Jeremiah 29:2

2 (after that Yekhonyah the king, and the queen-mother, and the eunuchs, [and] the princes of Yehudah and Yerushalayim, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Yerushalayim,)

Jeremiah 29:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 29:2

After that Jeconiah the king
Of Judah; the same with Jehoiachin, who was carried captive into Babylon when he had reigned but three months: and the queen;
not Jeconiah's wife, for he had none; but his mother, whose name was Nehushta, and who was carried captive with him, ( 2 Kings 24:8 2 Kings 24:12 ) ; and the eunuchs;
or "chamberlains" to the queen; the Targum calls them princes; these were of the king's household, his courtiers; and such persons have been everywhere, and in all ages, court favourites: and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem;
the noblemen and grandees of the nation: and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;
whom Nebuchadnezzar took with him, partly for his own use in his own country; and partly that the Jews might be deprived of such artificers, that could assist in fortifying their city, and providing them with military weapons; (See Gill on Jeremiah 24:1).

Jeremiah 29:2 In-Context

1 Now these are the words of the letter that Yirmeyahu the prophet sent from Yerushalayim to the residue of the Zakenim of the captivity, and to the Kohanim, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nevukhadnetztzar had carried away captive from Yerushalayim to Bavel,

2 (after that Yekhonyah the king, and the queen-mother, and the eunuchs, [and] the princes of Yehudah and Yerushalayim, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Yerushalayim,)

3 by the hand of El`asah the son of Shafan, and Gemaryah the son of Hilkiyah, (whom Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah sent to Bavel to Nevukhadnetztzar king of Bavel,) saying,

4 Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Yisra'el, to all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Yerushalayim to Bavel:

5 Build you houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.