Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 29:1

"Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon," — Jeremiah 29:1 (ASV)

These are the words. —The prophecy in this chapter was addressed to those whom we may describe as the first of the Babylonian exiles who had been carried into captivity with Jeconiah (see Note on Jeremiah 35:2). Among these also, probably in connection with the projects which we have traced in the preceding chapter, there was a restless anxiety, fostered by false prophets, who urged the people to rebel against their conquerors. Against that policy Jeremiah, in accordance with the convictions on which he had consistently acted, makes an earnest protest. The letter was sent by special messengers, of whom we read in Jeremiah 29:3, and shows that Jeremiah had been kept well informed of all that transpired in Babylon.

The spelling of the prophet’s name, in the Hebrew text, as Jeremiah, instead of the form Jeremia hu, which is the more common form throughout the book, is probably an indication that the opening verse which introduces the letter was the work of a later hand. The date of the letter was probably early in the reign of Zedekiah, before the incidents of the previous chapter. It is presented to us as following in almost immediate sequel to the deportation mentioned in Jeremiah 29:2. The term “residue of the elders,” in connection with “priests and prophets,” points to the fact that the whole body of counsellors, so named, had not been carried into exile, but only the more prominent members. Such “elders” we find in Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 20:1. Ezekiel himself may be thought of as among the priests and prophets.