Jeremiah 49:34

A Message Concerning Elam

34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, {saying},

Jeremiah 49:34 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:34

The word of the Lord that came unto Jeremiah the prophet
against Elam
The Persians, as it is commonly understood, who descended from Elam the son of Shem, ( Genesis 10:22 ) ; according to Josephus {w}; but rather the country of Elymais is here designed; which, though in the times of Cyrus, was added to, and made a part of, the Persian empire, yet was a country distinct both from Persia and Media; and as such is spoken of by Pliny ^F24; though as near unto Persia, and bordering on Media; according to Stephanus ^F25, the Elymaites were a country that belonged to the Assyrians; and so Strabo ^F1 places the Elymaeans in Aturia or Assyria; and it seems very manifest that Elam served under Sennacherib, king of Assyria, when he besieged Jerusalem, ( Isaiah 22:6 ) ; and afterwards fell into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and became subject to him, which is the calamity here threatened them; for certain it is, that, in Belshazzar's time, Shushan in Elam was the royal seat of the kings of Babylon, ( Daniel 8:2 ) ; now this prophecy against Elam was delivered out in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah;
perhaps in the first year of his reign, ten or eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem; how long before it had its accomplishment is not certain: saying:
as follows:

---

FOOTNOTES:

F23 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 4.
F24 Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 25, 26, 27.
F25 De urbibus apud Cocceium in loc.
F1 Geograph. l. 16. in principio, 507.

Jeremiah 49:34 In-Context

32 And their camels will become as plunder, and the multitude of their livestock as spoil. And I will scatter to every wind [those who] are trimmed to [the] side, and from {every side} I will bring their disaster," {declares} Yahweh.

33 "And Hazor will become as a lair of jackals, a waste forever; no one will live there, and no son of humankind will dwell as an alien in it."

34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, {saying},

35 "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Look, I [am] going to break the bow of Elam, the first and best of their might.

36 And I will bring to Elam four winds, from the four corners of heaven, and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there will not be a nation where the scattered people of Elam will not go.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "to say"