{"id":71521,"date":"2018-07-09T17:47:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-440\/"},"modified":"2023-10-12T15:09:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T12:09:15","slug":"wall-440","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-440\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Jeremiah-40"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"440","date":"20270506","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"70799","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Jeremiah Chapter 40 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Jeremiah Chapter 40","slug":"jps-audio-bible-jeremiah-chapter-40","old_id":"70799","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"440","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Jeremiah Chapter 40","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_jeremiah_chapter_40","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","date":"20270506","wall_id":"440"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"118316","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Jeremiah\u2019s Dilemma ","post_title":"Jeremiah\u2019s Dilemma","slug":"jeremiahs-dilemma","old_id":"118316","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"440","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why does he stay in Jerusalem?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed. Only the poorest elements of society remain. Everyone else is either exiled or killed. Whither Jeremiah? In chapter 39, Nevuzaradan, the chief executioner, frees Jeremiah from prison, and brings him to the care of Gedaliah the governor \u201cso he dwelt among the people\u201d (39:14).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In chapter 40, Jeremiah is in chains being led with the group of exiles when an officer pulls him out of the line. Because Jeremiah predicted the Babylonian victory, the officer gives Jeremiah a choice to come to Babylonia and live at the court, or stay in the destroyed city with the remnants of the people. Jeremiah decides to stay with the people. The captain gives Jeremiah an allowance and sends him to Gedaliah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why does Jeremiah stay in Jerusalem? A close reading of the text reveals that Jeremiah did not choose anything. After the officer lays out the choice to go to Babylonia the text explains:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But [Jeremiah] still did not turn back. Or go to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has put in charge of the towns of Judah, and stay with him among the people, or go wherever you want to go. The chief of the guards gave him an allowance of food, and dismissed him\u201d (verse 5).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It seems that Jeremiah hesitated. He did not know if he wanted to leave or stay. Going to Babylonia would mean leaving the city and its people behind, but it would also signal that Jeremiah was right. It would be the ultimate message of submission to those that are exiled.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the other hand, if Jeremiah was treated like royalty in Babylonia, it could lead the exiles and those left in Jerusalem to conclude that Jeremiah was a mole all along. Staying in Jerusalem would leave Jeremiah to the wolves. The people left may turn on him, especially without any central leader. Jeremiah was stuck between a rock and a hard place, yet again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is interesting that God is not part of this decision. God does not instruct him either way. This choice is up to Jeremiah himself. Jeremiah is not needed in exile. Ezekiel is there already and acts as the prophet in exile. Perhaps Jeremiah knew this, and that is why he wanted to stay so that he could continue being the prophet for Jerusalem. The officer may have sensed Jeremiah\u2019s hesitation, which is why he lists the complete name of Gedaliah. Shaphan, his grandfather, was a loyal scribe to king Josiah who found the scroll in the Temple during the renovations in II Kings 22. Ahikam, his father, was one of the few people in Jerusalem who protected Jeremiah. By giving Gedaliah\u2019s complete name, the guard provided comfort for Jeremiah that he would be handed over to a sympathizer who would protect him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Travels And Travails ","post_title":"Jeremiah\u2019s Travels And Travails","slug":"jeremiahs-travels-and-travails","old_id":"118324","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"440","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"He stays back and sends God on ahead\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our<\/span> chapter<\/span><\/a> opens with Jeremiah\u2019s release from Ramah, north of Jerusalem, where he had been fettered along with the captives of Jerusalem and Judah and were being exiled to Babylon. Jeremiah is offered the opportunity to go and be cared for there but chooses to join Gedaliah, appointed by the Babylonians as puppet governor of Judah (<\/span>Jeremiah 40:5<\/span><\/a>) at<\/span> Mitzpah<\/span><\/a> to be with the Judeans who were left in the Land.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the<\/span> opening<\/span><\/a> of this chapter: \u201cThe word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord\u2026\u201d,<\/span> Midrash Lamentations Rabbah<\/span><\/a> asks, What was the \u201cword\u201d that God said to Jeremiah? This question arises because there is an extensive and detailed narrative (Jer. 40:1-42:6), including the assassination of Gedaliah, that intervenes between \u201cthe word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord\u201d (40:1) and \u201cAfter ten days, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah\u201d (<\/span>42:7<\/span><\/a>). In answer to this question, the Midrash in<\/span> Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana on \"The Words of Jeremiah\"<\/span><\/a> chooses to create its own imaginative narrative of an interchange between God and Jeremiah. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jeremiah, Either you go and lead the Judeans to exile in Babylon and I will remain here, or you remain here and I will go and lead them into exile. Jeremiah replied, I will not go down to Babylon, for what good can I do for the exiles. But let their Creator go down with them for You can do them good there (see<\/span> God in Exile<\/span><\/a>, and compare<\/span> Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, \"Jeremiah's Journey to Babylon\"<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Midrash continues that on his journeys Jeremiah saw unburied, dismembered corpses of those killed in the Babylonian conquest. He cried out to them, My children! Did I not exhort you to: \u201cGive honor to the Lord, your God, before darkness descends, before your feet stumble?!\u201d (<\/span>Jer. 13:16<\/span><\/a>) \u2013 before the words of Torah grow dark for you, before the words of prophecy grow dark!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Midrash Lamentations Rabbah<\/span><\/a> continues with a discussion of the<\/span> return from the Babylonian Exile<\/span><\/a>. Forty years before the Return, the Judean exiles planted date palms in Babylon, for sweet foods accustom the tongue to Torah. Moreover, the kosher animals who were exiled with Israel to Babylon returned with them with the exception of the<\/span> Shibbuta'<\/span><\/a> fish (who could not swim upstream back to the Land of Israel). The 18<\/span>th<\/span> century commentary<\/span> Korban HaEdah<\/span><\/a> of Rabbi David Fraenkel of Berlin identifies this fish with \u201clachs\u201d (ie. lox, salmon) that could be seen jumping in the local rivers (still trying to return to the Land of Israel).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our Midrash concludes on a hopeful note. In the future, everything will return to its pristine state, as it is<\/span> written<\/span><\/a>: \u201cAnd the desolate land, after lying waste in the sight of every passerby, shall again be tilled. And it shall be said, that land, once desolate, has become like the garden of Eden.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Michal Ben Hamu<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73333,"alt":"","title":"ez8-exile","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":683,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":683,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":683,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Jeremiah\u2019s Travels And Travails","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"He stays back and sends God on ahead","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73333,"alt":"","title":"ez8-exile","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":683,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":683,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":683,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez8-exile-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","date":"20270506","wall_id":"440"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"432","name":"Exile","old_id":"832"},{"term_id":"840","name":"Jeremiah","old_id":"1240"}]},{"order":4,"id":"72023","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Seeing Ourselves As Others See Us ","post_title":"Seeing Ourselves As Others See Us","slug":"seeing-ourselves-as-others-see-us","old_id":"72023","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":44114,"post_title":"Shalom Holtz","slug":"shalom-holtz","old_id":"44114","first_name":"Shalom ","last_name":"Holtz ","description":"Shalom E. Holtz is Professor of Bible at Yeshiva University. He is the author of numerous comparative studies of biblical and ancient Near Eastern law. His most recent book is Praying Legally (2019), which examines courtroom metaphors in Hebrew prayer. ","short_description":"Shalom E. Holtz is Professor of Bible at Yeshiva University.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":44115,"alt":"","title":"shalom holtz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"440","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The conqueror himself can see what the conquered nation could not see\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Non-Israelite observers appear at critical junctures throughout the Hebrew Bible's telling of Israel's national narrative. This begins with Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, who \"heard all that God had done for Moses and Israel\" in the Exodus from Egypt, \"rejoiced over all the kindness that the Lord had shown Israel\" and declared, \"Blessed be the Lord . . . who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods\" (Exodus 18:1, 9, 10\u201311).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Forty years later, as Israel is on the verge of entering Canaan, Rahab tells Joshua's spies, \"no man has any more spirit because of you; for the Lord your God is the only God in heaven above and on earth below\" (Joshua 2:11). Later still, the Queen of Sheba is \"left breathless\" by King Solomon's wisdom and successful establishment of the monarchy. She declares, \"Praised be the Lord your God, who delighted in you. . . It is because of the Lord's everlasting love for Israel that He made you king\" (1 Kings 10:5, 9). These speeches give expression to the message of the biblical story: with God's favor, Israel succeeds.