Whatsoever thing ... - Or, the whole word (or thing) which hath gone forth out of our mouth; i. e., the vows we have made. They would not let Jeremiah’s expostulations prevent the carrying out of the special object which had brought them together: otherwise the Queen of heaven would be offended, and avenge himself. read more
Jeremiah 44:16-19. As for the word thou hast spoken unto us, we will not hearken unto thee Johanan and the rest ( Jer 43:5 ) only denied that God had said such things, and told Jeremiah he had spoken falsely: but now these people rise higher; they acknowledge Jeremiah had spoken to them in the name of the Lord, but, nevertheless, tell him in plain terms they would not obey his word, and indeed this is in the hearts of all sinners that are ruled by their lusts; though they will sometimes... read more
Message to the Judeans in Egypt (44:1-30)Once they had settled down in Egypt, the Judeans soon copied Egyptian religious practices. Jeremiah begins his warnings to them with the reminder of what happened to Jerusalem. The city was destroyed and the people of Judah sent into Babylonian exile because of their false religion and idolatry (44:1-6). Yet the Judeans who escaped to Egypt have not heeded the lesson. God had promised to preserve a minority of the people taken captive to Babylon, but he... read more
whatsoever thing goeth forth, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Numbers 30:12 .Deuteronomy 23:23; Deuteronomy 23:23 ). App-92 . victuals. Hebrew "bread". Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), for all kinds of food. read more
17. whatsoever . . . goeth . . . out of our . . . mouth—whatever vow we have uttered to our gods (Jeremiah 44:25; Deuteronomy 23:23; Judges 11:36). The source of all superstitions is that men oppose their own will and fancies to God's commands. queen of heaven—(See on Jeremiah 7:18); Ashtaroth or Astarte. we . . . fathers . . . king, c.—The evil was restricted to no one class: all from the highest to the lowest shared the guilt. then had we plenty—Fools attribute their seeming prosperity to... read more
They intended to continue to worship the Queen of Heaven, a Near Eastern fertility goddess, as they had done in Judah (cf. Jeremiah 7:18; 2 Kings 17:16), because back then they had plenty of food and life had been pleasant for them. [Note: See Keown, pp. 266-68, for a study of the Queen of Heaven.] Worship of this deity involved offering cakes made in the shape of the goddess or the moon, or stamped with her image (Jeremiah 44:19; cf. Jeremiah 7:18). After the Judeans had stopped making burnt... read more
Jeremiah’s Latest Prophecy (after 586 b.c.). (The prophecies against the Gentile nations (Jeremiah 46-51) were mostly uttered after the battle of Carchemish, 605 b.c.)He denounces the unabated idolatry which still characterised the people now that they dwelt in Egypt. Their experience of suffering had taught them nothing.1-10. Jeremiah’s countrymen rebuked.1. Migdol] on the northern boundary of Egypt. For Noph and Tahpanhes see on Jeremiah 2:16.8. The works of your hands] i.e. your idols. Might... read more
CHAPTER XVTHE QUEEN OF HEAVENJeremiah 44:1-30"Since we left off burning incense and offering libations to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in want of everything, and have been consumed by the sword and the famine."- Jeremiah 44:18THE Jewish exiles in Egypt still retained a semblance of national life, and were bound together by old religious ties. Accordingly we read that they came together from their different settlements-from Migdol and Tahpanhes on the northeastern frontier, from Noph or... read more
CHAPTER 44 1. The message to the Jews (Jeremiah 44:1-10 ) 2. Their punishment (Jeremiah 44:11-14 ) 3. Worshipping the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 44:15-19 ) 4. Jehovah’s answer (Jeremiah 44:20-28 ) 5. The sign: Pharaoh-Hophra’s Defeat (Jeremiah 44:29-30 ) Jeremiah 44:1-10 . The message is concerning all the Jews who were now dwelling in Egypt. Besides being in Tahpanhes, they were also in Noph (Memphis) and in Pathros, which was in the upper Egypt. Not long ago ancient papyri in... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 44:17-18
The apparent profitableness of sin. This was what they asserted. And there seemed something in the assertion. All the great nations around them, and of which they knew anything, were idolaters—Assyria, Type, Babylon, Egypt, and the powerful Philistine, desert and other tribes. But Israel was in great trouble and humiliation. But the argument would have been valid if at the time of their fidelity they had always suffered, and if in their disobedience they had always prospered. They knew, if... read more