Jeremiah 36 Footnotes

36:12 The writer recorded the names of those involved in this event (vv. 10,14,20,25-26; see Mk 5:22; 15:21; Lk 23:50; Jn 3:1; 18:10). From this we can draw two conclusions. First, the writer was an eyewitness to the event or had contact with eyewitnesses. Second, the event must have been recorded correctly, since there is a record of people who could have corrected any errors (Ac 26:26; 1Co 15:6). These facts support the reliability of this record as an example of the general reliability of the historical accounts in Scripture.

36:30 Jehoiakim’s son held the throne for only three months, which by all reasonable measures would be considered a failure (2Kg 24:8-15). Then Jehoiakim’s brother ruled in Jerusalem, but only as a “puppet“ of Babylon (Jr 24:18). The Bible does not expressly state that Jehoiakim’s corpse was exposed, but while the account of the death of a king often includes a record of his burial (1Kg 2:10; 11:43; 14:31; 15:8,24; 16:6,28; 22:50), Jehoiakim’s does not (2Kg 24:6; 2Ch 36:8). There is no substantive reason to doubt that Jeremiah’s prophecy about him was fulfilled.