Jeremiah 39
| Jeremiah 39 | |
|---|---|
|
Book of Jeremiah in Hebrew Bible, MS Sassoon 1053, images 283-315. | |
| Book | Book of Jeremiah |
| Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Bible part | 24 |
| Category | Nevi'im |
Jeremiah 39 is the thirty-ninth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It is numbered as Jeremiah 46 in Septuagint. This book contains the prophecies spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, and is a part of the Books of the Prophets.[1] This chapter records the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah 39:1-10; and Jeremiah's fate, Jeremiah 39:11-18.[2] A part of a narative section consisting of Jeremiah chapters 37-44.[3]
Text
- The original text is written in Hebrew language.
- This chapter is divided into 18 verses.
- The content is similar to 2 Kings 25:1-12 and Jeremiah 52:4-16.[4]
Textual versions
Some most ancient manuscripts containing this chapter in Hebrew language:
- Masoretic Text
- Codex Cairensis (895 CE)
- Aleppo Codex (10th century)
- Leningrad Codex (1008-1009)
Ancient translations in Koine Greek:
- Septuagint (different verse numbering)
- Theodotion version
Structure
NKJV groups this chapter into:
- Jeremiah 39:1-10 = The Fall of Jerusalem
- Jeremiah 39:11-18 = Jeremiah Goes Free
Verse 1
- In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it. (NKJV)[5]
Cross reference: 2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 52:1-4; Ezekiel 24:1-2
- "The ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month": "January 587 BCE."[6] 2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 52:4; Ezekiel 24:1 provide the date as "the tenth day of the month".[7]
Verse 2
- In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated. (NKJV)[8]
Cross reference: 2 Kings 25:2-4; Jeremiah 52:5-7
- "The eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month": "July 586 BCE", the wall of Jerusalem "was broken through" after 18 months of siege,[6][7] and the city fell after completely devoid of food and the cannibalism became prevalent (Jeremiah 52:4-6; Lamentation 4:10).[7]
Verse 3
- All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon’s king. (HCSB)[9]
- "All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate": Rashi considered this a fulfillment of the prophecy recorded in Jeremiah 1:15: "They shall come and each one set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem".[10]
- "Nebusarsechim Rab-saris" (Hebrew: נבו שר־סכים רב־סריס): David Vanderhooft reported, "A certain Nabû-šarrūssu-ukīn held the office of rēš šarri under Amel-Marduk in 561 B.C.E."[11] A tablet was unearthed in the ancient city of Sippar in the 1870s and acquired by the British Museum in 1920, but only being discovered by Michael Jursa of University of Vienna in 2000s, to contain both the name and the title Nabu-sharrussu-ukin rab ša-rēši closely matched of this person.[12] As the tablet is dated just eight years before the events described here, Jursa wrote that the rarity of the Babylonian name, the high rank of the rab ša-rēši and the close proximity in time make it almost certain that the person mentioned on the tablet is identical with the biblical figure.[13]
- "Samgar" or "Simmagir"; "Rab-saris"; and "Rab-mag" are "titles of Babylonian officials" according to the New Oxford Annotated Bible.[6]
Verse 7
- Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. (NKJV)[14]
Cross reference: 2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 52:11
- Huey noted the fulfillment of two prophecies in this verse:[4]
- Zedekiah would see the king of Babylon and then be taken to Babylon (the prophecy recorded in Jeremiah 32:4-5; Jeremiah 34:3)
- Zedekiah would die in Babylon without being able to see that country (the prophecy recorded in Ezekiel 12:13)
Verse numbering
The order of chapters and verses of the Book of Jeremiah in the English Bibles, Masoretic Text (Hebrew), and Vulgate (Latin), in some places differs from that in Septuagint (LXX, the Greek Bible used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and others) according to Rahlfs or Brenton. The following table is taken with minor adjustments from Brenton's Septuagint, page 971.[15]
The order of CATSS based on Alfred Rahlfs' Septuaginta (1935), differs in some details from Joseph Ziegler's critical edition (1957) in Göttingen LXX. Swete's Introduction mostly agrees with Rahlfs edition (=CATSS).[15]
| Hebrew, Vulgate, English | Rahlfs'LXX (CATSS) | Brenton's LXX |
|---|---|---|
| 32:1-44 | 39:1-44 | |
| 39:1-3,14-18 | 46:1-3,14-18 | 46:1-4,15-18 |
| 39:4-13 | none | |
See also
- Related Bible part: 2 Kings 25, Jeremiah 21, Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah 34, Jeremiah 38, Jeremiah 40, Jeremiah 52, Lamentations 4, Ezekiel 12, Ezekiel 24
Notes and references
- ↑ Therodore Hiebert, et.al. 1996. The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume: VI. Nashville: Abingdon.
- ↑ Huey 1993, p. 340-346.
- ↑ The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. pp. 1137 Hebrew Bible. ISBN 978-0195288810
- 1 2 Huey 1993, p. 343.
- ↑ Jeremiah 39:1
- 1 2 3 The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. pp. 1140 Hebrew Bible. ISBN 978-0195288810
- 1 2 3 Huey 1993, p. 341.
- ↑ Jeremiah 39:2
- ↑ Jeremiah 39:3
- ↑ Rashi's commentary on Jeremiah 39:3.
- ↑ Vanderhooft, David. The Neo-Babylonian Empire and Babylon in the Latter Prophets. HSS 59; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999. p 151.
- ↑ Translation (by Michael Jursa?) found in Reynolds, Nigel. (2007). "Tiny Tablet provides proof for Old Testament." Telegraph.co.uk. Archived.
- ↑ Jursa, M., "Nabû-šarrūssu-ukīn, rab ša-rēši, und ,,Nebusarsekim“ (Jer 39:3)" Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 2008-1 pp. 9-10 (link)
- ↑ Jeremiah 39:7
- 1 2 CCEL - Brenton Jeremiah Appendix.
Bibliography
- Ryle, Herbert Edward (2009). The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Paperback. BiblioBazaar. ISBN 9781117708690.
- Huey, F. B. (1993). The New American Commentary - Jeremiah, Lamentations: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, NIV Text. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 9780805401165.