Jer 28:1-5 - Commentary

Commentary

Old Testament : Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes The Song of Songs Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

New Testament : Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation

collapse all

Text -- Jeremiah 28:1-5 (NET)

Strongs On/Off

Context

Jeremiah Confronted by a False Prophet

28:1 The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah in the Lord’s temple in the presence of the priests and all the people. 28:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon. 28:3 Before two years are over, I will bring back to this place everything that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from it and carried away to Babylon. 28:4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and all the exiles who were taken to Babylon.’ Indeed, the Lord affirms, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon.’” 28:5 Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple.

Parallel

Cross Reference (TSK)

ITL

Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:

· Azzur an Israelite chief who signed the covenant to obey God's law,father of Hananiah the prophet from Gibeon who opposed Jeremiah,father of Jaazaniah, one of the princes whom Ezekiel denounced

· Babylon a country of Babylon in lower Mesopotamia

· Gibeon a town of Benjamin pioneered by Jeiel of Benjamin

· Hananiah son of Heman the Levite; worship leader under Heman and David,a man who was one of King Uzziah's commanders,son of Azzur; a false prophet of Zedekiah's from Gibeon,father of Zedekiah, a prince of Judah in the time of Jehoiakim,grandfather of Irijah the sentry who falsely accused Jeremiah; the father of Shelemiah,son of Shashak of Benjamin,a man of Judah who served Nebuchadnezzar with Daniel in Babylon,son of Zerubbabel,a layman of the Bebai clan who put away his heathen wife,a man who made perfume and helped rebuild the wall of Jerusalem; son of Shelemiah,governor of the castle and over Jerusalem under Nehemiah,an Israelite chief who signed the covenant to keep God's law,a priest and head of the clan of Jeremiah under Joiakim

· Israel a citizen of Israel.,a member of the nation of Israel

· Jeconiah son and successor of King Jehoiakim of Judah

· Jehoiakim son of Josiah; made king of Judah by Pharaoh Neco

· Jeremiah a prophet of Judah in 627 B.C., who wrote the book of Jeremiah,a man of Libnah; father of Hamutal, mother of Jehoahaz, king of Judah,head of an important clan in eastern Manasseh in the time of Jotham,a Benjamite man who defected to David at Ziklag,the fifth of Saul's Gadite officers who defected to David in the wilderness,the tenth of Saul's Gadite officers who defected to David in the wilderness,a man from Anathoth of Benjamin; son of Hilkiah the priest; a major prophet in the time of the exile,an influential priest who returned from exile with Zerubbabel, who later signed the covenant to obey the law, and who helped dedicate Nehemiah's wall,one of Saul's Gadite officers who defected to David in the wilderness

· Judah the son of Jacob and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,a tribe, the land/country,a son of Joseph; the father of Simeon; an ancestor of Jesus,son of Jacob/Israel and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,the tribe of Judah,citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah,citizens of the Persian Province of Judah; the Jews who had returned from Babylonian exile,"house of Judah", a phrase which highlights the political leadership of the tribe of Judah,"king of Judah", a phrase which relates to the southern kingdom of Judah,"kings of Judah", a phrase relating to the southern kingdom of Judah,"princes of Judah", a phrase relating to the kingdom of Judah,the territory allocated to the tribe of Judah, and also the extended territory of the southern kingdom of Judah,the Province of Judah under Persian rule,"hill country of Judah", the relatively cool and green central highlands of the territory of Judah,"the cities of Judah",the language of the Jews; Hebrew,head of a family of Levites who returned from Exile,a Levite who put away his heathen wife,a man who was second in command of Jerusalem; son of Hassenuah of Benjamin,a Levite in charge of the songs of thanksgiving in Nehemiah's time,a leader who helped dedicate Nehemiah's wall,a Levite musician who helped Zechariah of Asaph dedicate Nehemiah's wall

· Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon who took Judah into exile

· Zedekiah son of Chenaanah; a false prophet in the kingdom of King Ahab,son of King Josiah; made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar,son of King Jehoiachin,a signer of the covenant to obey the law with Nehemiah,son of Maaseiah; a false prophet in the time of King Jehoiachin,son of Hananiah; a prince of Judah in the time of Jehoiakim

Table of Contents

Verse Notes / Footnotes NET Notes

expand all
Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jer 28:1 Heb “And it happened in that year in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah son ...

¹tc The original text is unusually full here and deemed by many scholars to be corrupt: Heb “And it happened in that year in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month Hananiah…said to…” Many scholars see a contradiction between “in the fourth year” and “in the beginning of the reign.” These scholars point to the fact that the Greek version does not have “in that year” and “in the beginning of the reign of”; it merely reads “in the fourth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month.” These scholars generally also regard the heading at 27:1 to be unoriginal and interpret the heading in the MT here as a faulty harmonization of the original (that in the Greek version) with the erroneous one in the Hebrew of 27:1. However, it is just as possible that the Greek version in both places is an attempt to harmonize the data of 27:1 and 28:1. I.e., it left out both the heading at 27:1, and “in that year” and “at the beginning of the reign of” in the heading here because it thought the data was contradictory. However, it is just as likely that there is really no contradiction here. I.e., the term “beginning of the reign” can include the fourth year. E. H. Merrill has argued that the term here refers not to the accession year (see the translator’s note on 26:1) but to the early years in general (“The ‘Accession Year’ and Davidic Chronology,” JANESCU 19 [1989]: 105-6, and cf. note 18 for bibliography on Akkadian parallels). Hence the phrase has been translated both here and in 27:1 “early in the reign of…” For other attempts at harmonization see the discussion in G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 41, n. 1a.

sn The dating here is very full and precise. “In that same year” ties the events here in with the messages that Jeremiah delivered to the envoys, the king and his court, and the priests and people while wearing the yoke symbolizing servitude to Nebuchadnezzar. The text wants to show that the events here transpired shortly after those in Jer 27 and that Jeremiah is still wearing the yoke. The supplying of the precise month is important because the end of the chapter will show that Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding Hananiah was fulfilled two months later. Hence Jeremiah is the true prophet and Hananiah and the others (27:16) are false. The supplying of the year is perhaps significant because the author states in 51:59 that Zedekiah went to Babylon that same year, probably to pledge his loyalty. The suggestion lies ready to hand that the events of this chapter and the preceding one lead to his dismissal of the false prophet Hananiah’s advice and the acceptance of Jeremiah’s.

²tn Heb “to me.” The rest of the chapter is all in third person narrative (see vv. 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15). Hence, many explain the first person here as a misunderstanding of the abbreviation “to Jeremiah” (אֶל יִרְמִיָּה [’el yirmiyyah] = אֵלַי, [’elay]). It is just as likely that there is a similar kind of disjunction here that was found in 27:1-2 only in the opposite direction. There what started out as a third person report was really a first person report. Here what starts out as a first person report is really a third person report. The text betrays both the hands of the narrator, probably Baruch, and the reportee, Jeremiah, who dictated a synopsis of his messages and his stories to Baruch to write down (Jer 36:4, 32).

³tn Heb “And it happened in that year in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah son of Azzur the prophet who was from Gibeon said to me in…” The sentence has been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style and the flavor given in modern equivalent terms.

NET Notes: Jer 28:2 See the study note on 27:2 for this figure. Hananiah is given the same title “the prophet” as Jeremiah throughout the chapter and claims t...

NET Notes: Jer 28:4 Notice again that the “false” prophet uses the same formula and claims the same source for his message as the true prophet has (cf. 27:22)...

Advanced Commentary (Dictionaries, Hymns, Arts, Sermon Illustration, Question and Answers, etc)