Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 7:32
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
32. “Where they have butchered their children, they shall themselves be butchered, hence the name Valley of Slaughter will replace the older name.” Pe.
till there be no place to bury] mg. because there shall be no place else, is the clear meaning of the MT. (and LXX agrees). But, under the circumstances the scene of the slaughter would be the natural place for burial. Possibly the MT. does not give the original form of the clause. Du. omits it, but it recurs in Jer 19:11. To be left unburied was much dreaded. Cp. Deu 28:26; Isa 18:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 32. The valley of slaughter] The place where the slaughtered thousands of this rebellious people shall be cast, in order to their being burnt, or becoming food for the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, Jer 7:33. These words are repeated, and their meaning more particularly explained, Jer 19:6-15.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
It shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom: they were called so after this, and are known by those names to this day; but the meaning is, they shall acquire a name from another occasion, that shall suit them as well, viz. for the great slaughter that shall be made there, or rather thereabouts, in and about Jerusalem, and therefore called
the valley of slaughter, from the effect of slaughter; as Judass field was called Aceldama, Act 1:19, being a place for burying of the slain, as the next words show.
They shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place; either there shall be so great a slaughter made upon that spot by the Chaldeans, that they shall bury as many as the place will contain, and the rest of the carcasses they shall throw on heaps, to rot above ground; for to lie unburied is frequently used as a curse on such, the burying of the dead being accounted as a thing sacred, and a significant symbol of the resurrection: or those that are slain in and about Jerusalem, at the siege and taking of it, shall be carried thither to be buried, either because there shall be no burying-places left about Jerusalem, or that valley shall be filled till there be no place for more, that hereby it may be so polluted, that no thoughts of holiness may remain in it; for a dead carcass under the law was unclean; and that which before was a valley of pleasure and great delight, and they had dedicated to God, shall now be a valley of slaughter.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
32. valley of slaughtersonamed because of the great slaughter of the Jews about to take placeat Jerusalem: a just retribution of their sin in slaying theirchildren to Moloch in Tophet.
no placeno room,namely, to bury in, so many shall be those slain by the Chaldeans(Jer 19:11; Eze 6:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord,…. And they were coming on apace; a little longer, and they would be come; for it was but a few years after this ere Jerusalem was besieged and taken by the army of the Chaldeans, and the slaughter made after mentioned:
that it shall no more be called Tophet: no more be used for such barbarous and idolatrous worship; and no more have its name from such a shocking circumstance:
nor the valley of the son of Hinnom; as it had been from the times of Joshua:
but the valley of slaughter: or, “of the slain”; as the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; because of the multitude of men that should be killed there, or brought there to be buried; as follows:
for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place: till there be no more room to bury there; or, “because there was no place” a elsewhere; the number of the slain being so many: this was in righteous judgment, that where they had sacrificed their children, there they should be slain, at least buried.
a “quod, [vel] eo quod nullus (alius. sit) locus”, Munster; “ideo quod non (erie) locus”, Schmidt.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet denounces a punishment, though the Jews thought that they deserved a reward. The case is the same with the Papists at this day, who thoughtlessly boast, when they heap together many abominations; for they think that God is bound as it were by a law, not to overlook so much diligence. But the Prophet shews how grossly deceived they are who worship God superstitiously, without the authority of his word; for he threatens them here with the heaviest judgment, — Called no more, he says, shall it be Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom; but The valley of slaughter shall it be called; for the whole land was to be filled with slaughters.
He adds, Bury shall they there, for elsewhere there will be no place (213) He intimates that so great would be the slaughters, that Jerusalem would not contain the dead: hence, he says, graves will be made in Tophet; and many also will be slain there. A dead body, we know, was unclean by the Law; and it was not lawful to offer sacrifices to God near graves. (Num 19:11.) The Prophet then shows, that when the Jews foolishly consecrated that place to God, they committed a dreadful profanation, for that place was to be wholly filled with dead bodies, and polluted also by the slaughter of men. We hence see what the superstitious do when they follow their own devices — that they provoke God’s wrath; for by the grievousness of the punishment we may form a judgment as to the degree in which God abominates all false modes of worship, which men devise without the warrant of his law; for we must ever remember this principle, I commanded it not, nor hath it ever come to my mind It follows —
(213) This is the meaning according to all the ancient versions and the Targum. The Syriac is, “for want of place.” Gataker gives the same meaning. Our version follows Pagninus, and is substantially adopted by Blayney both here and in Jer 19:11. Literally it is, “From no place,“ that is, “From there being no place,“ as Calvin says elsewhere. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
B. The Future Destruction Jer. 7:32 to Jer. 8:3
TRANSLATION
(32) Therefore behold, days are coming (oracle of the LORD) when it shall no longer be called the Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom but the valley of Slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth for lack of place to bury. (33) And the carcasses of this people shall become food for the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and no one shall cause them to be afraid. (Jer. 8:1) In that time (oracle of the LORD) they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of his princes and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. (2) And they shall spread them to the sun and to the moon and to all the host of the heavens which they loved and served and went after and which they sought and which they worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall become dung upon the face of the ground. (3) Death shall be chosen rather than life by all the remnant of this evil family who remain in all the places where I have driven them (oracle of the LORD of hosts).