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0As with the successes, so it is with the nation's ultimate failure, the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and the end, in some sense, of the national narrative. Our chapter opens with the words of the last of the outside observers, Nebuzaradan, chief of the guards: \"The Lord your God threatened this place with this disaster; and now the Lord has brought it about . . . because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey Him. That is why this has happened to you\" (Jeremiah 2:2\u20133). The conqueror himself can see what the conquered nation could not see.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":72030,"alt":"","title":"jer40-eye-1280141_1920","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920.jpg","width":1584,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-248x300.jpg","medium-width":248,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-768x931.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":931,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-845x1024.jpg","large-width":845,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920.jpg","1536x1536-width":1267,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920.jpg","2048x2048-width":1584,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-990x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":990,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-347x420.jpg","home_baner-width":347,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Seeing Ourselves As Others See Us","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The conqueror himself can see what the conquered nation could not see","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":72030,"alt":"","title":"jer40-eye-1280141_1920","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920.jpg","width":1584,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-248x300.jpg","medium-width":248,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-768x931.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":931,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-845x1024.jpg","large-width":845,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920.jpg","1536x1536-width":1267,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920.jpg","2048x2048-width":1584,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-990x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":990,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-eye-1280141_1920-347x420.jpg","home_baner-width":347,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","date":"20270506","wall_id":"440"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"72018","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Nebuzaradan\u2019s Prophecy ","post_title":"Nebuzaradan\u2019s Prophecy","slug":"nebuzaradans-prophecy","old_id":"72018","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64758,"post_title":"Avraham Norin","slug":"avraham-norin","old_id":"64758","first_name":"Avraham ","last_name":"Norin ","description":"Avraham Norin teaches in Israel at the Machon Meir and Ora conversion program. He lives in the Southern Hebron Hills with his wife and six children.","short_description":"Avraham Norin teaches in Israel at the Machon Meir and Ora conversion program","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64759,"alt":"","title":"avraham norin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","width":1064,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","1536x1536-width":1021,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","2048x2048-width":1064,"2048x2048-height":1600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"440","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The Babylonian guard speaks the word of God\u00a0\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The fortieth chapter of Jeremiah begins with a typical Biblical verse:\u00a0 \"(This is) the word which came to Jeremiah from God\u2026\" However, the prophecy of God referred to in this verse seems to be absent from the chapter. Instead, the chapter records the speech that Nebuzaradan, chief of the Babylonian guards, delivered to Jeremiah, after sacking Jerusalem: \"The chief of the guards took charge of Jeremiah, and he said to him, \u201cThe LORD your God threatened this place with this disaster; and now the LORD has brought it about. He has acted as He threatened, because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey Him. That is why this has happened to you\u2026If you would like to go with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But, if you don\u2019t want to come with me to Babylon, you need not. See, the whole land is before you: go wherever seems good and right to you.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Before we return to our question of the missing prophecy, let us ponder this unusual speech of Nebuzaradan. If we examine its components, it is more similar to a rabbi's sermon than to the proclamation of a Babylonia guard!\u00a0 Firstly, it acknowledges God's call for repentance. It then attributes Jerusalem's destruction to the sins of the people. Lastly, it asserts that Jeremiah still has free will to choose his own destiny.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nebuzaradan's speech has similar themes with the last prophecy that God said to Moses before entering the Land of Israel: \"I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life\u2014if you and your offspring would live\u2014 by loving the LORD your God, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that the LORD swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.\" (Deuteronomy chapter 30)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It seems to me that Nebuzaradan's speech to Jeremiah is the prophecy referred to at the beginning of the chapter. Just as God instructed the people when they entered the land with Moses, God instructs the people in Jeremiah's time, as they are being deported to Babylon.\u00a0 However, since this is a period of Exile, God's message comes through unusual means, including through monologues of Babylonian guards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Upon hearing Nebuzaradan speak these words of prophecy, Jeremiah was at a loss at what to do. The Bible indicates this with the unusual phrase: \"But Jeremiah still did not turn back.\" Was Jeremiah trying to ascertain if this was really a message from God? Was he simply too shocked to take action upon hearing the word of God emanate from a Babylonian guard?\u00a0 Whatever the case may be, Nebuzaradan needed to prod Jeremiah further before heeded the prophetic message of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After forty years of giving prophecies, Jeremiah learned a new lesson regarding them: Prophecies from God are able to be given through any source that God deems fit to give them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Babylonian head, early 7th C BCE, Metropolitan Museum of Art\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":72019,"alt":"","title":"jer40-babylonian","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","width":599,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian-225x300.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","medium_large-width":599,"medium_large-height":800,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","large-width":599,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","1536x1536-width":599,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","2048x2048-width":599,"2048x2048-height":800,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","post_full_size-width":599,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian-314x420.jpg","home_baner-width":314,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Nebuzaradan\u2019s Prophecy","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The Babylonian guard speaks the word of God\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":72019,"alt":"","title":"jer40-babylonian","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","width":599,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian-225x300.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","medium_large-width":599,"medium_large-height":800,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","large-width":599,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","1536x1536-width":599,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","2048x2048-width":599,"2048x2048-height":800,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian.jpg","post_full_size-width":599,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer40-babylonian-314x420.jpg","home_baner-width":314,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","date":"20270506","wall_id":"440"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"72005","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Jeremiah\u2019s Choice ","post_title":"Jeremiah\u2019s Choice","slug":"jeremiahs-choice","old_id":"72005","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. 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Jerusalem had been conquered and its inhabitants exiled. Jeremiah had been spared, however, due to the recognition on the part of the Babylonians that his prophecies favored them. They released him from his shackles and gave him the choice of accompanying the exiles to Babylon\u2014where he would be looked after\u2014or remaining in Judah. The verse that describes his choice, however, is phrased somewhat awkwardly:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But [Jeremiah] still did not turn back (<\/span>lo yashuv<\/span><\/i>).\u2014\u201cOr go (<\/span>shuvah<\/span><\/i>) to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has put in charge of the towns of Judah, and stay (<\/span>ve-shev<\/span><\/i>) with him among the people, or go wherever you want to go.\u201d The chief of the guards gave him an allowance of food and dismissed him (5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While an uncomplicated reading of the verse would indicate that it was Nebuzaradan, his Babylonian interlocutor, who uttered the words \u201cgo to Gedaliah,\u201d Rashi identified the speaker as God, making it a divine imperative. Radak, however, stuck to the <\/span>peshat<\/span><\/i>, explaining that \u201csince Jeremiah did not answer, Nebuzaradan understood that he wished to remain in place, so he told him to go to Gedaliah and remain with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shadal* went deeper yet, supplying a reason for Jeremiah\u2019s reluctance to commit himself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jeremiah had not withdrawn [from Nebuzaradan] in order to remain in the Land of Israel because he was afraid lest Nebuzaradan be angry if he declined to accompany him [to Babylon], implying that he did not trust him to keep his promise [to look after him]. Nebuzaradan understood his thought process and told him explicitly \u201cGo to Gedaliah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As for \u201cthe allowance of food\u201d (\u2018<\/span>arucha umas\u2019et<\/span><\/i>), Radak treated the pair as a hendiadys (\u201cboth are presents, the duplication signifying two types of gifts\u201d), while Shadal interpreted `<\/span>arucha<\/span><\/i> (literally, a meal) as regular provisions of food that would be provided on an ongoing basis, as opposed to <\/span>mas`et<\/span><\/i> (literally, a take-away) which was a one-time favor.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

