Jeremiahchapter 24
10 verses · Jeremiah, written by Baruch · 7th to 6th century BC · The Prophets
One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early, but the other basket contained very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
Introduction
Jeremiah, written by Baruch, The Prophets, Jeremiah Overview.
Jeremiah received this vision soon after the first great deportation to Babylon, when the king, his court and the skilled workers of Jerusalem had been taken away. Those left in the city believed they were the ones God had spared. The chapter is a short vision with its meaning explained by the LORD. Its picture comes from the offerings of first fruit brought to the temple. Listen for which group each basket stands for, and ask whether the answer is the one the city expected. Read it as a word to people who judged God's favour by where they were standing.
Context
- Who
- Those left behind in Jerusalem, quietly congratulating themselves on not being deported
- What
- A vision of two baskets of figs set before the temple, one good and one rotten, with the LORD's explanation of each.
- Where
- The temple in Jerusalem, with the exiles already in the land of the Chaldeans.
- When
- Shortly after the deportation of King Jehoiachin in 597 BC.
- Why
- To tell the exiles that God had not abandoned them and to warn those left in Jerusalem against thinking they were favoured.
Historical context
The vision is set at a familiar sight. Baskets of first-ripe produce were carried up and set before the sanctuary as an offering, so two baskets of figs standing in front of the temple would have looked entirely ordinary. One holds very good figs, like the first-ripe crop of early summer that everybody prized. The other holds figs so rotten they cannot be eaten.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The event behind the vision is the deportation of 597 BC. Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem, removed King Jehoiachin, his mother, his officials, and, the text stresses, the craftsmen and the metalworkers. Empires deported skilled labour on purpose. A province with no smiths cannot make weapons, and a province with no engineers cannot rebuild a wall.
Zedekiah was left ruling what remained, which included most of the population, the surviving nobility, and the temple still standing with its furnishings. From inside Jerusalem it looked obvious who God had preserved.
The vision reverses it. The good figs are the exiles. The bad figs are Zedekiah, his officials, the remnant in Jerusalem, and those who had fled to Egypt.
Significance
This was a direct attack on the comfort of the survivors. The people still holding the city and the temple were told they were the spoiled basket.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
For the exiles, the same vision was the first hint of an extraordinary promise: God says he will set his eyes on them for good in the land of the Chaldeans, and give them a heart to know him. The blessing had moved to Babylon, and nobody in Jerusalem had noticed.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
No part of this chapter is read in the synagogue. Probed for this lane, the site's own table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts printed parashot 0 and haftarah uses 0 for Jeremiah 24, and no festival reading for the book. Across chapters 1 to 26 of Jeremiah the same probe found a Haftarah only in chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 16 and 17.
How it is read
Rashi is the one commentator on this chapter whose English the corpus carries, quoted here from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY.
Rashi reads the craftsmen and the sentries of the gates, exiled with Jeconiah, as "Torah scholars". He gives a second reading of the two words, as sages at whose speech everyone fell silent and whose ruling no one reopened (Rashi on Jeremiah 24:1:3). The good figs are the first ripe figs, dear to all who find them (Rashi on Jeremiah 24:2:1). The fifth verse he reads as God recognizing for good the exile of Jeconiah (Rashi on Jeremiah 24:5:1).
The corpus carries sixteen further notes on this chapter without an English text, each marked linked because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref. They stand cited and unquoted at Radak on Jeremiah 24:1:1, 24:2:1, 24:8:1, 24:9:1 and 24:10:1. The same holds for Metzudat David on Jeremiah 24:2:1, 24:3:1, 24:5:1, 24:6:1, 24:7:1, 24:8:1 and 24:10:1. The same holds for Malbim on Jeremiah 24:3:1, 24:5:1, 24:8:1 and 24:10:1.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries 15 rabbinic locators on the verses of this chapter, 2 in the Talmud and 13 in the Midrash. It carries the text of none, so each is cited by ref here and never quoted or paraphrased. The verse numbers are the Hebrew ones the corpus prints.
On verse 1 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Eiruvin 2:5, Ein Yaakov, Eiruvin 2:8, Eruvin 21a:19, Eruvin 21b:1, Midrash Lekach Tov, Genesis 30:14:2, Midrash Sekhel Tov, Bereshit 30:14:3 and Midrash Tehillim 90:1. It also holds Shir HaShirim Rabbah 7:14:1 there. On verse 5 it holds Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 3:12 and Seder Olam Rabbah 25:1. On verse 6 it holds Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 15:17, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Shirah 10:3, Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 253:1, Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 253:3 and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 823:1.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Jeremiah 24:1:1 to 24:9:2, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Malbim, Malbim on Jeremiah 24:3:1, 24:5:1, 24:8:1 and 24:10:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; Metzudat David, Metzudat David on Jeremiah 24:2:1, 24:3:1, 24:5:1, 24:6:1, 24:7:1, 24:8:1 and 24:10:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; Radak, Radak on Jeremiah 24:1:1, 24:2:1, 24:8:1, 24:9:1 and 24:10:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/jeremiah/24.json, the 15 Talmud and Midrash locators on the verses of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for Jeremiah 24: parashot 0, haftarah uses 0, and no festival reading for the book.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Two Baskets of Figs Set Before the Temple
Jeremiah 24:1-3
After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had: The vision is dated after Nebuchadnezzar carried Jeconiah to Babylon and the two baskets stand “in front of the temple of the LORD.” One basket holds figs “like those that ripen early,” and the other holds figs “so bad they could not be eaten.”
like those that ripen early: Figs that ripen early were the first fruit of the season. Calvin notes that those left in Jerusalem thought God had treated them better than the exiles. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the good and bad as a comparison, meant to comfort the exiles and rebuke the proud at home.
