Jeremiah 29:24

Shemaiah’s Letter to Zephaniah the Priest

24 And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall say, {saying},

Jeremiah 29:24 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 29:24

[Thus] shalt thou speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite
Or, "the dreamer" ^F8; because he pretended to have dreams from the Lord; or because what he delivered as prophecies were mere dreams; as that the captives should quickly return to their own land; so Kimchi: but Jarchi takes it to be the name of a place, from whence he was so called; perhaps the place of his birth, or habitation formerly; so the Targum, paraphrasing

``who was of Halem;''

he was, another of the false prophets in Babylon. This latter part of the chapter is of a later date than the former; and refers to what was done after the above letter of Jeremiah came to the captives in Babylon; and after, the return of the messengers from thence, who brought, account how it was received, and what umbrage it gave to the false prophets: saying;
as follows:

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 (ymlxnh) "quasi" (Mlwx) "somniator somniorum", Kimchi and Ben Melech.

Jeremiah 29:24 In-Context

22 And a curse will be taken [up] because of them by all the exiles of Judah who [are] in Babylon, {saying}, "May Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,"

23 because they have done a disgraceful thing in Israel, and they have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and they have spoken words in my name, lies that I have not commanded them, and I [am] he who knows, and [I am] a witness,' {declares} Yahweh."

24 And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall say, {saying},

25 "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, {saying}, 'Because you yourself sent [a] letter in your name to all the people who [are] in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, {saying},

26 "Yahweh made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there are overseers [in] the house of Yahweh over any mad man [who] exhibits the behavior of a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the neck iron,

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "to say"