Jeremiah 36:12
in Jeremiah 36he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber: and, lo, all the princes were sitting there, to wit, Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
KJV
Then he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
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This verse in Jeremiah 36
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The scribe’s chamber - The chancery in which the king’s business was conducted. Probably Elishama was one of the “principal scribes of the host” Jer 52:25, i. e., the secretary of state for war. The business which had brought together “all the princes” would have reference to the Chaldaean war.
This site's exposition
Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan
on Jeremiah 36:11-13
Michaiah, grandson of the Shaphan whose family ran through Josiah's reform, hears the reading and moves at once, going down to the scribe's chamber in the king's house where the princes are already sitting. He reports the whole content rather than a summary, all the words that he had heard, and the princes' response is immediate concern rather than dismissal. Gill notes the Shaphan family's recurring role across the book, three generations of one household turning up at every hinge point of Jeremiah's story, Ahikam protecting him in chapter 26, Gemariah lending his chamber here, Gedaliah governing after the fall in chapter 40.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then he went down into the king's house,....
We are willing to hope that it was not with a bad design, to bring Jeremiah into trouble for his preaching, but with a good design, to bring the princes into trouble for their sins, that Michaiah informed the princes of what Baruch had read; for his father Gemariah so far countenanced Baruch as to lend him his chamber to read out of.
The words behind it
27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֤רֶד | vaiyered | and he went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לִשְׁכַּ֣ת | lishkat | [the] room of | H3957 → | 47 times |
| הַסֹּפֵ֔ר | hasofer | the scribe | H5608 → | 159 times |
| וְהִ֨נֵּה־ | vehineh- | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שָׁ֔ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַשָּׂרִ֖ים | hasarim | the officials | H8269 → | 421 times |
| יֽוֹשְׁבִ֑ים | yoshevim | [were] sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אֱלִישָׁמָ֣ע | ʾelishama' | Elishama | H476 → | 17 times |
| הַסֹּפֵ֡ר | hasofer | the scribe | H5608 → | 159 times |
| וּדְלָיָ֣הוּ | udelayahu | and Delaiah | H1806 → | |
| בֶן־ | venosh- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שְׁ֠מַעְיָהוּ | shema'yahu | Shemaiah | H8098 → | 41 times |
| וְאֶלְנָתָ֨ן | veelnatan | and Elnathan | H494 → | 7 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַכְבּ֜וֹר | akhbor | Achbor | H5907 → | |
| וּגְמַרְיָ֧הוּ | ugemaryahu | and Gemariah | H1587 → | 5 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שָׁפָ֛ן | shafan | Shaphan | H8227 → | 34 times |
| וְצִדְקִיָּ֥הוּ | vetzidkiyahu | and Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חֲנַנְיָ֖הוּ | chananyahu | Hananiah | H2608 → | 29 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַשָּׂרִֽים׃ | hasarim | the officials | H8269 → | 421 times |
וַיֵּ֤רֶדand he went down
vaiyeredH3381 →381 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לִשְׁכַּ֣ת[the] room of
lishkatH3957 →47 times
הַסֹּפֵ֔רthe scribe
hasoferH5608 →159 times
וְהִ֨נֵּה־and there!
vehineh-H2009 →843 times
שָׁ֔םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַשָּׂרִ֖יםthe officials
hasarimH8269 →421 times
יֽוֹשְׁבִ֑ים[were] sitting
yoshevimH3427 →1079 times
אֱלִישָׁמָ֣עElishama
ʾelishama'H476 →17 times
הַסֹּפֵ֡רthe scribe
hasoferH5608 →159 times
וּדְלָיָ֣הוּand Delaiah
udelayahuH1806 →
בֶן־[the] son of
venosh-H1121 →4930 times
שְׁ֠מַעְיָהוּShemaiah
shema'yahuH8098 →41 times
וְאֶלְנָתָ֨ןand Elnathan
veelnatanH494 →7 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
עַכְבּ֜וֹרAchbor
akhborH5907 →
וּגְמַרְיָ֧הוּand Gemariah
ugemaryahuH1587 →5 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
שָׁפָ֛ןShaphan
shafanH8227 →34 times
וְצִדְקִיָּ֥הוּand Zedekiah
vetzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
חֲנַנְיָ֖הוּHananiah
chananyahuH2608 →29 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הַשָּׂרִֽים׃the officials
hasarimH8269 →421 times
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 41:1In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 40:8
they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their…
- Jeremiah 40:6
So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.
- Psalms 41:9
Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
- Jeremiah 40:8
Through
2 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:
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.
- Jeremiah 26:24
Through
Jeremiah 36:25Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 26:22
Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor along with some other men.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 5:34–39
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.
- Jeremiah 26:22
Through
Jeremiah 26:22Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor along with some other men.
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:
- 2 Kings 22:14
So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived…
- 2 Kings 22:12
Where this verse is studied
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About Jeremiah

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
