Burned ... poured ... did - Or, burn ... pour ... do.To worship her - Rather, to represent her image. The cakes Jeremiah 7:18 were made in the shape of a crescent to represent the moon.Our men - i. e., our husbands (margin). They had the authority of their husbands for what they were doing. Jeremiah must leave them alone, and discuss the matter with those who alone had the right to interfere. 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
Jeremiah 44:19. And when we burned incense— But if we burn incense, and pour forth libations to the queen of heaven, do we make cakes for her without our husbands, that we may pour out, &c.? Houbigant. See chap. Jeremiah 7:18. read more
19. make . . . cakes to worship her—MAURER translates, "to form her image." Crescent-shaped cakes were offered to the moon. Vulgate supports English Version. without our men—The women mentioned (Jeremiah 44:15); "a great multitude" here speak: we have not engaged in secret night orgies which might justly be regarded unfavorably by our husbands: our sacred rites have been open, and with their privity. They wish to show how unreasonable it is that Jeremiah should oppose himself alone to the act... read more
The women had carried on these idolatrous worship practices with their husbands’ full knowledge and approval (cf. Jeremiah 7:17-19). This was not just a women’s sin. The women seem to have meant that since their husbands approved of their actions (cf. Numbers 30:7-15), why should Jeremiah object? As in Solomon’s household, the women seem to have been very aggressive in pursuing idolatry, and their husbands followed their lead (cf. 1 Kings 11:1-8).Jeremiah then replied to the people (Jeremiah... 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
(19) Without our men.—Better, as in the margin, without our husbands. We have here, it is obvious, the very words of the women who were stung by what they looked on as Jeremiah’s intimation that the chief guilt lay on them. They disclaim any special responsibility. Their husbands had joined in the worship, or had, at least, sanctioned it. 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
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The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 44:19
The husband's responsibility. "Did we make her cakes to worship her … without our men ?" These women pleaded that they had their husbands' sanction for what they did. It could not have been otherwise considering the subordinate position women occupied in Oriental nations. No doubt, therefore, the husbands and the male heads of families generally not only permitted, but even prompted these things. Hence it was some sort of excuse and defence for these women thus engaged in idolatrous... read more