Jeremiah 41:5
in Jeremiah 41eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and frankincense for the house of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with meal-offerings and frankincense in their hand, to bring them to the house of Jehovah.
KJV
That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 41
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
These three towns all lay in the tribe of Ephraim, and in the district planted by Salmaneser with Cuthites; but through the fact of these men having cut themselves (see Jer 16:6 note), is suspicious, yet they were probably pious Israelites, going up to Jerusalem, carrying the meat offering usual at the feast of tabernacles, of which this was the season, and mourning over the destruction, not of the city, but of the temple, to the repairs of which we find the members of this tribe contributing in Josiah’s time 2Ch 34:9.
This site's exposition
On the second day after the murder of Gedaliah
on Jeremiah 41:4-7
The day after the murder, eighty men come from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria with shaved beards, bringing offerings “for the house of the LORD.” Ishmael goes out “weeping as he went” and brings them into the city. There he and his men slaughter them and throw them into a cistern.
This site's exposition
carrying grain offerings and frankincense
The eighty come from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria in the old northern kingdom, bringing offerings for a temple already burned. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that a temple's site stayed holy after its destruction. Shiloh had once held the tabernacle itself.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The people of God used to go rejoicing to the house of the Lord, but these went in the habit of mourners, with their clothes rent and their heads shaven; for the providence of God loudly called to weeping and mourning, because it was not with the faithful worshippers of God as in months past.
That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria,.... Places in the ten tribes, and which belonged to the kingdom of Israel; so that it seems even at this distance of time, though the body of the ten tribes had been many years ago carried captive, yet there were still some religious persons sons remaining, and who had a great regard to the temple worship at Jerusalem: even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves; as mourners for the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of the people.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Lord--that is, the place where the house of the Lord had stood (2Ki 25:9). The place in which a temple had stood, even when it had been destroyed, was held sacred [PAPINIAN]. Those "from Shiloh" would naturally seek the house of the Lord, since it was at Shiloh it originally was set up (Jos 18:1).
Having their beards shaven - All these were signs of deep mourning, probably on account of the destruction of the city.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֲ֠נָשִׁים | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| מִשְּׁכֶ֞ם | mishekhem | from Shechem | H7927 → | |
| מִשִּׁל֤וֹ | mishilo | from Shiloh | H7887 → | 32 times |
| וּמִשֹּֽׁמְרוֹן֙ | umishomeron | and from Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| שְׁמֹנִ֣ים | shemonim | eighty | H8084 → | |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מְגֻלְּחֵ֥י | megulechei | shaven of | H1548 → | |
| זָקָ֛ן | zakan | beard | H2206 → | |
| וּקְרֻעֵ֥י | ukeruei | and torn of | H7167 → | 63 times |
| בְגָדִ֖ים | vegadim | clothes | H899 → | 217 times |
| וּמִתְגֹּֽדְדִ֑ים | umitgodedim | and having cut themselves | H1413 → | 8 times |
| וּמִנְחָ֤ה | uminchah | and an offering | H4503 → | 211 times |
| וּלְבוֹנָה֙ | ulevonah | and frankincense | H3828 → | 21 times |
| בְּיָדָ֔ם | beyadam | in hand their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לְהָבִ֖יא | lehavi' | to bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיָּבֹ֣אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
אֲ֠נָשִׁיםmen
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
מִשְּׁכֶ֞םfrom Shechem
mishekhemH7927 →
מִשִּׁל֤וֹfrom Shiloh
mishiloH7887 →32 times
וּמִשֹּֽׁמְרוֹן֙and from Samaria
umishomeronH8111 →109 times
שְׁמֹנִ֣יםeighty
shemonimH8084 →
אִ֔ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מְגֻלְּחֵ֥יshaven of
megulecheiH1548 →
זָקָ֛ןbeard
zakanH2206 →
וּקְרֻעֵ֥יand torn of
ukerueiH7167 →63 times
בְגָדִ֖יםclothes
vegadimH899 →217 times
וּמִתְגֹּֽדְדִ֑יםand having cut themselves
umitgodedimH1413 →8 times
וּמִנְחָ֤הand an offering
uminchahH4503 →211 times
וּלְבוֹנָה֙and frankincense
ulevonahH3828 →21 times
בְּיָדָ֔םin hand their
beyadamH3027 →1618 times
לְהָבִ֖יאto bring
lehavi'H935 →2568 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Deuteronomy 14:1You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
it leads to
- Leviticus 21:5
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
- Romans 9:8
So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.
- Galatians 3:26
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Romans 9:26
and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
- Hosea 1:10
Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to…
- Leviticus 21:5
Through
Joshua 18:1Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,
it leads to
- Joshua 19:51
These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance…
- Joshua 19:51
Through
2 Kings 25:9He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
it leads to
- Amos 2:5
So I will send fire upon Judah to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”
- Amos 2:5
Through
Genesis 33:18After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
it leads to
- Judges 9:1
Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,
- Judges 9:1
About Jeremiah

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceEphraimShilohWhere the tabernacle rested through the judges' era; Hannah prayed here, Samuel heard his name in the night, and its later ruin be…
- PlaceThe northern hill countrySamariaThe hill Omri bought and built his capital on, where Ahab raised a temple to Baal, where the four lepers found the Aramean camp em…
- PlaceCentral hill countryShechemThe city between Ebal and Gerizim where Abram built his first altar in the land, where Joshua set the people to choose whom they w…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
