Jeremiah 38:6 KJV

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 38:6

The dungeon - The cistern. Every house in Jerusalem was supplied with a subterranean cistern, so well constructed that the city never suffered in a siege from want of water. So large were they that when dry they seem to have been used for prisons Zechariah 9:11.Hammelech - See Jeremiah 36:26 note.The prison - The guard. They threw Jeremiah into the nearest cistern, intending that he should die of starvation. Some have thought that Psalms 69:0 was composed by Jeremiah when in this cistern. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jeremiah 38:6

Jeremiah 38:6. Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah A place of much the same nature with that mentioned Jeremiah 37:16, but in another prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords It seems there was no passage into this dungeon by stairs, and, as it was deep, they were obliged to let him down in this manner. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire Which was in the bottom of this pit. Josephus asserts that he sunk up to his neck in it, and adds, that their intention... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 38:1-28

Jeremiah’s escape from death (38:1-28)The chief officials in Jerusalem were a powerful group. They hated Jeremiah for his unchanging message of ‘submit to Babylon or perish’, and they managed to force the king to hand over Jeremiah to them for execution (38:1-5). They dropped him into a filthy disused well and left him there to die (6).There was, however, in Zedekiah’s court an African who had risen to a position of responsibility and who was favourable to Jeremiah. In an action that showed... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Jeremiah 38:6

dungeon. See note on Jeremiah 37:16 . Hammelech = the king. See note on Jeremiah 36:26 . prison = house of detention. sunk in the mire. To be preferred to the moral sinking of Zedekiah in Jeremiah 38:22 . read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Jeremiah 38:6

Jeremiah 38:6. Then took they Jeremiah— It is commonly thought that Jeremiah, during his abode in this loathsome place, composed the melancholy meditations inserted in the third chapter of his Lamentations. See Lamentations 3:53; Lamentations 3:55. Josephus asserts, that he sunk up to his neck in the mire; and adds, that their intention in putting him into so noisome a place was, that he might perish in it. See Antiq. lib. 9: cap. 10 and Calmet. This account of the dungeon accords with what was... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 38:6

6. dungeon—literally, the "cistern." It was not a subterranean prison as that in Jonathan's house (Jeremiah 37:15), but a pit or cistern, which had been full of water, but was emptied of it during the siege, so that only "mire" remained. Such empty cisterns were often used as prisons (Jeremiah 37:15- :); the depth forbade hope of escape. Hammelech— (Jeremiah 37:15- :). His son followed in the father's steps, a ready tool for evil. sunk in the mire—Jeremiah herein was a type of Messiah (Psalms... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 38:1-6

The plot to arrest Jeremiah 38:1-6 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 38:6

The nobles had Jeremiah placed in a cistern of one of the royal princes, Malchijah, which was in the court of the guardhouse. Jeremiah had previously been confined in this court or stockade (Jeremiah 37:21), but now he was lowered into the cistern with ropes. The cistern had no water in it, but the bottom was very muddy, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. The nobles wanted him to die there of "natural causes," i.e., hunger-probably to alleviate their guilt (cf. Genesis 37:18-20; Genesis 37:24;... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 38:1-28

1-3. The removal of Jeremiah from the prison was favourable to the publication of his message. Hence the alarm of the princes.1. Pashur] see on Jeremiah 20:2.2. He that goeth forth] i.e. submits: so Jeremiah 38:17.6. Dungeon] RM ’pit,’or cistern. It is conjectured that Psalms 69 may have been composed by Jeremiah on this occasion.7-13. Jeremiah is rescued by Ebed-melech. 10. Thirty] possibly a copyist’s error for ’three.’The two words resemble each other much more closely in Hebrew than in... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Jeremiah 38:6

(6) The dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech.—Literally, the pit, or cistern. The LXX. agrees with the marginal reading in describing him as “a son of the king.” The same phrase is so translated in 1 Kings 22:26; 2 Chronicles 28:7, and would seem to have been an official or court title, applied to one of the royal house, as distinguished from. others. (See Note on Jerahmeel in Jeremiah 36:26.) We have no data for judging whether this Malchiah is identical with the lather of Pashur in... read more