Jeremiah 2:16
in Jeremiah 2The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of thy head.
KJV
Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAlso the children of Noph and Tahapanes,.... These were cities in Egypt. Noph is the same with Moph in Hos 9:6 and which we there rightly render Memphis; as Noph is here by the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions; and was formerly, as Pliny (g) says, the palace of the kings of Egypt. It is the same that is now called Alcairo, or Grand Cairo. According to Herodotus (h), it was built by Menes, the first king of Egypt; and who also makes mention of a city of Egypt, called Momemphis (i).
This site's exposition
Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave?
on Jeremiah 2:14-19
The question, is Israel a servant, is he a homeborn slave, why is he spoiled, treats the nation's ruin as an anomaly needing explanation, since a free heir should not be plundered like property. The young lions that roared upon him and burned his cities without inhabitant are read by the bench as Egypt and Assyria in figure, the very powers Israel courted for protection. The chapter's sharpest question follows, what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor, since going to Egypt or Assyria for help was itself a rejection of the God who had already delivered them from both.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 16, 17.) The sons of Memphis and Taphne have defiled you, even to the crown. Is it not because you abandoned the Lord your God at the time when He was leading you along the way? This that we have said, is not found in the Septuagint at the time when He was leading you along the way.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Noph was sometimes called Memphis, now Cairo. Tahapanes probably took its name from Taphanes queen of Egypt, 1 Kings xi, 19, called also Hanes: Isaiah xxx, 4. The inhabitants of these cities are called here their children.
The principal part of thy country, that which lay next Jerusalem, has been and is a prey to them." How calamitous the condition of Judah had been of late in the reign of Manasseh we find, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 , and perhaps it had not now much recovered itself. All this was owing to their sin (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The children of Noph and Tahapanes - Noph and Tahapanes were two cities of Egypt, otherwise called Memphis and Daphni. It is well known that the good king was defeated by the Egyptians, and slain in battle. Thus was the crown of Judah’s head broken.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Tahapanes takes its name from a goddess, Tphnet [CHAMPOLLION]. Memphis is from Man-nofri, "the abode of good men"; written in Hebrew, Moph (Ho 9:6), or Noph. The reference is to the coming invasion of Judah by Pharaoh-necho of Egypt, on his return from the Euphrates, when he deposed Jehoahaz and levied a heavy tribute on the land (2Ki 23:33-35).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Noph, i. e., Napata, a town situated in the extreme south of Egypt. Some take it to be Memphis (see Isa 19:13 note). Tahapanes - Daphne Pelusii, a bordertown toward Palestine. Have broken the crown of thy head - literally, shall depasture the crown of thy head; i. e., make it bald; baldness was accounted by the Jews a sign of disgrace 2Ki 2:23, and also a mark of mourning Isa 15:2; Isa 22:12. The Egyptians in slaying Josiah, and capturing Jerusalem, brought ruin, disgrace, and sorrow upon the Jews.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נֹ֖ף | nof | Memphis | H5297 → | 7 times |
| וְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֑ס | vetachpenes | and Tahpanhes | H8471 → | 7 times |
| יִרְע֖וּךְ | yirukh | they will graze you | H7462 → | 177 times |
| קָדְקֹֽד׃ | kadekod | scalp | H6936 → |
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
בְּנֵי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
נֹ֖ףMemphis
nofH5297 →7 times
וְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֑סand Tahpanhes
vetachpenesH8471 →7 times
יִרְע֖וּךְthey will graze you
yirukhH7462 →177 times
קָדְקֹֽד׃scalp
kadekodH6936 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 44:1This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:14
“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 14:2
“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.
- Isaiah 11:11
On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and…
- Isaiah 19:13
The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.
- Jeremiah 46:14
Through
Isaiah 19:13The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:13
This is what the Lord GOD says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in Egypt, and I will instill…
- Zechariah 10:4
The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler together.
- Ezekiel 30:13
Through
Jeremiah 46:14“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:10
For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the…
- Jeremiah 44:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:
- Jeremiah 46:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.