Jeremiah
Chapter 43
To Egypt
Jeremiah had barely finished delivering the Lord’s message to the people—everything that the Lord had sent him to say—
when Azariah son of Hoshiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah: “You are lying! The Lord our God did not send you to tell us not to go and settle in Egypt.
No, Baruch, son of Neriah, is prompting you to hand us over to the Chaldeans, either to be killed or deported to Babylon!”
Neither Johanan, son of Kareah, nor the army officers or the people listened to the Lord’s command to stay in the land of Judah.
Instead, Johanan and the officers took the remaining Jews who had returned to Judah from the nations where they had been driven.
They also took away the men, women, children, and royal princesses—all those left behind by Nebuzaradan, commander of the bodyguard, in the care of Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, along with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah.
Despite the Lord’s order, they entered Egypt and arrived at Tahpanhes.
There, at Tahpanhes, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “While the Jews are watching you,
take some large stones and bury them in clay at the brick terrace at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes,
and then say to them: This is what the Lord God of Hosts and God of Israel says: I am sending for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden here, spreading a royal canopy.
He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, bringing death to those destined to die; captivity for those destined to be taken captive; sword for those destined for the sword.
He will set fire to the temples of the Egyptian gods; these gods will be burned or carried away. As a shepherd wraps himself in a cloak, so will the king of Babylon wrap the land of Egypt around himself and depart safely.
He will break the sacred pillars at Heliopolis and burn the temples of the gods in Egypt.”
Commentaries
To Egypt.
The leaders of the anti-Babylonian faction have no choice but to act. They realize that the murder of Gedaliah will cost them dearly if they remain in Judah. As supporters of a treaty with Egypt, they strongly oppose Jeremiah’s position (7). The prophecy of the two baskets of figs (Jer 24:1-10) is illustrated here: the people of Judah who remain in their land will ultimately return to Egypt in a movement that resembles an anti-exodus, involving even Jeremiah and his secretary. The exiles (or their descendants) will return as key participants in a new exodus, seeking a fresh start.
In Egyptian territory, Jeremiah performs a new symbolic act (9), in which Egypt appears in a very unfavorable light. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt between 568 and 567 B.C. and fought against Pharaoh Amasis.