COMMENTS
The polluted worship of the people of Judah will be punished in a most decisive way. A disaster will befall Judah in which so many people will be slain or die that even the pagan shrines will be converted to cemeteries. The valley of the son of Hinnom will be renamed the valley of slaughter because of the vast numbers that will be buried there (Jer. 7:32). The very spot where they had tried to court the favor of a pagan deity by offering their own children as burnt offerings will become a permanent monument to the folly of idolatry. But even this huge valley will not provide enough room for burial places for all the slain. Many corpses will be left unburied. The birds and beasts of prey will come and feast upon the decaying flesh and no one will be left to drive them away (Jer. 7:33).[185] In antiquity the lack of proper burial was the worst indignity which could befall a man. The thought of a corpse exposed to the elements of nature horrified the ancient Hebrews.
[185] Jer. 7:33 echoes the threat of Deu. 28:26.
The cities of Judah met the same fate as Topheth. All the normal sounds of joy and mirth will be removed. The entire land becomes a desolation (Jer. 7:34). The word translated desolation is used only of places which, having once been inhabited, have fallen into ruin. It is a gloomy picture indeed which the prophet paints of the future destruction.
Not only will the enemies of Judah leave the dead unburied (Jer. 7:33) they will also violate the graves of those who had been interred. In search of valuables the Babylonians will ransack the sepulchers of the leading citizens of Jerusalem (Jer. 7:1) and scatter their bones across the face of the ground. All the hosts of the heavens which the men of Judah had worshiped in life will helplessly look down upon this act of desecration (Jer. 7:2). The Biblical account of the fall of Jerusalem does not record the fulfillment of this particular prediction; but there can scarcely be any doubt that the ruthless Babylonians acted in the manner here described. The apocryphal book of Baruch (Jer. 2:24 f.) does allude to acts of desecration at the fall of Jerusalem.
For those who escape the destruction of Jerusalem and go into exile life will be so miserable that they will wish they were dead (Jer. 7:3). Practically nothing is known about the Jews who scattered into the neighboring countries of Syria-Palestine during the war with Babylon. Something of the despair of the Jewish exiles in Babylon shortly after 587 B.C. can be seen in Psalms 137. Time, of course, softened the utter despair of the exiles. The deportation to Babylon was for them a tremendous religious shock. They were forced to rethink their whole theology. As the exiles changed their mind and their heart in respect to God their lot improved. They adjusted to their surroundings and many of them actually prospered in exile. Jer. 7:3 must be describing the initial reaction of those who were carried away captive.[186]
[186] Laetsch views Jer. 7:3 as a conditional threat which was unfulfilled because of the repentance of the exiles.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(32) Till there be no place.Better, because there is no roomi.e., for want of space the dead should be buried even in the spot which the worshippers of Molech looked on as sacred, and the worshippers of Jehovah as accursed, and which both therefore would willingly avoid using as a place of sepulture.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
32. Valley of slaughter Where they sinned they shall die. Where they slaughtered their own children, in blasphemous and cruel idolatry, shall they be slaughtered. This slaughter shall be so fearful that the dead shall remain unburied, and the solitude and desolation shall be so perfect that not even shall the passers by scare away the vultures from the carcasses.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 7:32. But The valley of slaughter The reason of this name is given in the words immediately following; for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place:”Till it is intirely filled, and there is no vacant space left.” Houbigant and the Vulgate render the last clause, And they shall bury in Tophet, because there shall be no place; “Every other place shall be full of carnage, and Tophet shall become the slaughtering-place of Jerusalem. There those dead bodies shall be cast out, to which they shall not deign to grant sepulture. The time shall come when there shall be so great a slaughter in Jerusalem, that, the graves being insufficient to bury the dead, they shall be forced to throw them into Tophet, and leave them without interment.” This prediction received its last and most perfect accomplishment in the war of Nebuchadnezzar against the Jews, and that of the Romans against the same people. Josephus informs us, that in this latter war an infinite number of dead bodies were thrown over the walls, and left in the vallies round the city; insomuch that Titus himself, beholding this spectacle, could not help lifting up his hands to heaven, and calling God to witness that he had no part in these inhuman practices. Josiah began to pollute Tophet, by casting filth into it, and scattering there the dust and ashes of the idols which he had broken to pieces and burned; See 2Ki 23:10. Compare this with chap. 19: where Jeremiah repeats the same threatenings with more latitude and force; declaring that Tophet shall become the lay-stall of Jerusalem, and that Jerusalem herself shall be reduced to the condition of Tophet; that is to say, polluted and filled with dead bodies. In chap. Jer 31:40 he calls it, The valley of the dead bodies. See Calmet.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 7:32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
Ver. 32. It shall no more be called Tophet. ] Unless it be quasi Mophet, i.e., Portentum.
