Jeremiah 21

Jeremiah 21
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A high resolution scan of the Aleppo Codex showing the Book of Jeremiah (the sixth book in Nevi'im).
Book	Book of Jeremiah
Hebrew Bible part	Nevi'im
Order in the Hebrew part	6
Category	Latter Prophets
Christian Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Christian part	24

Jeremiah 21 is the twenty-first 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. This chapter contains a record of Jeremiah's message to King Zedekiah's emissaries ( Jeremiah 21:1-10 ) and a warning to the House of David ( Jeremiah 21:11-14 ). ^[1]

Text

The original text of this chapter was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 14 verses.

Textual witnesses

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). ^[2] Some fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., 4QJer^a (4Q70; 225-175 BCE ^{[3] [4]} ) with the extant verse 1, ^[5] and 4QJer^c (4Q72; 1st century BC) ^[6] with extant verses 7‑10 (similar to Masoretic Text). ^{[7] [8] [9]}

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; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^Q; 6th century). ^[10]

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. ^[11] Jeremiah 21 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.

{P} 21:1-3 {S} 21:1-3 {S} 21:4-10 {S} 21:11-14 [22:1-5 {P}]

Verse 1

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest: ^[12]

Biblical commentator F. B. Huey notes that some scholars regard a later passage, Jeremiah 37:3–10, as a "background for Jeremiah 21:1-7". ^[13]

"Pashhur" (or Pashur), ^[14] the son of Melchiah, is also named in Jeremiah 38:1. ^[15] "Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah" is described as the "second priest" or deputy in Jeremiah 52:24; later with others, he came again to Jeremiah for advice (Jeremiah 37:3–4) and was executed by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (Jeremiah 52:24–27). ^[16] According to Huey, he "was not hostile to Jeremiah" (Jeremiah 29:25,29; Jeremiah 37:3). ^[17]

Verse 9

He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. ^[18]

Huey, and others as well, notes that the wording of this verse is similar to Jeremiah 38:2; ^[19] Huey concludes that the prophecy could have been announced repeatedly. ^[20]

Verse 13

"Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,

And rock of the plain." ^[18]

The Jerusalem Bible suggests that this announcement is "probably addressed to the inhabitants of the royal palace built on Ophel which looks down on the valley ('plain') of the Kidron. ^[21]

See also

• Babylon
• Chaldea
• David
• Jeremiah
• Jerusalem
• Kingdom of Judah
• Nebuchadnezzar
• Pashhur
• Zedekiah
• Zephaniah

• Related Bible parts: 1 Chronicles 24, Jeremiah 38, Jeremiah 39, Jeremiah 52

Notes and references

1. Huey 1993, p. 198-202.
2. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
3. Cross, F.M. apud Freedman, D.N.; Mathews, K.A. (1985). The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll (11QpaleoLev). Winona Lake, Indiana. p. 55
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. "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
7. Tov, Emanuel (1989). "The Jeremiah Scrolls from Qumran". Revue de Qumrân. Editions Gabalda. 14 (2 (54)): 189–206. ISSN   0035-1725. JSTOR   24608791.
8. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 38.
9. Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill. pp.  570. ISBN   9789004181830 . Retrieved May 15, 2017.
10. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
11. As reflected in the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English.
12. Jeremiah 21:1 NKJV
13. Huey 1993, p. 198.
14. Jeremiah 21:1 KJV
15. Ryle 2009.
16. Coogan 2007, pp. 1111-1112 Hebrew Bible.
17. Huey 1993, p. 199.
18. Jeremiah 21:9 NKJV
19. Note [b] in New King James Version on Jeremiah 38:2
20. Huey 1993, p. 333.
21. Jerusalem Bible (1966), footnote d at Jeremiah 21:13

Sources

• Coogan, Michael David (2007). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 (Augmented 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780195288810.
• Huey, F. B. (1993). The New American Commentary - Jeremiah, Lamentations: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, NIV Text. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN   9780805401165.
• Ryle, Herbert Edward (2009). The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Paperback. BiblioBazaar. ISBN   9781117708690.
• Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill.
• Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN   978-0-8028-0788-5 . Retrieved January 26, 2019.

External links

Jewish

• Jeremiah 21 Hebrew with Parallel English

Christian

• Jeremiah 21 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate