Jeremiah 20:1

JEREMIAH 20

JEREMIAH IMPRISONED

This brings us near the end of Jeremiah's tragic ministry to Apostate Judah at a time nearing the very end of that ministry of warning and vain calls for the repentance and reform of the people. There are two division of the chapter. First, there is the episode of Jeremiah's imprisonment and the symbolical name that God fastened upon his oppressor (Jeremiah 20:1-6), and then there is the fifth and final one of the so-called Confessions or Personal Laments of Jeremiah. Ash and others see two laments in these verses, giving six in all; but, to this writer, it appears that the two actually constitute only one lament, there being no valid reason for dividing them. Keil and many of the older commentators also see the passage as a single paragraph (Jeremiah 20:7-18).

Jeremiah 20:1-6

JEREMIAH AND PASHHUR

"Now Pashhur, the son of Immer the priest, who was chief officer in the house of Jehovah, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. Then Pashhur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Jehovah. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashhur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, Jehovah hath not called thy name Pashhur, but Magor-missabib. For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it; and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. Moreover I will give all the riches of this city, and all the gains thereof, and all the precious things thereof, yea, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hands of their enemies; and they shall make them a prey, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. And thou, Pashhur, and all that dwell in thy house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and there shalt thou be buried, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied falsely."

"Pashhur, the son of Immer... chief officer ..." (Jeremiah 20:1). Many scholars including Dummelow and Barnes believed that Pashhur was the father of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 38:1).[1] There was another Pashhur (Jeremiah 21:1), but he belonged to the fifth course (shift) of priests belonging to the sons of Melchiah; this Pashhur belonged to the sixteenth course and was the son of Immer. Both of these families were strongly represented in the returnees from Babylon (Ezra 2:27,38).[2]

There were a number of priests who held the office of "an overseer" of the temple; but the Pashhur mentioned here was "the chief officer," meaning that he had charge of all the overseers. The man was of high authority, the deputy High Priest in fact, an office that made him second only to the governor of the temple. He was evidently pro-Egyptian, believing that an alliance with Egypt would provide the security Israel so desperately needed at that time. Jeremiah's stern prophecies were a threat to Pashhur's position; and the drastic action against Jeremiah was designed to support Pashhur's evil policy which, of course, he backed up with false prophecies (Jeremiah 20:6).

Since Pashhur's false prophecies of peace and security were contradicted by the warnings of Jeremiah, Ash's speculation that, "Jeremiah was thrown into prison as a false prophet,"[3] is probably correct.

"Pashhur smote Jeremiah the prophet ... put him in the stocks ... in the upper gate of Benjamin ..." (Jeremiah 20:2). The NIV renders part of these words as, "had Jeremiah beaten." "Many expositors think that Pashhur ordered Jeremiah to be beaten with `forty stripes save one,' as in Deuteronomy 25:3."[4]

"And put him in the stocks ..." (Jeremiah 20:2). "The terrible instrument of punishment identified in these words "was designed for torture, not merely for restraint,"[5] and their function was to inflict cruel and inhuman torture upon the hapless victim.

"In the upper gate of Benjamin ..." (Jeremiah 20:2). Some have described this gate as probably the most frequented gate in the city. "It is here called the upper gate to distinguish it from another gate of the same name in the city wall, which opened toward the tribe of Benjamin in the North."[6]

"Pashhur smote Jeremiah the prophet ..." (Jeremiah 20:2). The words "Jeremiah the prophet" have not appeared previously in this whole prophecy: and, "The words are thus used here to indicate that Pashhur's conduct was a violation of the respect due the prophetic office."[7] This is one of the saddest scenes in the Old Testament. We have this crooked false prophet Pashhur, beating and torturing God's true prophet.

Halley described the stocks into which Jeremiah was cast as, "A wooden frame in which the feet, neck and hands were fastened so as to hold the body in a cramped and painful position. It was this torture that drew from Jeremiah his outburst of remonstrance with God in Jeremiah 20:7-18."[8]

"Magor-missabib ..." (Jeremiah 20:3). If Pashhur had thought to silence Jeremiah, he quickly learned better. With his first breath after release, Jeremiah announced the new name that God had named upon Pashhur, "Terror on Every Side."[9] Furthermore, the name was backed up with specific prophecies revealing, for the first time in Jeremiah, the name of the kingdom where the captivity would take place, the prophecy that many would be slain, that the king and his household, along with Pashhur and his household, would be among the captives deported to Babylon, and that they would die there and be buffed there. In due time, all of this was literally and circumstantially fulfilled. Indeed, Pashhur, who was destined to live with his false prophecies must have been hated and despised by all of his intimates and close friends. Pashhur was one who prophesied falsely (cf. Jeremiah 14:14) that famine and sword would never overtake Judah. "Jeremiah revealed that for such lies he would now be punished."[10]

Wiseman evidently believed that Pashhur was a prophet, stating that "He was (a) a priest and (b) a prophet."[11] However, we do not believe that he was ever a legitimate prophet.

"Thou hast prophesied falsely ..." (Jeremiah 20:6). "From these words it is evident that Pashhur assumed prophetic functions. Most probably, he and his friends formed a political party in Jerusalem clamoring for an alliance with Egypt."[12] Yes indeed, Pashhur claimed to be a prophet; "But he had falsely assumed the prophetic office; and for that he was worthy of death."[13]