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Jeremiah 29:3

in Jeremiah 29

The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), saying,

KJV

By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

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This verse in Jeremiah 29

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
Elasah - Probably brother of Ahikam Jer 26:24, and therefore an acceptable person at the Chaldaean court. As Zedekiah had to go in person to Babylon in his fourth year Jer 51:59, this embassy was probably sent two or three years earlier. Its date, however, was subsequent to the vision in Jer 24:1-10. It is appended therefore to Jer. 28, not as later in point of time, but because of the similarity of subject.

This site's exposition

the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem

on Jeremiah 29:1-3

The chapter is a real letter rather than a spoken oracle, sent from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets and people already carried captive to Babylon in the first deportation under Jeconiah. It travels by named couriers, Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, sent by Zedekiah himself to Nebuchadnezzar, the family of Shaphan appearing elsewhere on Jeremiah's side at 26:24 and 36:10-12, so the letter moves inside a friendly channel even under a king who did not otherwise heed the prophet. The genre itself argues something: exile has become a place with a postal route, not merely a punishment to be waited out in silence.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Jeremiah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Chapter 29, verses 1 and following) These are the words of the book that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders of the exile, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Zedekiah . . . sent unto Babylon--In Jer 51:59, Zedekiah himself goes to Babylon; here he sends ambassadors. Whatever was the object of the embassy, it shows that Zedekiah only reigned at the pleasure of the king of Babylon, who might have restored Jeconiah, had he pleased.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • בְּיַד֙by [the] hand of

    beyadH3027 →1618 times

  • אֶלְעָשָׂ֣הEleasah

    ʾelasahH501 →

  • בֶן־[the] son of

    ven-H1121 →4930 times

  • שָׁפָ֔ןShaphan

    shafanH8227 →34 times

  • וּגְמַרְיָ֖הand Gemariah

    ugemaryahH1587 →5 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • חִלְקִיָּ֑הHilkiah

    chilkiyahH2518 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֨רwhom

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • שָׁלַ֜חhe sent

    shalachH7971 →845 times

  • צִדְקִיָּ֣הZedekiah

    tzidkiyahH6667 →63 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • יְהוּדָ֗הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּ֛רNebuchadnezzar

    nevukhadnetzarH5019 →60 times

  • מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • בָּבֶ֖לBabylon

    bavelH894 →262 times

  • בָּבֶ֥לָהBabylon towards

    bavelahH894 →262 times

  • לֵאמֹֽר׃ ס<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Chronicles 6:13Shallum was the father of Hilkiah, Hilkiah was the father of Azariah,2 works2 Chronicles 34:20and commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:2 worksJeremiah 39:14had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.2 worksJeremiah 26:24Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.2 worksJeremiah 36:25Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.2 worksEzekiel 8:11Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.2 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Kings 22:8Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan, who read it.2 works2 Kings 22:12and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:2 works2 Chronicles 34:8Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.2 works2 Kings 22:9And Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, “Your servants have paid out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hands of the workers and supervisors of the house of the LORD.”2 worksJeremiah 29:16this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile—2 worksJeremiah 36:10From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    2 Chronicles 34:20

    and commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 22:12

      and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 6:13

    Shallum was the father of Hilkiah, Hilkiah was the father of Azariah,

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 22:12–14

      and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Chronicles 35:8

      His officials also contributed willingly to the people and priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the administrators of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bulls.

    • 2 Kings 22:4

      “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 39:14

    had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 26:24

      Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Jeremiah 38:28

      And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

    • 2 Kings 25:22–25

      Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over the people he had left behind in the land of Judah.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 26:24

    Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 1:18–19

      Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Jeremiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 29 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in Jeremiah 29 →