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Jeremiah 41:17

in Jeremiah 41

And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, near Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they departed, and dwelt in Geruth Chimham, which is by Beth-lehem, to go to enter into Egypt,

KJV

And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Beth–lehem, to go to enter into Egypt,

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This verse in Jeremiah 41

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
And they departed,.... From Mizpah, Johanan, and the captains of the forces, and all the people rescued from Ishmael: and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem: so called perhaps from Chimham, the son of Barzillai the Gileadite, to whom David or Solomon might give this place to dwell in, 2Sa 19:37, 1Ki 2:

This site's exposition

the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah

on Jeremiah 41:16-18

Johanan recovers the whole remnant, soldiers, women, children and eunuchs, from Gibeon, but instead of returning to Mizpah the group turns south toward Bethlehem, planning to flee into Egypt out of fear of Chaldean reprisal for Gedaliah's murder. Henry observes the irony sharply, the men who rescued the remnant from Ishmael's violence now propose to abandon the very land Gedaliah died governing, trading Babylon's expected wrath for Egypt's supposed safety. The chapter closes on that fear rather than a resolution, setting up Jeremiah's warning in the chapter that follows.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

on Jeremiah 41:17-18

We have scarcely such an instance of perfidious cruelty in all the scripture; so that with John, when he saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, we may well wonder with great admiration. But God permitted it for the completing of the ruin of an unhumbled people, and the filling up of the measure of their judgments, who had filled up the measure of their iniquities.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The habitation of Chimham - The Hebrew text has Geruth-Chemoham, of which place nothing is known. The Masoretes read: Geruth-Chimham, the Khan or Caravanserai of Chimham, son of the rich Barzillai (marginal reference). The substitution is incapable now of proof or disproof, but it is possibly right.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

It was thence called the habitation of Chimham (Geruth-Chimham), though it reverted to David's heirs in the year of jubilee. "Caravanserais" (a compound Persian word, meaning "the house of a company of travellers") differ from our inns, in that there is no host to supply food, but each traveller must carry with him his own.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

in Geruth Chimham In the sojourning place that David gave to Chimham the son of Barzilai the Gileadite when he returned from the war of Absalom, as it is stated in the Book of Samuel (II: 39): “Chimham shall go over with me.”
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Jeremiah 41:17:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

11 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.

  • וַיֵּלְכ֗וּand they went

    vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times

  • וַיֵּֽשְׁבוּ֙and they remained

    vaiyeshevuH3427 →1079 times

  • בְּגֵר֣וּתat Geruth

    begerutH1628 →

  • כִּמְהָ֔םKimham

    khemhamH3644 →143 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • אֵ֖צֶל[is] beside

    ʾetzelH681 →

  • בֵּ֣יתBeth-

    beitH1035 →

  • לָ֑חֶם-lehem

    lachemH1035 →

  • לָלֶ֖כֶתto go

    lalekhetH1980 →1546 times

  • לָב֥וֹאto go

    lavo'H935 →2568 times

  • מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt

    mitzrayimH4714 →641 times

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

Related verses

5 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.

2 Samuel 19:37Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.”5 worksJeremiah 42:14and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’4 worksIsaiah 30:2–3They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.2 worksJeremiah 43:7So they entered the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and they went as far as Tahpanhes.2 worksJeremiah 42:19The LORD has told you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for sure that I have warned you today!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

    Jeremiah 43:7

    So they entered the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and they went as far as Tahpanhes.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 2:16

      The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.

    • 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:

  • Through

    Jeremiah 42:19

    The LORD has told you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for sure that I have warned you today!

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 17:16

      But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way…

    • Isaiah 30:1–7

      “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.

    • Nehemiah 9:29–30

      You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 42:14

    and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 4:19

      My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm…

    • Numbers 11:4–5

      Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?

    • Exodus 16:3

      “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us…

About Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Prophet Jeremiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 41 →

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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 41 →