Synopsis of the Chapter
He narrates the history of the disaster of Jerusalem, then of Zedekiah, verse 8; then of the temple, and its vessels carried off by the Chaldeans, verse 17; after this, the princes killed and the people carried away, verse 24; finally, the liberation and exaltation of Jehoiachin, verse 31.
Verse 1: Filia Jeremiæ ¶
1. The daughter of Jeremiah — not of this Prophet: for he was from Anathoth, and was celibate; but of another Jeremiah, a native of Libnah.
Verse 12: Decima Mensis ¶
12. On the tenth of the month. — You will object: 4 Kings 25:8 says Nebuzaradan came on the seventh day. I respond: On the seventh day he departed from Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar was residing, and on the tenth day (for it is a three-day journey) he arrived in Jerusalem.
Verse 21: Decem Et Octo Cubiti Altitudinis Erant In Columna Una ¶
21. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar. — You will object: 2 Chronicles 3:15 says these pillars were thirty-five cubits high. I respond: The total height of both pillars taken together was thirty-six cubits: therefore the height of one was eighteen cubits: for twice eighteen makes thirty-six; in the book of Chronicles, however, not thirty-six but thirty-five cubits are assigned, because half a cubit in each pillar was hidden within its chapiter.
You will object second: Here it says there were ninety-six pomegranates on each pillar, but 3 Kings 8:20 says there were two hundred, that is, a hundred on each. I respond: There were a hundred, but only ninety-six were visible: for a spherical body cannot be seen in its entirety from one viewpoint, and therefore four were hidden. So Vatablus and Lyranus.
And a cord — as if to say: The circumference of the pillars, which we are accustomed to measure with a cord, or as the Hebrew has it, a thread, was twelve cubits.
Verse 28: In Anno Septimo ¶
28. In the seventh year — of Nebuchadnezzar, which was the eleventh and last year of Jehoiakim: for at that time, having killed Jehoiakim, he carried away to Babylon three thousand Jews, as it says here, and among them Ezekiel. So Josephus, book X of the Antiquities, chapter viii. In the eighteenth year of his reign, which was the eleventh and last year of Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and carried away 832 Jews. From this passage of Jeremiah it is clear that there was no captivity in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, as R. Saadias and Maldonatus hold on Daniel 1; for otherwise Jeremiah would have mentioned it here along with the others; or at least it was a very small one, namely that Daniel and a few others were carried away. See the comments on Daniel 1:1.
Verse 30: In Anno Vigesimo Tertio Transtulit ¶
30. In the twenty-third year he carried away, etc., seven hundred and forty-five — namely from Egypt; having subdued it, he transferred the remnants of the Jews who had fled there to Babylon. So some say. But Nebuchadnezzar subdued Egypt not in year 23 of his reign but in year 35, as will be clear from Ezekiel 29:17. I say therefore that in this twenty-third year Nebuchadnezzar subdued the Ammonites and Moabites, and then again gleaned the neighboring Jews, both those remaining in Judea and the refugees among Ammon and Moab, and those who had survived the two earlier captivities, carrying away 745 in number. So Lyranus and Dionysius. This twenty-third year was the fifth after the destruction of the city and the temple.
Verse 31: Vigesima Quinta Mensis ¶
31. On the twenty-fifth of the month. — You will object: 4 Kings 25:27 says this happened on the twenty-seventh day of the month. I respond: Evil-merodach decided and began to do this on the twenty-fifth day, but completed and finished it on the twenty-seventh day of the month. So Vatablus. That is, on the twenty-fifth day he freed Jehoiachin from his chains and prison, on the twenty-seventh he exalted him above the other kings. So Sanchez. R. David relates, or rather fabricates, that Nebuchadnezzar died on the twenty-fifth day, was buried on the twenty-sixth, and Evil-merodach was released from the prison in which he was held because he was seeking the kingdom: on the twenty-seventh day he was established as king, and then he likewise brought Jehoiachin out of prison and exalted him, because he had become familiar with him in prison.