*For an explanation of our objectives in studying Shadal\u2019s commentary, <\/span>see our introduction<\/span><\/a> in Jeremiah chapter 1.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Jeremiah on the ruins of Jerusalem. Illustration from the Jewish encyclopedia by Brockhaus and Efron 1906\u20131911, after E. 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And who are his opponents?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":108885,"alt":"","title":"-635baf915f04f--635baf915f050tanakh podcast - Alex Israel.JPG","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","width":350,"height":352,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":352,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":352,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":352,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":352,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":352,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":352}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/7uait0fExiuZUwqQZAeA0N","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","date":"20270506","wall_id":"440"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"589","name":"audio","old_id":"989"},{"term_id":"857","name":"podcast","old_id":"1257"}]},{"order":8,"id":"71982","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Gedaliah Ignores Threat, Trusts His Men ","post_title":"Gedaliah Ignores Threat, Trusts His Men","slug":"gedaliah-ignores-threat-trusts-his-men","old_id":"71982","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38552,"post_title":"Benny Lau","slug":"benny-lau","old_id":"38552","first_name":"Benny","last_name":"Lau ","description":"Rav Benny Lau is the founder and co-head of the Israeli initiative 929 along with Gal Gabbai. 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Refugees stream into Mizpah from all directions and rival factions appear. Johanan son of Kareah informs Gedaliah of an assassination attempt plotted by Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the King of Ammon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Political logic would take such a warning seriously, as Ammon is the leading supporter of rebellion against Babylonia in Transjordan. But Gedaliah naively does not believe Johanan and his faction. He dismisses his concerned guests without even engaging in dialogue with them. Undeterred, Johanan, the leader of the army, approaches Gedaliah privately and asks his permission to discreetly eliminate Ishmael. Once again, Gedaliah tersely responds: \"You speak falsely about Ishmael\" (40:16). Gedaliah trusts his men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The reader knows nothing about Ishmael except that he is of royal stock, but this is sufficient to suggest that he has a rebellious streak and schemes to restore an independent and sovereign Davidic monarchy. Gedaliah overlooks this. He understands that his community has divided into two rival factions \u2014 one led by Johanan and the other by Ishmael \u2014 and refuses to allow one to violently eliminate its rival.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As the story unfolds, it seems that he tries the opposite tack, attempting to draw Ishmael into his inner circle. The murder takes place when Ishmael and ten of his men come to Mizpah to dine with Gedaliah. That they dine together suggests that Gedaliah was trying to become closer to Ishmael or cement an alliance with him (implicitly rejecting Johanan's leadership).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Biblical precedents for this interpretation include Abraham breaking bread with Melchi-zedek following the battle of the kings (Gen. 14) and Laban sitting down to eat with Jacob after concluding a treaty with him (ibid. 31). In the middle of the banquet, the guests arise and murder their host and all his men. The verse documents the motive: \"because the King of Babylonia put Gedaliah in charge of the land\" (Jer. 41:2). In Ishmael's eyes, Gedaliah symbolizes Israel's unconscionable submission to foreign rule. In his zeal to restore the Davidic line, Ishmael cannot accept the leadership of a commoner under the patronage of the nation that destroyed the capital and exiled the holy nation. The murder of Gedaliah and his entourage at the hands of Ishmael's ten men indicates just how unsuspecting the governor was. Even the Chaldeans present \u2014 a permanent garrison of Babylonian soldiers who undoubtedly kept a close eye on Gedaliah \u2014 were murdered at the banquet. There were no survivors in all of Gedaliah's headquarters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lau, Binyamin. <\/span>Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet<\/span><\/em>. Maggid Books, 2013. \u201cThe Assassination\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":69252,"alt":"","title":"jer-lau2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","width":884,"height":635,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-300x215.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":215,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-768x552.