Jeremiah 37:13

13 When he was at ¹the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ²Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ³"You are deserting to the Chaldeans."

Jeremiah 37:13 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 37:13

And when he was in the gate of Benjamin
One of the gates of the city so called, either because it stood in the tribe of Benjamin, as part of Jerusalem did; or because it led to the land of Benjamin, whither the prophet was going: and just as he had got to that gate, and was going through it, he was stopped by a captain of the ward there;
who was placed at this gate, that none should go out to the Chaldeans, according to Kimchi; but rather he was the keeper of the gate, not at this time only, but always; Josephus

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 calls him one of the rulers: whose name [was] Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah:
the grandson as some think, of that Hananiah the false prophet, of whose death Jeremiah the prophet prophesied, ( Jeremiah 28:16 ) ; and the Jews have a tradition that Hananiah ordered his son Shelemiah, that if he ever had an opportunity to bring Jeremiah to ruin, to do it; and the same charge Shelemiah gave to his son Irijah, who, having this opportunity, laid hold on him; Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, make mention of it: and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, thou fallest away to the
Chaldeans;
it looks as if, though he might not have a family grudge against him, as the Jews suggest, yet had a hatred of him for his prophecies, and therefore fixes this calumny on him; for otherwise, why did he suffer the people to pass in great numbers without any such charge?
F9 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 7. sect. 3.

Jeremiah 37:13 In-Context

11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army,

12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people.

13 When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans."

14 And Jeremiah said, "It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans." But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 38:7; Zechariah 14:10
• 2. ver. 3; Jeremiah 38:1
• 3. [Jeremiah 21:9; Jeremiah 38:19; Jeremiah 39:9; Jeremiah 52:15]