Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 6

1. Here, the prophet excludes the second source of help on which the people might have relied: namely, the strength of the royal city, whose destruction he prophesies in this chapter. Regarding this, he makes two points.

   First, he speaks of the citizens’ preparation to resist with the words be strengthened. This shows how they would encourage one another as the enemy approached, though the prophet may also be speaking ironically. He mentions the Sons of Benjamin because the upper part of Jerusalem was in the territory of that tribe, while its lower part was in Judah’s, as noted in the description: And it goes up through the valley of the sons of Hinnom, from the side of Jebus to the south; this is Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8).

   The commands, And sound the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise the banner over Beth Accarem, refer to fortified places near Jerusalem. This is similar to the earlier call to raise a sign in Zion (Jeremiah 4:6).

   Second, he speaks of the destruction of the city itself, beginning with the verse, I have likened the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and charming woman.

   In describing this destruction, he first speaks of the nature of the destroying enemy using a number of metaphors. Second, the enemies are described plainly and explicitly, beginning with the words, thus says the LORD (Jeremiah 6:9).

   Regarding the first point on the metaphors, there are two aspects. First, he describes the siege of the city. Second, he describes the attack, with the words, sanctify a war against her (Jeremiah 6:4).

   Regarding the description of the siege, there are three elements.

   First, he describes the beauty of the city. It is like a beautiful woman in terms of its beautiful buildings and large number of inhabitants, and it is charming, referring to the fertility of the land. As it is written, The finest wheat, honey and oil you have eaten, and you have become exceedingly fair (Ezekiel 16:13).

   Second, he describes the siege itself. The shepherds shall come to her are, metaphorically, the princes of the Chaldeans, as if drawn by the fertile pastures. As it says elsewhere: many shepherds have torn down my vineyard, they have trampled my portion (Jeremiah 12:10). The phrase They have pitched their tents refers to the blockade of the city.

   Third, he describes the orderly arrangement of the army. The phrase each one shall pasture means that each leader will rule those which are under his hand with power. This indicates there were different princes for the different squadrons.

Here, the prophet speaks of the attack to capture the city, and concerning this, he discusses three things.

1. The command to attack. Sanctify means to prepare, or to show that the war is sanctioned and just, as if undertaken by the will of God. This is the voice of the princes to the soldiers. If someone does not give them something to eat, they sanctify a battle against him (Micah 3:5).

2. The desire for battle, which is shown by their mutual exhortation: Arise—the words of the soldiers to one another—and let us go up to fight, as if the city were on a mountain. They are not deterred by the inconvenience of the time, whether by the heat of the day (at midday) or the terror of the night (in the night). They also complain about the shortness of time: Woe to us, because the day is far spent, even though daytime was the appropriate time to wage war.

   The phrase Made longer refers to the shadows: the more the sun approaches its zenith,Thomas Aquinas’s zenith capitis appears to be a direct translation of the original Arabic term, samt ar-ra’s: direction of the head. the longer the shadow then becomes on the opposite side. Be strong, it is yet day, to remain in Nobe (Isaiah 10:32). However, according to the Gloss, Woe to us is spoken from the perspective of the people, who are fearful of an ambush at night because they were barely able to resist at midday.Jerome, In Hieremiam, 2.81.

3. The manner of the attack. For thus says the Lord; this is as if to say, “We are able to fight with confidence, because the Lord has commanded it.” He commands them to cut wood to make siege engines and to cast up a mound.

   This phrase, cast up a mound, can be interpreted in two ways. It could mean destroying the defensive mound the city had built for its walls.The term agger is somewhat ambiguous. It generally means a mound raised around a besieged city by the enemy for the purpose of sustaining the various engines of war. However, the term can also refer to a defensive structure, something like a vallum. Or, it could mean raising a heap of earth upon which to mount the siege engines against the city. He himself will laugh at all your defenses, and raise a mound, and capture it (Habakkuk 1:10).

Here, the prophet speaks of the cause of the siege—namely, the sin that caused it. He makes three points concerning this.

1. He speaks of their universal wickedness: this is the city of visitation, meaning it is a city deserving of judgment; every cunning device, every kind of trickery. Usury and fraud have not failed from her streets (Psalms 54:11).
2. He speaks of the hardness of their hearts: as a cistern cools her water and keeps it untouched by the heat. As it says above: they have dug for them broken cisterns, which are not able to hold water (Jeremiah 2:13).
3. He speaks of the continuation of their sin. Iniquity: wasting and destruction are in their ways; they have not known the way of peace (Isaiah 59:7–8). Sickness, as if it were a punishment corresponding to the two sins mentioned above.

Here, the prophet shows the coming destruction, concerning which he makes three points.

1. He speaks of the warning to avoid destruction.
2. He speaks of their contempt for this advice, found in the verse, to whom shall I speak, and whom shall I call as a witness (Jeremiah 6:10).
3. He threatens the judgment of destruction, found in the verse, therefore, I am filled with the fury of the LORD (Jeremiah 6:11).

Regarding the first point, there are two further points.

1. First, he speaks of the counsel itself: be instructed, that is, be corrected by the previous punishments. As Isaiah says, Only vexation gives understanding to the hearing (Isaiah 28:19).
2. Second, he speaks of the imminent danger of losing God's love: lest perhaps. This is seen in Ezekiel: My zeal shall be taken away from you when the country is laid waste (Ezekiel 16:42). And in the Psalms: He has turned rivers into a desert, and springs of water into dry ground (Psalms 106:33).

This danger is also expressed in the prophecy about the captivity of the people: thus says the LORD of hosts: they shall glean . . . to the last cluster. This is meant inclusively, because not even the root will be left. Metaphorically, the vineyard represents the Jews, as in Isaiah 5:7: the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel. The “clusters” represent the people, and the “grape-harvest” represents the captivity.

The prophet continues the metaphor, addressing the Chaldean: turn... as a grape-gatherer, who places the collected clusters into a basket to carry them to the winepress. In the same way, the Chaldeans are to shut the Jews up in prison and carry them off to Babylon. This is a total devastation, unlike a normal harvest, as Obadiah asks: If the grape-harvesters had come unto you, would they not have left at least a cluster? (Obadiah 1:5).

Alternatively, the phrase to the last cluster could be understood exclusively, because a remnant of the people—namely, the peasants and the poor—was sent back. The word Turn, in this context, signifies their eventual return to their own land, a theme which is shown immediately after this by the image of the basket.

1. Here, he shows their contempt for the advice that was given.

1. The prophet seeks a suitable audience for his counsel: to whom shall I speak the fruitful words of the Lord; whom shall I call as a witness—“Shall I swear to it?” By this, he signifies how few there are. Whom will he teach knowledge, and what listener will he make to understand? (Isaiah 28:9).

2. He shows the reason for this: they were unwilling to listen. Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, as though filled with the fables of the gentiles. Stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ear (Acts 7:51).

   And because they spurn what they have heard, behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach. As it also says, and the word of the Lord has become a reproach to me, and a derision all the day (Jeremiah 20:8).