
  • Jer 36:1-26 -- Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll Containing the Lord's Messages
  • Jer 36:27-32 -- Baruch and Jeremiah Write Another Scroll

Bible Dictionary

  • Baruch

    [ebd] blessed. (1.) The secretary of the prophet Jeremiah (32:12; 36:4). He was of the tribe of Judah (51:59). To him Jeremiah dictated his prophecies regarding the invasion of the Babylonians and the Captivity. These he read to t...
    [isbe] BARUCH - ba'-ruk, bar'-uk (baruk; Barouch, "blessed"): (1) Son of Neriah and brother of Seraiah, King Zedekiah's chamberlain (Jer 51:59). He was the devoted friend (Jer 32:12), the amanuensis (36:4 ff,32) and faithful attend...
    [smith] (blessed). Son of Neriah, the friend, (Jeremiah 32:12) amanuensis, (Jeremiah 26:4-32) and faithful attendant of Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 36:10) ff. (B.C. 603.) He was of a noble family, comp. (Jeremiah 51:59) Bar. 1:1, and of dis...
    [nave] BARUCH 1. An amanuensis of Jeremiah, Jer. 32:12-16; 36:4-32; 43:3-6; 45:1, 2. 2. Son of Zabbai, Neh. 3:20; 10:6. 3. A descendant of Pharez, Neh. 11:5.

  • Jehoiakim

    [ebd] he whom Jehovah has set up, the second son of Josiah, and eighteenth king of Judah, which he ruled over for eleven years (B.C. 610-599). His original name was Eliakim (q.v.). On the death of his father his younger brother Je...
    [isbe] JEHOIAKIM - je-hoi'-a-kim (yehoyaqim, "Yahweh will establish"; Ioakeim): The name given him by Pharaoh-necoh, who raised him to the throne as vassal king in place of his brother Jehoahaz, is changed from Eliakim (`elyaqim, "...
    [nave] JEHOIAKIM, called also Eliakim. King of Judah, 1 Chr. 3:15. Ancestor of Jesus, Matt. 1:11. Wicked reign and final overthrow of, 2 Kin. 23:34-37; 24:1-6; 2 Chr. 36:4-8; Jer. 22:13-19; 26:22, 23; 36; Dan. 1:1, 2. Dies, and i...

  • Jeremiah

    [ebd] raised up or appointed by Jehovah. (1.) A Gadite who joined David in the wilderness (1 Chr. 12:10). (2.) A Gadite warrior (1 Chr. 12:13). (3.) A Benjamite slinger who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:4). (4.) One of the chi...
    [nave] JEREMIAH 1. Of Libnah, grandfather of Jehoahaz, 2 Kin. 23:31; 24:18; Jer. 52:1. 2. A chief of Manasseh, 1 Chr. 5:24. 3. An Israelite who joined David at Ziklag, 1 Chr. 12:4. 4. Two Gadites who joined David at Ziklag, 1 Ch...

  • BARUCH, BOOK OF

    [isbe] BARUCH, BOOK OF - One of the Apocryphal or Deutero-canonical books, standing between Jeremiah and Lamentations in the Septuagint, but in the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) after these two books. I. Name. See un...

  • JEREMIAH (2)

    [isbe] JEREMIAH (2) - jer-e-mi'-a: 1. Name and Person 2. Life of Jeremiah 3. The Personal Character of Jeremiah 4. The Prophecies of Jeremiah 5. The Book of Jeremiah 6. Authenticity and Integrity of the Book 7. Relation to the Sept...

  • PEN

    [isbe] PEN - (`et, cheret; kalamos): The first writing was done on clay, wax, lead or stone tablets by scratching into the material with some hard pointed instrument. For this purpose bodkins of bronze, iron, bone or ivory were use...

  • ROLL (SCROLL)

    [isbe] ROLL (SCROLL) - rol: The usual form of book in Biblical times. It had been in use in Egypt for perhaps 2,000 years at the time when, according to the Pentateuch, the earliest Biblical books were written in this form. The Bab...

  • PARCHMENT

    [isbe] PARCHMENT - parch'-ment (membrana (2 Tim 4:13)): The word "parchment "which occurs only once (2 Tim 4:13), is derived from Latin pergamena (Greek Pergamene), i.e. pertaining to Pergamum, the name of an ancient city in Asia M...

  • BIBLE, THE, IV CANONICITY

    [isbe] BIBLE, THE, IV CANONICITY - IV. Literary Growth and Origin--Canonicity. Thus far the books of the Old Testament and New Testament have been taken simply as given, and no attempt has been made to inquire how or when they were...

  • Elijah

    [ebd] whose God is Jehovah. (1.) "The Tishbite," the "Elias" of the New Testament, is suddenly introduced to our notice in 1 Kings 17:1 as delivering a message from the Lord to Ahab. There is mention made of a town called Thisbe, ...

  • Gemariah

    [ebd] Jehovah has made perfect. (1.) The son of Shaphan, and one of the Levites of the temple in the time of Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:10; 2 Kings 22:12). Baruch read aloud to the people from Gemariah's chamber, and again in the hearing ...
    [isbe] GEMARIAH - gem-a-ri'-a (gemaryahu, gemaryah, "Yahweh hath accomplished"): (1) Son of Shaphan the scribe, one of the princes, from whose chamber Baruch read Jeremiah's prophecies to the people. He, with others, sought to stay...
    [smith] (perfected by Jehovah). Son of Shaphan the scribe, and father of Michaiah. He was one of the nobles of Judah, and had a chamber int he house of the Lord, from which Baruch read Jeremiah?s alarming prophecy in the ears of all...
    [nave] GEMARIAH 1. Son of Shaphan, Jer. 36:10-12, 25. 2. An ambassador of Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 29:3.

  • Jehudi

    [ebd] a Jew, son of Nethaniah. He was sent by the princes to invite Baruch to read Jeremiah's roll to them (Jer. 36:14, 21).
    [isbe] JEHUDI - je-hu'-di (yehudhi, properly "a Jew"): An officer of King Jehoiakim (Jer 36:14,21,23). He was sent by the princes to summon Baruch to read the roll containing Jeremiah's prophecies to them; he afterward read them to...
    [smith] (a Jew), son of Nethaniah, a man employed by the princes of Jehoiakim?s court to fetch Baruch to read Jeremiah?s denunciation, (Jeremiah 36:14) and then by the king to fetch the volume itself and read it to him. vs. (Jeremiah...
    [nave] JEHUDI, a Jew, Jer. 36:14, 21, 23.

  • Michaiah

    [ebd] (1.) The queen-mother of King Abijah (2 Chr. 13:2). (See MAACAH). (2.) One of those sent out by Jehoshaphat to instruct the people in the law (2 Chr. 17:7). (3.) 2 Kings 22:12. (4.) The son of Gemariah. He reported to the ki...
    [smith] (who is like God?). Same as MICAH 6. (2 Chronicles 34:25) Same as MICHA 3. (1 Chronicles 9:15; Nehemiah 12:35) One of the priests at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 12:41) The daughter of Uriel of Gi...
    [nave] MICHAIAH 1. Father of Achbor, 2 Kin. 22:12. 2. See: Maachah, 4. 3. A prince sent by Jehoshaphat to teach the law in the cities of Judah, 2 Chr. 17:7. 4. A priest of the family of Asaph, Neh. 12:35, 41. 5. Son of Gemariah...

  • Elishama

    [isbe] ELISHAMA - e-lish'-a-ma ('elishama`, "God has heard"): (1) Grandfather of Joshua and son of Ammihud; prince of the tribe of Ephraim in the Exodus (Nu 1:10; 7:48,53; 1 Ch 7:26). (2) A son of David, born in Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:...
    [smith] (whom God hears). The "prince" or "captain" of the tribe of Ephraim in the wilderness of Sinai. (Numbers 1:10; 2:18; 7:48; 10:22) (B.C. 1491.) From (1 Chronicles 7:26) we find that he was grandfather to the great Joshua. ...
    [nave] ELISHAMA 1. Grandfather of Joshua, Num. 1:10; 2:18; 7:48, 53; 10:22; 1 Chr. 7:26. 2. A son of David, 2 Sam. 5:16; 1 Chr. 3:8; 14:7. 3. Another son of David, elsewhere called Elishua, which see, 1 Chr. 3:6. 4. A descendant...

