Jeremiah 13:3-5

Sometime later, the Lord told Jeremiah to take his waistband and go to perathah, and hide it in a crevice in the rock there, which he did.

The Hebrew word perath describes the Euphrates River elsewhere in the Old Testament, and that may be its meaning here (cf. Jeremiah 46:2; Jeremiah 46:6; Jeremiah 51:63; Genesis 2:14; Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7; Deuteronomy 11:24; 2 Kings 23:29; 2 Kings 24:7). [Note: Leon Wood, p. 72; Keil, 1:231-33.] If so, Jeremiah traveled at least 500 miles each way four times. Such a destination is plausible, since the Euphrates was the source of the coming invasion of Judah, and the destination of the Judahite exiles.

However, several commentators have suggested that the Hebrew word should be read differently, as parah, which refers to a site just four miles northeast of Anathoth, Jeremiah’s hometown (cf. Joshua 18:23). Still others believe the Hebrew word is an abbreviated form of the name Ephrathah, an old name of Bethlehem six miles south of Jerusalem (cf. Micah 5:2). [Note: See Charles H. Dyer, "Waistbands, Water, and the Word of God: Where Did Jeremiah Bury His Girdle?" in Integrity of Heart, Skillfulness of Hands: Biblical and Leadership Studies in Honor of Donald K. Campbell, pp. 62-81.] Since Jeremiah’s action was symbolic, he may not have made the long trip to the Euphrates to bury his waistband, but may have hidden it in a closer place, perhaps in the general direction of Babylon.

A third view is that this was a vision, and that Jeremiah never really went anywhere, except in his mind. But there are no clues in the text that this was a vision.

Regardless of where Jeremiah went, the meaning of the prophet’s action is clear; it does not depend on our identifying his destination.