Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 40

Verse 1

The Thirty-Sixth Prophecy of Jeremiah (see book comments for Jeremiah).

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

chains = the two fetters, as in Jeremiah 39:7 .

Verse 2

the guard. See note on Jeremiah 39:9 .

said. Nebuzar-adan takes all the credit to himself. Compare Jeremiah 39:11 .

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .

evil = calamity. Hebrew. ra'a. App-44 .

Verse 3

because ye have sinned, &c. Reference to Pentateuch.

Verse 4

behold. Figure of speech Asterism o s . App-6 .

hand. Some codices, with eight early printed editions, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "hands".

Verse 5

Now while he was not yet gone back = And ere yet he could make reply.

Gedaliah. See note on Jeremiah 26:24 , and Compare Jeremiah 39:14 .

Shaphan. See note on 2 Kings 22:3 .

reward = present.

Verse 6

Mizpah. North of Jerusalem, near Anathoth. Compare Jeremiah 41:5-9 . Joshua 18:26 . 1Sa 7:16 ; 1 Samuel 10:17 , and 1 Kings 15:22 . The scene of the following events: here had been Asa's fortress (Jeremiah 41:9 ); here Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar and Titus got their first view of Jerusalem.

Verse 7

men. Hebrew pi. of 'enosh. App-14 .

governor. No more attempts to make a king, after Zedekiah's perjury. See Ezekiel 17:15-19 .

children = young children.

poor. Hebrew "poverty", put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6 , for poor people. See Proverbs 6:11 .

Verse 8

Ishmael. The Massorites ( App-30 ) set their hand to obliterate the Divine names in the case of men who had served to disgrace it. One is ' el , in the compound "Ishmael", which means "whom my El heareth". It is used of five different men, and occurs forty-eight times: twenty times of Hagar's son; twenty-three times of Nethaniah's son in this history; and five times of the other three. On account of his horrible treachery, the memory of which is perpetuated by the fast of the seventh month (Zechariah 7:5 ; Zechariah 8:9 ), the vowel points were changed to obliterate the Divine Name (El): viz. yishma'el, instead of yishma'el, which is not observable in the ordinary English spelling.

sons. Some codices, with Aram, and Septuagint, read "son", as in Jeremiah 40:13 .

Netophathite = a man of Netophah, now Khan Umm Tobah, north of Bethlehem (1 Chronicles 2:54 .Ezra 2:22 .Nehemiah 7:26; Nehemiah 7:26 ).

Verse 10

wine. Hebrew. yayin. App-27 .

summer fruits. Hebrew "summer". Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6 , for the fruits gathered in summer.

Verse 13

fields = field (singular)

Verse 14

slay thee = strike thy soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 .

Verse 15

man. Hebrew ' Ish . App-14 .

gathered = gathered out.