  • Shelemiah

    [ebd] whom Jehovah repays. (1.) Ezra 10:39. (2.) The father of Hananiah (Neh. 3:30). (3.) A priest in the time of Nehemiah (13:13). (4.) Father of one of those who accused Jeremiah to Zedekiah (Jer. 37:3; 38:1). (5.) Father of a c...
    [isbe] SHELEMIAH - shel-e-mi'-a, she-lem'-ya (shelemyah; Codex Vaticanus Selemia, Codex Alexandrinus (Selemias): (1) One of the sons of Bani who married foreign wives in the time of Ezra (Ezr 10:39), called "Selemias" in 1 Esdras 9...
    [smith] (repaid by Jehovah). One of the sons of Bani in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:30) (B.C. 458.) The father of Hananiah. (Nehemiah 3:30) A priest in the time of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 13:13) The father of Jehueal, or Jucal, in the ti...
    [nave] SHELEMIAH 1. A porter of the tabernacle, 1 Chr. 26:14. 2. Name of two descendants of Bani who put away Gentile wives, Ezra 10:39, 41. 3. Father of Hananiah, Neh. 3:30. 4. A priest made treasurer by Nehemiah, Neh. 13:13. ...

  • Shaphan

    [isbe] SHAPHAN - sha'-fan (shaphan, "rockbadger," English Versions of the Bible "coney"; Saphphan): An old totem clan name (so W.R. Smith; compare, however, the article TOTEMISM; Gray, Gray, Studies in Hebrew Proper Names, 103 ff, ...
    [nave] SHAPHAN 1. A scribe of king Josiah, 2 Kin. 22:3-14; 2 Chr. 34:8-20. Father of Gemariah, Jer. 36:10-12. 2. Father of Ahikam and grandfather of Gedaliah, 2 Kin. 22:12; 25:22; 2 Chr. 34:20; Jer. 26:24; 39:14; 40:5, 9, 11; 41:...

  • Delaiah

    [ebd] freed by Jehovah. (1.) The head of the twenty-third division of the priestly order (1 Chr. 24:18). (2.) A son of Shemaiah, and one of the courtiers to whom Jeremiah's first roll of prophecy was read (Jer. 36:12). (3.) The he...
    [isbe] DELAIAH - de-la'-ya (delayah, "God has raised"): (1) A descendant of David (1 Ch 3:24; the King James Version "Dalaiah"). (2) One of David's priests and leader of the 23rd course (1 Ch 24:18). (3) One of the princes who plea...
    [smith] (freed by Jehovah). A priest in the time of David, leader of the twenty-third course of priests. (1 Chronicles 24:18) (B.C. 1014.) "Children of Delaiah" were among the people of uncertain pedigree who returned from Babylo...
    [nave] DELAIAH 1. Head of the twenty-third division of the priestly order, 1 Chr. 24:18. 2. A prince of Judah, Jer. 36:12, 25. 3. A progenitor of certain Babylonish captives, Ezra 2:60; Neh. 7:62. 4. Father of a false prophet, N...

  • Amanuensis

    [nave] AMANUENSIS 2 Sam. 8:17; 20:25; 1 Kin. 4:3; 2 Kin. 12:10; 18:18, 37; 19:2; 22:3, 8, 9, 10, 12; 25:19; 1 Chr. 2:55; 18:16; 24:6; 27:32; 2 Chr. 24:11; 26:11; 34:13, 15, 18, 20; Ezra 7:6, 11; Neh. 8:1, 4, 9, 13; 12:26, 36; 13:13...

  • FASTS

    [smith] One fast only was appointed by the Mosaic law, that on the day of atonement. There is no mention of any other periodical fast in the Old Testament except in (Zechariah 7:1-7; 8:19) From these passages it appears that the Jew...