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":552,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","large-width":884,"large-height":635,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","1536x1536-width":884,"1536x1536-height":635,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","2048x2048-width":884,"2048x2048-height":635,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","post_full_size-width":884,"post_full_size-height":635,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-585x420.jpg","home_baner-width":585,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Gedaliah Ignores Threat, Trusts His Men","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"He will live to regret it","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":69252,"alt":"","title":"jer-lau2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","width":884,"height":635,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-300x215.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":215,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-768x552.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":552,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","large-width":884,"large-height":635,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","1536x1536-width":884,"1536x1536-height":635,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","2048x2048-width":884,"2048x2048-height":635,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","post_full_size-width":884,"post_full_size-height":635,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-585x420.jpg","home_baner-width":585,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","date":"20270506","wall_id":"440"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"71980","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Whither Jeremiah? ","post_title":"Whither Jeremiah?","slug":"whither-jeremiah","old_id":"71980","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"440","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Eventually, he ends up with ill-fated Gedaliah\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

40:1 \u201cThe word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the high chamberlain sent him off when he took him--and he was bound in fetters--in the midst of all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were exiled to Babylonia.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is an outright contradiction of the report in the preceding chapter that Nebuchadrezzar gave orders that Jeremiah be sent to stay with Gedaliah at Mizpah, unhampered and unharmed. Various attempts at harmonization of the two stories have been made, but it looks as though the text has combined two contradictory sources. The contradiction is resolved in verse six.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Whither Jeremiah?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Eventually, he ends up with ill-fated Gedaliah","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","date":"20270506","wall_id":"440"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"70894","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Jeremiah 40 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Jeremiah 40","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-jeremiah-40","old_id":"70894","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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\u201cTzom Gedaliah\u201d<\/a> by Leahla Zehnwirth: Learn more about this minor fast day.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhat Can the Stories of Jews Killing Fellow Jews Teach Us About Yom Kippur?\u201d<\/a> by Hannah Siegel: What can we learn from tales of intra-Jewish violence?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

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    \r\n\t
  1. Two stories, one idea<\/em>. In the previous chapter, we read a slightly different story regarding the details of Jeremiah\u2019s fate. But the bottom line is the same. Jeremiah has survived, released by Nebuzaradan, and offered a choice as to where to go. He chose to stay with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, and those who remained in Judah. In the version in this chapter the Babylonians\u2019 warm, almost fawning, treatment of Jeremiah is emphasized: he is offered VIP treatment in Babylonia, and receives an allotment of food after he chooses to remain.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. The exiles marching off to Babylon<\/em>. Jeremiah being removed from the long line of exiles, paints a stark picture of endless lines of shackled Judahites marching off to exile in Babylonia.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Winter is coming<\/em>. Gedaliah instructs those who have remained in Judah \u201cgather wine and figs and oil and put them in your own vessels\u201d (verse 10). Those who joined him at Mizpah also \u201cgathered large quantities of wine and figs\u201d (12). It is the end of summer, apparently there aren\u2019t any other surviving field crops that can be harvested, since the siege must have disrupted regular agricultural practices. So what is there? Preserved foods, wine, and dried figs and other summer fruits.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Baalis and Ishmael son of Nethaniah<\/em>. In Johanan\u2019s report, Baalis the king of Ammon, is the one who initiated the assassination scheme, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah is the one to carry it out. What are the motives? The king of Ammon probably expects profits, and a foothold in Judah, which had been laid waste. What about Ishmael? We will understand more in the next chapter.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Jeremiah 40","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"440","date":"20270506","wall_id":"440"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":"","link_teaser":"","listen_link":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/71521"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}