Jeremiah 43
Judah’s leftovers flee to Egypt
Leaders call Jeremiah a liar
1Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD said to tell them. 2But some arrogant men in the crowd spoke up. Among them, Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah. They told Jeremiah, “You’re lying. The LORD our God didn’t tell us to stay here and not go to Egypt. 3You just told us what Baruch son of Neriah told you to say. He wants the Babylonians to kill us or to take us captive to Babylon.” [1]4So Johanan and the other militia commanders decided to ignore what God said. The crowd agreed. They would not stay in Judah.
Militias round up the Judeans
5Johanan and the other commanders rounded up all the people of Judah who the Babylonians had left behind. 6These included men, women, children, daughters of the king, and all the people Babylon’s commander, Nebuzaradan, had entrusted to the care of Governor Gedaliah. Jeremiah and Baruch were among the crowd as well.7The people disobeyed the LORD and migrated to Egypt. These refugees arrived at the Egyptian town of Tahpanhes. [2]
God’s warning to Judeans of Egypt
8The Lord gave Jeremiah a message there in Tahpanhes:9I want you to take some large stones and bury them in the clay pavement that leads into Pharaoh's palace there in Tahpanhes. Let the people of Judah see you do this. 10Tell them, “This is what the LORD of everyone and the God of Israel says:
I’m going to call on my servant, Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. He’ll come here and set his throne on top of these stones I’ve buried. And over his throne he’ll set up his royal canopy for shade.
Babylon will destroy Egypt
11When he comes here, he will decimate the land of Egypt. [3] He'll kill those destined to die. He'll make captives of those destined for Babylon. And he’ll drive the sword into those destined to die by the sword.12I’ll have him burn the temples of Egyptian gods. He’ll carry their idols back to Babylon as war trophies. He will pick Egypt clean, like a shepherd picks fleas off his cloak. Then he'll go home safely and unharmed.
13He'll tear down the great obelisk [4] pillars of Heliopolis, [5] and leave the temples of Egypt in flames.”
Footnotes
This unsubstantiated accusation makes Baruch sound like he’s a Babylonian. First-century Jewish and Roman historian, Josephus, said Baruch had been one of King Zedekiah’s top officials over the king’s personal affairs and assets. The Bible implies that he remained a longtime follower, friend, and colleague of Jeremiah. Jeremiah credits him with taking the dictation that produced the book of Jeremiah, which was later inducted into the Jewish and Christian Bibles.
Tahpanhes was a town in Egypt’s northland, in the fertile Nile Delta where the river fans out into streams that irrigate the fields before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. It’s now an archaeological site known as Tell Nebesha, about 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Cairo and about 220 miles (350 km) southwest of Jerusalem. The trip could have taken a month. A healthy walker on a good path could cover 15-20 miles a day, almost two weeks for the trip from Bethlehem to Tahpanhes. But families and pack animals could make the trip feel like slow motion.
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt, but resistance was minimal. So, he didn’t tear the land up like he did in Judah.
The Washington Monument is one example of an obelisk, a towering pillar built to commemorate or to honor someone or something. The Al-Masalla obelisk is believed to be the oldest-surviving ancient Egyptian obelisk. It was constructed in Heliopolis, which is not part of Cairo. It stands 69 feet high (21 m). It was built of red granite stones that weigh an estimated 120 tons.
Heliopolis was a major town in ancient Egypt, one of the oldest, occupied since prehistoric times. It was also a major religious center of the country. It’s now part of northeast Cairo.
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