Others fabricate that Evil-merodach feared lest Nebuchadnezzar might return from death to life, just as shortly before he had returned from bestial form to human; he therefore waited for the third day after death, namely the twenty-seventh, when with his father buried he securely assumed the kingdom. Others invent that Evil-merodach, on the advice of Jehoiachin, cut his father's corpse into three hundred pieces and threw them to as many vultures to be devoured, lest his father be believed to be about to live again and return to the kingdom, as I said on Isaiah 14:16. Note here that Jehoiachin was in prison for thirty-seven years, that is, the entire time that Nebuchadnezzar reigned: when he died, Evil-merodach brought him out, when Jehoiachin was already fifty-five years old. For when he was eighteen years old, he was carried away and shut up in prison. Moreover, Evil-merodach brought him out and exalted him, either because his father on his deathbed, repenting of his tyranny and pride, as is intimated in Daniel 5:34, had so commanded him; or because he had been delighted by his manners and conversation in prison, and had formed a friendship with him.
Verse 32: Et Posuit Thronum Ejus Super Thronos Regum ¶
32. And he set his throne above the thrones of the kings — whom he kept as courtiers in his court, both for the sake of pomp and lest they rebel, just as even today kings have dukes and princes as courtiers. Or certainly these kings were those whom he had conquered and imprisoned along with Jehoiachin, such as the king of Tyre, the king of Egypt, the king of Edom, Ammon, Moab, etc.
Finally, note here first that Jeremiah, shortly before the capture of the city, secretly carried the Ark of the Covenant and the altar of incense out of the temple (and the candlestick and the table of showbread, says Torniellus; for no mention of any of these is made among the spoils taken by the Chaldeans), and hid them in some underground place, and afterwards transferred them to Mount Nebo, as is said in 2 Maccabees 2:4. See the comments on Exodus 25:10.
Second, the events which are written in this chapter from verse 30 onwards occurred after the death of Jeremiah, and therefore were written and added not by him, but by Baruch or by Ezra. The rest of this chapter is to be explained at 4 Kings, the final chapter; for they belong there:
Here is the end of Jehoiachin's fate, this is the outcome that lot brought him; these the fates of Zedekiah, these the funerals of Judah; this the last day of Jerusalem: Troy is fallen, and the great glory of Abraham's sons, and the splendor of Isaac's heirs.
How truly spoke our God-taught Thomas, in book I of The Imitation of Christ, chapter 1: 'Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity, except to love God, and to serve Him alone. This is the highest wisdom: through contempt of the world, to strive toward the heavenly kingdom. It is therefore vanity to seek perishable riches, and to hope in them. It is also vanity to pursue honors, and to exalt oneself on high. It is vanity to follow the desires of the flesh; and to desire that for which one must afterwards be grievously punished. It is vanity to wish for a long life, and to care little for a good life. It is vanity to attend only to the present life, and not to foresee the things that are to come. It is vanity to love what passes away with all speed, and not to hasten to where everlasting joy abides.' It is vanity to build gardens, palaces, and cities that will shortly collapse; and not to think of building a home in heaven. It is vanity to heap up gold and silver, that is, red and white earth; and to neglect celestial and immortal riches. It is vain, and too vain, to labor so at enriching one's children or grandchildren that you bring upon yourself the danger of the ever-burning hell, and lose everlasting life. O vanity! O vanity of vanities! O vain, O foolish sons of Adam! Why, why, why do you love vanity, the vainest and sheerest vanity, and seek after falsehood? O Truth, O happiness, O eternity! How seldom do You dwell in the minds of men! How few think of You, none penetrate You! For You are impenetrable.
THINK ON ETERNITY, Alpha and Omega. GATHER ETERNAL THINGS. BUILD ETERNAL THINGS. How narrow is the way that leads to life! How few find it!