  • Fast

    [ebd] The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called "the fast" (Acts 27:9). The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old Testament is in Zech. 7:1-7...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The altar (vv. 19, 22) refers to the altar of incense (cf. 7:48). This altar evidently stood in the west end of the holy place (cf. Exod. 30:6; 40:5; Lev. 16:2; Heb. 9:4, 7).The cherubim were figures of angels sculptured out ...
  • Jehoiakim reigned as a puppet king for 11 years (609-598 B.C.). He was a weak ruler who did not stand up for Judah's interests against her hostile enemies.In 605 B.C. Prince Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian army of his fathe...
  • "These things"(v. 1) refers to the events of the first return that the writer described in chapters 1-6.Ezra's genealogy (vv. 1-5) shows that he was a man of importance whom his fellow Jews would have respected. He was a desc...
  • Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1965.Bromiley, Geoffrey W. God and Marriage. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980.Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Poe...
  • The composition and structure of Jeremiah, discussed below, have led many scholars to conclude that an editor or editors (redactors) probably put the book in its final form. Many conservatives, however, believe that Jeremiah ...
  • The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21-25 and 2 Chronicles 33-36. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.King Manas...
  • Jeremiah's purpose was to call his hearers to repentance in view of God's judgment on Judah, which would come soon from an army from the north (chs. 2-45). Judgment was coming because God's people had forsaken Yahweh and had ...
  • The present canonical form of the book was probably the result of a long and complex process of collection. The Book of Psalms also underwent compilation in a similar fashion over many years. The compilation is not chronologi...
  • I. Introduction ch. 1A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3B. The call of Jeremiah 1:4-191. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-102. Two confirming visions 1:11-19II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2-45A. Warnings of judgment on...
  • 1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
  • This message demonstrates a structure that is quite typical of many others in the Book of Jeremiah (cf. 11:1-17; 17:19-27; 34:8-22). First there is an explanation of Yahweh's will (word, law; vv. 1-7), then a description of I...
  • This section consists of four parts: a summary of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6), the prophet's arrest and trial (vv. 7-16), the elders' plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and the incident involving Uriah and his executio...
  • 29:1-3 Jeremiah sent a letter to all the Judahites who had gone into exile in Babylon with King Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) in 597 B.C. We do not know the date of its composition, but Jeremiah probably wrote it within a few years o...
  • The Book of Consolation contained messages of future hope for Judah (chs. 30-33). Now Jeremiah returned to document her present judgment. Chapters 34-45 continue the theme of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem from chapters 2-29...
  • "The Book of Consolation has ended, and 34:1 confronts its readers with the full force of the invading imperial army. The destruction of Jerusalem and the remainder of Judah seems inevitable (v 3) because the LORD has made Ne...
  • This incident happened during the respite in the siege, as did those recorded in 32:1-15; 37-38; and 39:15-18 (cf. vv. 21-22). The year was about 588 B.C.34:8-9 The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Zedek...
  • The theme of Judah's faithlessness carries over from chapter 34. The promise-breakers in 34:8-22 contrast with the promise-keepers in chapter 35. The events described in chapters 35 and 36 preceded those in chapters 32-34 chr...
  • "While ch. 36 is, in a sense, an independent unit, it is at the same time the last segment in a tradition complex' which begins at ch. 26, where Jeremiah is vindicated as a true prophet of Yahweh by Jerusalem's highest court ...
  • 36:1 The Lord sent a message to Jeremiah in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim's reign, sometime between April of 605 and April of 604 B.C. (cf. 25:1)36:2 Jeremiah was to write on a scroll (Heb. megillath sepher) all the proph...
  • 36:9 During the winter of 604-603 B.C., the people, not the king, declared a fast. The occasion for the fast may have been the arrival of Babylonian armies on the Philistine plain or the Babylonians' defeat of Ashkelon then.4...
  • 36:21 The king proceeded to send Jehudi to get the scroll from Elishama in the scribe's room. When Jehudi returned with it, he read it to the king and his officials.36:22 Since it was winter, the king was sitting in his winte...
  • 36:27-28 The Lord commanded Jeremiah to make another copy of the scroll that the king had burned (cf. 2 Kings 22:15-20).36:29 He was also to send a message from the Lord to the king. Jehoiakim had burned the first scroll beca...
  • This event happened about 18 years after the one recorded in chapter 36.
  • 37:11-12 During the lifting of the siege of Jerusalem just described (v. 5), Jeremiah left the city to conduct some personal business concerning the purchase of some property in the territory of Benjamin. This may have been t...
  • This chapter belongs after chapter 36 chronologically, either after 36:8 or 36:32. It serves as an appendix to the historical incidents recorded there. Perhaps the writer or final editor placed it here to show that Yahweh exe...
  • It is not possible to date this oracle exactly, but Jeremiah evidently gave it sometime during Josiah's reign (640-609 B.C.; v. 1).47:1 Jeremiah received a message from the Lord concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh conqu...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers; and New York: Macmillan Publishers Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. Revis...
  • 7:1 We have already read of two dreams that Nebuchadnezzar had (2:1; 4:5). Now God gave one to Daniel. It too was a vision from God that came to Daniel as he slept."In referring to the experience as a dream' (sing.) Daniel wa...
  • 9:1 What Daniel did and saw in this chapter dates from 538 B.C., the first year of Darius the Mede's (Cyrus') rule as king over the former Neo-Babylonian Empire (cf. Ezra 1:1).347This means that Belshazzar's feast (ch. 5) occ...
  • Joel called on the priests not only to mourn (v. 13) but also to assemble all the people at the temple for a solemn fast. Such fasts indicated national repentance in Israel's history (cf. 1 Sam. 7:6; Neh. 9:1-2; Jer. 36:9; Jo...
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