Jeremiah 22


Jeremiah 22 is the twenty-second chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Text

The original text of this chapter is written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 30 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets, Aleppo Codex, Codex Leningradensis. Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., 4QJera with extant verses 3‑16, and 4QJerc with extant verses 4‑6, 10‑28, 30.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus.

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Jeremiah 22 is a part of the Eighth prophecy in the section of Prophecies of Destruction . : open parashah; : closed parashah.

Structure

The New King James Version groups this chapter into:
  • = Prophecies Against the Kings of Judah
  • = Message to the Sons of Josiah
  • = Message to Coniah

    Prophecies against the kings of Judah (22:1–10)

Verse 1

Verse 6

The overthrow of the monarchy is foretold. Biblical commentator A. W. Streane suggests that verses 6–7, on the downfall of Jerusalem, are written "in Ḳinah metre".

Message to the sons of Josiah (22:11–23)

Verse 11

  • "Shallum the son of Josiah" was the fourth son of king Josiah, when he was anointed as king by the people of Judah to succeed Josiah in 609 BC, but dethroned after three months by Pharaoh Necho, imprisoned, taken captive to Egypt, and died without returning from there, fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy in this chapter.

    Verse 18

  • "Jehoiakim the son of Josiah": is the second son of king Josiah, also called Eliakim before he was made king of Judah by Pharaoh Necho to replace Jehoahaz in 609/608 BC, reigning eleven years, until 598 BCE. Rabbinical literature describes Jehoiakim as a godless tyrant who committed atrocious sins and crimes. He is portrayed as living in incestuous relations with his mother, daughter-in-law, and stepmother, and was in the habit of murdering men, whose wives he then violated and whose property he seized. He also had tattooed his body. Jeremiah criticised the king's policies, insisting on repentance and strict adherence to the law. Another prophet, Uriah ben Shemaiah, proclaimed a similar message and Jehoiakim ordered his execution. His despicable character earned him no respect from the people, as in 598 BC to end the siege of Jerusalem, the priests of Sanhedrin delivered him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon who "bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon." and he died without proper funeral, described by Jeremiah that "he shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem" "and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night".

    Verse 19

Josephus wrote that Nebuchadnezzar slew Jehoiakim along with high-ranking officers and then commanded Jehoiakim's body "to be thrown before the walls, without any burial."

Message to Coniah (22:24–30)

Verse 24

  • "Coniah": a spelling of the name Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, who succeeded his father, Jehoiakim, for three months and ten days as the king of Judah in 597 BC, until he and his family members as well as a number of officers were exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, while the king of Babylon placed Zedekiah on the throne of Judah. The spelling "Coniah" and Jehoiachin. For 36 years Jeconiah remained in prison at Babylon, and the archeological evidence of his presence in Babylon was found in form of rations tablets bearing his name and title. When Nebuchadnezzar died, his son Evil-merodach released Jeconiah and gave him an honorable seat at his own table.

    Verse [|28]

  • "Coniah": a spelling of the name Jeconiah found in Jeremiah 22:24, 28 and Jeremiah 37:1.

    Verse 30

Jeconiah has seven sons according to, but the Davidic lineage of kingship did not extend to his heirs. This prophecy starts with the "threefold address" of "earth" in to place a strong emphasis that "no descendant of Jeconiah shall rule Judah."

Jewish

*
22