Jeremiah 26:22

26:22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, ¹ 

Jeremiah 41:5

41:5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. ²  They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning. ³  They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 43:9

43:9 “Take some large stones ⁵  and bury them in the mortar of the clay pavement ⁶  at the entrance of Pharaoh’s residence ⁷  here in Tahpanhes. Do it while the people of Judah present there are watching. ⁸ 

[26:22]  ¹ sn Elnathan son of Achbor was one of the officials who urged Jeremiah and Baruch to hide after they heard Jeremiah’s prophecies read before them (Jer 36:11-19). He was also one of the officials who urged Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll containing Jeremiah’s prophecies (Jer 36:25). He may have been Jehoiakim’s father-in-law (2 Kgs 24:6, 8).

[41:5]  ² sn Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria were all cities in the northern kingdom of Israel with important religious and political histories. When Israel was destroyed in 722 b.c., some of the Israelites had been left behind and some of the Judeans had taken up residence in these northern cities. People residing there had participated in the reforms of Hezekiah (2 Chr 30:11) and Josiah (2 Chr 34:9) and were evidently still faithfully following the Jewish calendar. They would have been on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:34).

[41:5]  ³ tn The words “to show they were mourning” are not in the text but are implicit in the acts. They are supplied in the translation for clarification for readers who may not be familiar with ancient mourning customs.

[41:5]  ⁴ tn The words “in Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[43:9]  ³ tn Heb “Take some large stones in your hands.”

[43:9]  ⁴ tn The meaning of the expression “mortar of the clay pavement” is uncertain. The noun translated “mortar” occurs only here and the etymology is debated. Both BDB 572 s.v. מֶלֶט and KBL 529 s.v. מֶלֶט give the meaning “mortar.” The noun translated “clay pavement” is elsewhere used of a “brick mold.” Here BDB 527 s.v. מַלְבֵּן 2 gives “quadrangle” and KBL 527 s.v. מַלְבֵּן 2 gives “terrace of bricks.” HALOT 558 s.v. מֶלֶט and מַלְבֵּן 2 give “loamy soil” for both words, seeing the second noun as a dittography or gloss of the first (see also note c in BHS).

[43:9]  ⁵ sn All the commentaries point out that this was not Pharaoh’s (main) palace but a governor’s residence or other government building that Pharaoh occupied when he was in Tahpanhes.

[43:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “in Tahpanhes in the eyes of the men of Judah.”