Jeremiah 24:2
“They are called good and bad respectively, not in an absolute, but a comparative sense, and in reference to the punishment of the latter. This prophecy was designed to encourage the despairing exiles, and to reprove the people at home, who prided themselves as superior to those in Babylon and abused the forbearance of God (compare Jer 52:31-34).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Jeremiah 24:2
“Hence miserable Jeconiah, who was banished and deprived of his kingdom, was apparently undergoing a most grievous punishment, together with his companions, who had been led away with him; and the Jews who remained at Jerusalem no doubt flattered themselves, as though God had dealt more kindly with them.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
The LORD asks the same question He asked at Jeremiah's call, when he saw an almond branch and a boiling pot (1:11-13). Jeremiah names only what is in front of him. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note on verse 2 that good and bad are meant by comparison.
Jeremiah 24:3
“Then said the Lord unto me, what seest thou, Jeremiah?....”
The Good Figs Carried Away, the Bad Left Behind
Jeremiah 24:4-7
Then the word of the LORD: The good figs are the exiles in Babylon: “so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place.” The promise takes up the verbs of Jeremiah's call at 1:10, “I will build them up and not tear them down.”
Jeremiah 24:4
“Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. As follows; where an explanation is given of the above vision, to which this is a transition.”
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 24:4
“The complete fulfillment of this prophecy belongs to the Christian Church. There is a close analogy between Jeremiah at the first destruction of Jerusalem and our Lord at the second. There the good figs were those converts picked out by the preaching of Christ and the Apostles; the bad figs were the mass of the people left for Titus and the Romans to destroy. Jer 24:5 Acknowledge ... for their good - Specially their spiritual good. Put a comma after Chaldaeans.”
The exiles with Jeconiah are called good. Clarke reads it as God's regard for captives who had turned from their sin. Henry adds that their trouble humbled them and cured them of idol worship.
Jeremiah 24:5
“Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge - Those already carried away into captivity, I esteem as far more excellent than those who still remain in the land. They have not sinned so deeply, and they are now penitent; and, therefore, I will set mine eyes upon them for good, Jer 24:6. I will watch over them by an especial providence, and they shall be restored to their own land.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 24:5
“By their afflictions they were convinced of sin, humbled under the hand of God, weaned from the world, made serious, taught to pray, and turned from their iniquity; particularly they were cured of their inclination to idolatry; and thus it was good for them that they were afflicted, Ps. cxix. (4.) God promises them that he will own them in their captivity.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
I will keep My eyes on them: Build and plant are the words of Jeremiah's call (1:10), now used for the exiles. Henry compares the captivity to squaring rough stones for a building and pruning young trees for planting. The LORD's eyes stay on them for good.
Jeremiah 24:6
“Christ is a builder and architect, about whom it has been said in the prophets: "He will build my city, and he will turn back the captivity of my people." Thus the Lord said, "And I will build them up, and I will not tear them down." For the God who is good takes down certain buildings. For it is necessary that the building of unclean spirits be destroyed in us, and a temple to God be built in this way from virtues and right teachings so that his glory can be seen in it.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Fragments on Jeremiah 23patristic
ConnectionsJeremiah 1:10
I will give them a heart: The heart to know the LORD is His gift, and the return follows from it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown see God's grace as the source and repentance as its fruit. Henry traces even the exile to covenant love.
Jeremiah 24:7
“The source of their conversion is here stated to be God's prevenient grace. for they shall return--Repentance, though not the cause of pardon, is its invariable accompaniment: it is the effect of God's giving a heart to know Him.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Jeremiah 24:7
“Note, Those that have backslidden from God, if they do in sincerity return to him, are admitted as freely as any to all the privileges and comforts of the everlasting covenant, which is herein well-ordered, that every transgression in the covenant does not throw us out of covenant, and that afflictions are not only consistent with, but flowing from, covenant-love.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Jeremiah 24:7
“WITH what blindness has sin struck the heart of man, for man does not know his own Maker! It is implied in the text that in his heart he is ignorant of Jehovah, though in Him he lives, and moves, and has his being. What an impotence has sin brought upon the mind of man, since being ignorant of God he is also incapable of finding Him out! This, also, may be most readily gathered from the text.”
Jeremiah 24:8-10
But like the bad figs, so: The bad figs are named: “Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem,” with “those living in the land of Egypt.” Those who stayed in the land and those who fled to Egypt, the ones who seemed to escape judgment, fill the bad basket.
Jeremiah 24:8
“So will I give Zedekiah - I will treat these as they deserve. They shall be carried into captivity, and scattered through all nations. Multitudes of those never returned to Judea; the others returned at the end of seventy years.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
a horror and an offense: Words of shame follow the bad figs wherever they are banished. Gill contrasts them with Jeconiah's captives, who went together to Babylon, while these would be scattered through many kingdoms. The same curse on covenant breakers stands in Deuteronomy 28:37.
Jeremiah 24:9
“And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt,.... Jeconiah and the captives with him were only carried into Babylon; but these should be scattered one from another into the several parts of the world.”
sword and famine and plague: Sword, famine and plague are the three judgments the book names again and again, as in 21:9. Gill places them in the land itself. Clarke contrasts the exiles, who took their captivity as correction, with those who hardened their hearts.
Jeremiah 24:10
“And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them,.... Meaning not in other lands, where they should be driven, but while in their own land, by which many should perish; and the rest that escaped these dreadful judgments should be carried captive.”
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 24:10
“I will send the sword - Many of them fell by sword and famine in the war with the Chaldeans, and many more by such means afterwards. The first received their captivity as a correction, and turned to God; the latter still hardened their hearts more and more, and probably very many of them never returned: perhaps they are now amalgamated with heathen nations. Lord, how long?”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Keep studying
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.