Jeremiah 22 is the twenty-second chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Jeremiah 22
A high resolution scan of the Aleppo Codex showing the Book of Jeremiah (the sixth book in Nevi'im).
BookBook of Jeremiah
Hebrew Bible partNevi'im
Order in the Hebrew part6
CategoryLatter Prophets
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part24

Text

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The original text of this chapter is written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 30 verses.

Textual witnesses

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Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).[1] Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., 4QJera (4Q70; 225-175 BCE[2][3]) with extant verses 3‑16,[4] and 4QJerc (4Q72; 1st century BC)[5] with extant verses 4‑6, 10‑28, 30 (similar to Masoretic Text).[6][7][8]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;  B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK:  S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A;  A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q;  Q; 6th century).[9]

Parashot

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The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex.[10] Jeremiah 22 is a part of the Eighth prophecy (Jeremiah 21-24) in the section of Prophecies of Destruction (Jeremiah 1-25). {P}: open parashah; {S}: closed parashah.

[{S} 21:11-14] 22:1-5 {P}22:6-9 {S} 22:10-12 {S} 22:13-17 {S} 22:18-19 {S} 22:20-27 {P} 22:28-30 {P}

Structure

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The New King James Version groups this chapter into:

Prophecies against the kings of Judah (22:1–10)

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Verse 1

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Thus says the Lord: "Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word"[11]

Verse 6

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Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited.[12]

The overthrow of the monarchy is foretold. Biblical commentator A. W. Streane suggests that verses 6–7, on the downfall of Jerusalem, are written "in Ḳinah metre".[13]

Message to the sons of Josiah (22:11–23)

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Verse 11

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For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went from this place: "He shall not return here anymore"[14]

Verse 18

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Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
"They shall not lament for him,
Saying, 'Alas, my brother!' or 'Alas, my sister!'
They shall not lament for him,
Saying, 'Alas, master!' or 'Alas, his glory!'"[16]
  • "Jehoiakim the son of Josiah": is the second son of king Josiah (1 Chronicles 3:15), also called Eliakim before he was made king of Judah by Pharaoh Necho to replace Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:34; 2 Chronicles 36:4) in 609/608 BC,[15] reigning eleven years, until 598 BCE.[17][18] Rabbinical literature describes Jehoiakim as a godless tyrant who committed atrocious sins and crimes. He is portrayed as living in incestuous relations with his mother, daughter-in-law, and stepmother, and was in the habit of murdering men, whose wives he then violated and whose property he seized. He also had tattooed his body.[17] Jeremiah criticised the king's policies, insisting on repentance and strict adherence to the law.[19] Another prophet, Uriah ben Shemaiah, proclaimed a similar message and Jehoiakim ordered his execution (Jeremiah 26:20–23).[20] His despicable character earned him no respect from the people, as in 598 BC to end the siege of Jerusalem, the priests of Sanhedrin delivered him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon[17] who "bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon."[21] and he died without proper funeral, described by Jeremiah that "he shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 22:19) "and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night" (Jeremiah 36:30).[22]

Verse 19

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He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey,
Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.[23]

Josephus wrote that Nebuchadnezzar slew Jehoiakim along with high-ranking officers and then commanded Jehoiakim's body "to be thrown before the walls, without any burial."[24]

Message to Coniah (22:24–30)

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Verse 24

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"As I live," says the Lord, "though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off"[25]

Verse 28

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"Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol—
A vessel in which is no pleasure?
Why are they cast out, he and his descendants,
And cast into a land which they do not know?"[27]

Verse 30

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"Thus says the Lord:
Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah."[29]

Jeconiah has seven sons according to 1 Chronicles 3:17–18, but the Davidic lineage of kingship did not extend to his heirs. This prophecy starts with the "threefold address" of "earth" (Hebrew: ארץ ’e-rets) in Jeremiah 22:29 (similar to the use with "holy" in Isaiah 6:3 and "overthrown" in Ezekiel 21:27) to place a strong emphasis that "no descendant of Jeconiah shall rule Judah."[15]

See also

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  • Related Bible parts: 2 Kings 23, 2 Kings 24, 1 Chronicles 3, 2 Chronicles 36, Jeremiah 36, Ezekiel 19
  • Notes and references

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    1. ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
    2. ^ Cross, F.M. apud Freedman, D.N.; Mathews, K.A. (1985). The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll (11QpaleoLev). Winona Lake, Indiana. p. 55
    3. ^ Sweeney, Marvin A. (2010). Form and Intertextuality in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature. Forschungen zum Alten Testament. Vol. 45 (reprint ed.). Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 66. ISBN 9781608994182. ISSN 0940-4155.
    4. ^ Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (2008). A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 37. ISBN 9780802862419. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
    5. ^ "The Evolution of a Theory of the Local Texts" in Cross, F.M.; Talmon, S. (eds) (1975) Qumran and the History of Biblical Text (Cambridge, MA - London). p.308 n. 8
    6. ^ Tov, Emanuel (1989). "The Jeremiah Scrolls from Qumran". Revue de Qumrân. 14 (2 (54)). Editions Gabalda: 189–206. ISSN 0035-1725. JSTOR 24608791.
    7. ^ Fitzmyer 2008, p. 38.
    8. ^ Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill. pp. 570–573. ISBN 9789004181830. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
    9. ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
    10. ^ As reflected in the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English.
    11. ^ Jeremiah 22:1 NKJV
    12. ^ Jeremiah 22:6 NIV
    13. ^ Streane, A. W. (1911), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Jeremiah 22, accessed 10 February 2019
    14. ^ Jeremiah 22:11 NKJV
    15. ^ a b c d The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. p. 1112-1114 Hebrew Bible. ISBN 978-0195288810
    16. ^ Jeremiah 22:18 NKJV
    17. ^ a b c d "JEHOIAKIM - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
    18. ^ Dan Cohn-Sherbok, The Hebrew Bible, Continuum International, 1996, page x. ISBN 0-304-33703-X
    19. ^ Jeremiah 36:1–32
    20. ^ James Maxwell Miller, John Haralson Hayes, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Westminster John Knox Press, 1986) page 404-405.
    21. ^ 2 Chronicles 36:6
    22. ^ Note on Jeremiah 22:19 in NET Bible
    23. ^ Jeremiah 22:19 NKJV<
    24. ^ Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews. Book X, chapter 6, part 3.
    25. ^ Jeremiah 22:24 NKJV
    26. ^ Note [a] on Jeremiah 22:24 in NET Bible
    27. ^ Jeremiah 22:28 NKJV
    28. ^ Note on Jeremiah 22:28 in NKJV linked to note [a] on Jeremiah 22:24 in NET Bible
    29. ^ Jeremiah 22:30 NKJV

    Bibliography

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    Jewish

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    Christian

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