Jeremiah 21 Study Notes

21:1-14 This chapter contains three messages that God revealed to Jeremiah: (1) a message to King Zedekiah of Judah, (2) a message to the people of Jerusalem, and (3) a message to the house of the king of Judah.

21:1 This Pashhur is not the same person as the Pashhur in 20:1. Zephaniah was the successor of Jehoiada the priest (29:25-26; 37:3; 52:24) and second in rank behind the high priest.

21:2 King Zedekiah of Judah, who reigned 597-586 BC, depended on Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt to take care of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Zedekiah sent Pashhur to Jeremiah to foretell what the outcome of his foolish rebellion against Babylon would be. He was hopeful that the Lord would perform wondrous works for Judah, just as he had done in the days of Hezekiah (2Kg 18-19) and Jehoshaphat (2Ch 20).

The spelling of Nebuchadnezzar’s name (in the Hebraized form) as Nebuchadrezzar in some translations more closely approximates ancient Babylonian inscriptions. The full Akkadian form is Nabu-kudurri-usur, meaning “Nebo [a god], do protect the crown.”

21:3-4 Chaldeans is the usual term for Babylonians. The Assyrians gave the name Kaldu to the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and between the city of Babylon and the Persian Gulf. Thus the tribal groups living there were called Chaldeans. A Chaldean dynasty was started under Nabopolassar, whose son Nebuchadnezzar organized many nationalities under the name of “Chaldeans” or “Babylonians.”

21:5 An outstretched hand and a strong arm are routine metaphors describing God’s miraculous intervention in times past, such as at the exodus (Dt 4:34).

21:6-7 During military sieges, the possibility of an epidemic or severe plague is heightened. Such illness would further weaken the people’s ability to defend against attackers. Then those who survived would be killed by the sword.

21:8-10 Jeremiah turned to address the people of Judah.

21:8 The phrase the way of life and the way of death is reminiscent of Dt 30:19. Here it has the opposite twist of its usage in Deuteronomy.

21:9 The prophet counseled defection for the citizens of Judah. In other circumstances this would have been considered treason, but Jeremiah’s authority was from God. The people were faced with a choice of obeying God or humans. The person who surrendered to Babylon would retain his life like the spoils of war. This is an idiomatic expression meaning literally “his soul will be to him for booty” (38:2; 39:18; 45:5).

21:10 Rather than offering safety, Jerusalem would become a death trap.

21:11-14 The message to the house of the king of Judah in these verses must have come at a time when repentance and righteousness would still reverse the threatened judgment of God. “House” refers to the dynasty of the king.

21:12 The task of the king and his officials was to administer justice every morning, presumably before the heat of the day (2Sm 4:5). This is how the ideal king would operate (Jr 23:5-6). Likewise, the victim of robbery called for action not only against common thieves, but also against all sorts of economic thievery. This included cheating on wages, land-grabbing, and other types of oppression.

21:13 The phrases you who sit above the valley and you atop the rocky plateau refer to the city of Jerusalem as well as the king. The city, with its palace complex, was surrounded by valleys. There is irony and sarcasm in these designations because the king and the people had a false sense of security. Complacently and proudly the people asked, Who can come down against us? The short answer: God himself.

21:14 The word forest is used here figuratively for the royal palace (1Kg 7:2; 10:21).