Jeremiah 32:7 Kommentar

In this chapter we have, I. Jeremiah imprisoned for foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of king Zedekiah (Jer 32:1-5). II. We have him buying land, by divine appointment, as an assurance that in due time a happy end should be put to the present troubles (Jer 32:6-15). III. We have his prayer, which he offered up to God upon that occasion (Jer 32:16-25). IV. We have a message which God thereupon entrusted him to deliver to the people. 1. He must foretell the utter destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for their sins (Jer 32:26-35). But, 2. At the same time he must assure them that, though the destruction was total, it should not be final, but that at length their posterity should recover the peaceable possession of their own land (Jer 32:36-44). The predictions of this chapter, both threatenings and promises, are much the same with what we have already met with again and again, but here are some circumstances that are very particular and remarkable.

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 32 This chapter contains an account of Jeremiah's imprisonment, and the cause of it; of his buying a field of his uncle's son, and the design of it; of his prayer to God, and of the answer returned to him. The time of his imprisonment, the place where, and the reasons of it, are observed in Jer 32:1; that his uncle's son would come and offer the sale of a field to him was told him by the Lord, which he did accordingly, Jer 32:6; of whom he bought the field, paid the money, had the purchase confirmed in a legal way, before witnesses, Jer 32:8; and the writings of it he committed to Baruch, to put in an earthen vessel, where they were to continue some time as a pledge of houses, fields, and vineyards, being possessed again after the captivity, Jer 32:13; then follows a prayer of his to the Lord, in which he addresses him as the Maker of all things; as the Lord God omnipotent; as a God of great grace and mercy, as well as strict justice; as a God of wisdom, counsel, and might, and an omniscient and righteous Being, Jer 32:16; and recounts the wonderful things he had done for the people of Israel, Jer 32:20; and observes the ingratitude and disobedience of that people, which were the cause of the present siege of the city, which should surely be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, Jer 32:23; to which prayer an answer is returned, Jer 32:26; in which the Lord describes himself as the God of all flesh, and as able to do what he pleases, Jer 32:27; and confirms the delivery of the city of Jerusalem unto the Chaldeans, Jer 32:28; and assigns the causes of it, the backslidings, disobedience, and dreadful idolatry of the people, Jer 32:30; and, notwithstanding, promises a restoration of them to their own land again, Jer 32:36; when an opportunity is taken to insert the covenant of grace, and the special articles and peculiar promises of it, for the comfort of the spiritual Israel of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, Jer 32:38; and the chapter is concluded with a fresh assurance of the return of the captivity, and of the punctual performance of the promise of it; when fields should be bought in every part of the land, in like manner as Jeremiah had bought his, Jer 32:41.

So Hanameel mine uncle's son came unto me,.... Freely and voluntarily, of his own accord; though it was determined he should, as it was predicted he would; for God's decrees do not infringe the liberty of the will: this man came from Anathoth, very probably, to Jerusalem, to the place where the prophet was: in the court of the prison, according to the word of the Lord; which had been made known before to Jeremiah: and said unto me, buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; it belonged to that tribe: for the right of inheritance is thine; the reversion of this field; it would come to him after the death of his cousin, as being next heir: and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself; since, if it was sold to another, he, according to law, was obliged to redeem it; and therefore it was much better to buy it at once for himself: then I knew that this was the word of the Lord; that it was the word of the Lord which came to him before, and that it was the will of the Lord that he should make this purchase; since there was such an exact agreement between the prophecy and the event.

(Version 6, 7.) And Jeremiah said: The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Behold, Anameel (also known as Anemeel), the son of Sellum (or Sallom), your cousin (which is said in Hebrew as Dodach), is coming to you, saying: Buy my field, which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption belongs to you. The hidden word of God to Jeremiah was known to no one, except by his revelation to whom it was made: and he is informed that his cousin Anameel will come to him and transfer the ownership of the field that was his; and that the place is in Anathoth, among the suburbs that were given to the priests from each tribe and city according to the law: and it was not allowed for the possession to pass from one tribe to another, nor from one family to another (which is why the daughters of Zelophehad received a portion among their brothers), especially the suburban lands of the priests could not be sold to anyone until the year of remission, except to the one whom blood kinship required. Therefore, his younger brother, the son of his aunt (Alex. brother-in-law and father), came to him and offered to buy what is owed to him by proximity. Helcias and Sellum were blood brothers. The son of Helcias was Jeremiah; Sellum, Anameel. Helcias means 'part of the Lord'; Jeremiah, 'the sublimity of the Lord.' And rightly the height of the Lord is born from the part of the Lord. Sellum, on the other hand, is translated into our language as peace, or peaceful. Anameel means gift or grace of God. We are not surprised that peace is joined with grace, since even the beginning of the Apostolic Epistles says: Grace to you and peace (Rom. I, 7). Therefore, let us first merit the peace of God, and after peace, grace is born in us, which belongs not to the possessor, but to the will of the giver. However, grace gives the value to the one who is placed in high positions by God, so that although he may appear lofty, he still needs the grace of God. That which is often sung in the Song of Songs by the bride: Fratruelis meus, that is, ὅ ἀδελφιδοῦς μου in Hebrew is said Dodi (), therefore it should be called not fratruelis, but πατράδελφος, that is, patruelis. However, Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, bears witness to the beginning of this book.

JEREMIAH, IMPRISONED FOR HIS PROPHECY AGAINST JERUSALEM, BUYS A PATRIMONIAL PROPERTY (HIS RELATIVE HANAMEEL'S), IN ORDER TO CERTIFY TO THE JEWS THEIR FUTURE RETURN FROM BABYLON. (Jer 32:1-14) tenth year--The siege of Jerusalem had already begun, in the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah (Jer 39:1; Kg2 25:1).

son of Shallum thine uncle--therefore, Jeremiah's first cousin. field . . . in Anathoth--a sacerdotal city: and so having one thousand cubits of suburban fields outside the wall attached to it (Num 35:4-5). The prohibition to sell these suburban fields (Lev 25:34) applied merely to their alienating them from Levites to another tribe; so that this chapter does not contravene that prohibition. Besides, what is here meant is only the purchase of the use of the field till the year of jubilee. On the failure of the owner, the next of kin had the right of redeeming it (Lev 25:25, &c.; Rut 4:3-6).