Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 42
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Jeremiah 42
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Jeremiah 42
"Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near," — Jeremiah 42:1 (ASV)
Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah. —Possibly identical with Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite (Jeremiah 40:8). In Azariah the son of Hoshaiah (Jeremiah 43:2) we may recognize his brother. The Septuagint, indeed, reads Azariah here, and it is possibly the true reading.
"and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we pray thee, our supplication be presented before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:" — Jeremiah 42:2 (ASV)
Pray for us unto the Lord thy God. —The prophet had gone to Gedaliah at Mizpah (Jeremiah 40:6), and would seem to have been among the captives whom Ishmael was carrying off when they were rescued by Johanan at Gibeon (Jeremiah 41:13–14). The people now turn to him, acknowledging him as a true prophet, and, trusting in his patriotism, ask for his guidance. Their position was difficult and dangerous. Would he not pray to Jehovah for wisdom, that they might see their way—the way to escape from the threatening peril—clearly? He complies with their wishes, and they, on their side, promise to follow the guidance for which they ask.
"Then they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not according to all the word wherewith Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God." — Jeremiah 42:5-6 (ASV)
The Lord be a true and faithful witness ... —The emphatic solemn oath implies that they are ready to accept the punishment that the righteous Judge will inflict if they prove unfaithful to their promise. The name of the place where they had recently been staying may have reminded them of the history of Genesis 31:49 (though that refers to another Mizpah), in which we find the same formula.
"And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah." — Jeremiah 42:7 (ASV)
After ten days. — The interval is significant, as indicating that the prophet would not give an answer of his own on the spur of the moment, but waited in prayer and meditation until there came into his mind what he could utter as an oracle of God. So Ezekiel waited for seven days among the exiles who lived by the river of Chebar, until the word of the Lord came to him (Ezekiel 3:16). When the hour came, the prophet preached to a multitude whose eagerness to hear him had been intensified by the suspense.
"If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you." — Jeremiah 42:10 (ASV)
Then will I build you, and not pull you down ... —We note the characteristic recurrence of the formulas with which Jeremiah’s work as a prophet had begun (Jeremiah 1:10). The word for “repent” does not imply regret for the past, as people repent of their sin, but, as in Jeremiah 18:8; Jeremiah 26:3, a change of purpose from what had been the intent of judgment to one of mercy. The prophet’s counsel is, as it had been all along, that the people should accept the punishment which God had inflicted on them, that they should stay where they were and as they were, and not in terror or suspicion seek safety in plans of their own devising.
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