John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 43:5-7

"But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all the nations whither they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah; the men, and the women, and the children, and the king`s daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah; and they came into the land of Egypt; for they obeyed not the voice of Jehovah: and they came unto Tahpanhes." — Jeremiah 43:5-7 (ASV)

The Prophet now gives us a narrative of what he had briefly touched upon. He then says that John and the rest of the leaders took the remnant of the people who were still alive there, and those who had returned from various countries. For many had become fugitives among the Moabites and the Idumeans when they saw the city surrounded by King Nebuchadnezzar's forces. Then they fled here and there, as usually happens, and waited for the outcome of the war.

But after Nebuchadnezzar had departed, and permission had been given to Gedaliah to gather what remained of the people and to place them in cities and towns, many returned to the land, now desolate. For they had lived with foreigners and had been miserably treated. Since they could not settle outside their own land nor find any quiet place to live, they returned, as is usual for people reduced to poverty, who have no settled dwelling. They then returned so that they might live under Gedaliah's protection.

Now the Prophet says that they were taken by John and brought into Egypt. This, then, was the way in which they showed their obstinacy. We therefore see how audacious these leaders must have been, that they did not hesitate to go into Egypt, even though it was shown to be a fatal step.

Indeed, there was no army of Nebuchadnezzar in Judea at that time, though his vengeance might have been dreaded. And then, having fled to Egypt, they might have been ill-treated there and not hospitably received.

But we therefore perceive that when people once shake off God's yoke, they are hurried on by a diabolical madness, so that nothing is insurmountable to them. Had they been asked whether they acted rightly, they might have raised a thousand arguments as excuses; but when they followed their own inclination, they, so to speak, leaped over the clouds. Impiety, then, is always full of rashness and audacity.

But as we see that the ungodly thus rush headlong into ruin, even when God pronounces a curse on their counsels and actions, let us learn to always take encouragement to obey God. For He promises a joyful and blessed outcome at all times when we follow the ways He points out. John then and the other leaders of the forces took the remnant of the people.

And then he shows how little those exiles, who had returned to live in the land of Judea, considered their own good. For they might have still rested safely among the nations who had kindly received them. But in Egypt, God soon executed His judgments on the natives as well as on foreigners. But they deserved such a reward because they preferred to obey the command of the perverse and obstinate rather than to obey the voice of God speaking through His Prophet.

The Prophet also mentions particularly who they were: they were men and women and children. Some render the last word 'puberty,' which I do not approve, since Scripture speaks this way about children. Then John and his associates took childhood, or children; and he adds, the daughters of the king.

We have previously inquired who these daughters of the king were: the probability is that they were his daughters by his concubines, and that they had been put in some safe place so that if any great evil happened, they might not fall into the hands of enemies. Then these daughters of the king had returned with the other exiles but were afterwards carried into Egypt.

Finally, he adds, all the souls which had been left by Nebuzaradan with Gedaliah, with Jeremiah, and with Baruch. This had not been expressed elsewhere—that is, that Jeremiah and Baruch were joined with Gedaliah as rulers over the remnant of the people. But it was not Jeremiah's design to relate everything that then took place.

Now then, when an occasion occurred, he says that he and Baruch were also made governors in connection with Gedaliah. He then adds that they all came into Egypt, or that they entered into Egypt. For the first word used, ויבאו (vaibau), may be translated, “And they entered into Egypt”; and then he adds, ויבאו עד-תחפנחס (vaibau od-tachephnuches), “And they entered (or penetrated) as far as Tachephnuches.”

It was formerly one of the chief cities of Egypt, but its name has perished along with its wealth; for in pagan writers, the name of this city is hardly found.

They indeed mention the city Taphnim but do not speak of Taphnees. It is then probable, as changes take place in a country, that this city gradually became forsaken, so as to become obscure and insignificant, and that other cities were built which exceeded it in wealth. He then says that they came to Taphnees.