Jeremiah 41:17
in Jeremiah 41And 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
8 notes on this verseAnd 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
Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him took the whole remnant
on Jeremiah 41:16-18
Johanan takes the remnant, “the soldiers, women, children, and court officials,” and they stop at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem “in order to proceed into Egypt.” The reason is fear of reprisal: “they were afraid of the Chaldeans” because Ishmael had killed Babylon’s governor. The chapter ends on that fear.
This site's exposition
stayed in Geruth Chimham, near Bethlehem
Matthew Henry takes Geruth Chimham as the land David gave to Chimham son of Barzillai, near Bethlehem (2 Samuel 19:37). Albert Barnes says the name means the lodging place of Chimham. It was a stop on the way to Egypt.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
), and, in order to that, they encamped for a time in the habitation of Chimham, by Bethlehem, David's city. Probably it was some land which David gave to Chimham, the son of Barzillai, which, though it returned to David's family at the year of the Jubilee, yet still bore the name of Chimham.
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The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 & Brown1802–1910
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.
Dwelt in the habitation of Chimham - The estate that David gave Chimham, the son of Barzillai. See 2Sa 19:37, etc. He took this merely as a resting-place; as he designed to carry all into Egypt, fearing the Chaldeans, who would endeavor to revenge the death of Gedaliah.
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.”
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּלְכ֗וּ | vaiyelekhu | and they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַיֵּֽשְׁבוּ֙ | vaiyeshevu | and they remained | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּגֵר֣וּת | begerut | at Geruth | H1628 → | |
| כִּמְהָ֔ם | khemham | Kimham | H3644 → | 143 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֵ֖צֶל | ʾetzel | [is] beside | H681 → | |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | Beth- | H1035 → | |
| לָ֑חֶם | lachem | -lehem | H1035 → | |
| לָלֶ֖כֶת | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לָב֥וֹא | lavo' | to go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
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.
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 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.
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:
- Jeremiah 2:16
Through
Jeremiah 42:19The 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…
- Deuteronomy 17:16
Through
Jeremiah 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…
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…
- Jeremiah 4:19
About Jeremiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
- PlaceBethlehemBethlehemDavid’s town, six miles south of Jerusalem, where Ruth gleaned, where Samuel anointed a shepherd boy, and where Jesus was born as…
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 (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.