Nor the valley of the son of Hinnom.
But the valley of slaughter.
For they shall bury in Tophet.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 7:32-34
32Therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place. 33The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. 34Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin.
Jer 7:32 See Jer 19:6-7! A Terrible judgment is coming!
Jer 7:33 food for the birds of the sky This is a common metaphor of the last days (cf. Jer 12:9; Isa 18:4; Eze 29:5; Eze 32:4; Eze 39:4). This is one of the specific judgments of Deuteronomy 28 (cf. Deu 28:26).
Jer 7:34 YHWH wanted to give peace and joy (cf. Jer 7:13), but because of their idolatrous rebellion He will give judgment (cf. Jer 16:9; Jer 25:10).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. How does this sermon relate to our day?
2. Is ritual or form bad? Can it become evil? What is the difference?
3. Was Jeremiah condemning the sacrificial system?
4. What was Judah’s major sin?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
slaughter. Compare Jer 19:6; Jer 12:3. Zec 11:4, Zec 11:7. Occurs only in Jeremiah and Zechariah.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 7:32-34
Jer 7:32-34
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place [to bury]. And the dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away. Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste.
The horrible slaughter in the valley of Hinnom doubtless took place when Jerusalem fell to Babylon. “Where once the people had butchered their children, they themselves would be butchered and exposed to the birds of prey, left unburied and exposed.”
There are overtones here that suggest the cataclysmic Judgment of the Last Day that shall terminate the probation of Adam’s race (Rev 18:23-24).
The polluted worship of the people of Judah will be punished in a most decisive way. A disaster will befall Judah in which so many people will be slain or die that even the pagan shrines will be converted to cemeteries. The valley of the son of Hinnom will be renamed the valley of slaughter because of the vast numbers that will be buried there (Jer 7:32). The very spot where they had tried to court the favor of a pagan deity by offering their own children as burnt offerings will become a permanent monument to the folly of idolatry. But even this huge valley will not provide enough room for burial places for all the slain. Many corpses will be left unburied. The birds and beasts of prey will come and feast upon the decaying flesh and no one will be left to drive them away (Jer 7:33). Jer 7:33 echoes the threat of Deu 28:26. In antiquity the lack of proper burial was the worst indignity which could befall a man. The thought of a corpse exposed to the elements of nature horrified the ancient Hebrews.
The cities of Judah met the same fate as Topheth. All the normal sounds of joy and mirth will be removed. The entire land becomes a desolation (Jer 7:34). The word translated desolation is used only of places which, having once been inhabited, have fallen into ruin. It is a gloomy picture indeed which the prophet paints of the future destruction.
Not only will the enemies of Judah leave the dead unburied (Jer 7:33) they will also violate the graves of those who had been interred. In search of valuables the Babylonians will ransack the sepulchers of the leading citizens of Jerusalem (Jer 7:1) and scatter their bones across the face of the ground. All the hosts of the heavens which the men of Judah had worshiped in life will helplessly look down upon this act of desecration (Jer 7:2). The Biblical account of the fall of Jerusalem does not record the fulfillment of this particular prediction; but there can scarcely be any doubt that the ruthless Babylonians acted in the manner here described. The apocryphal book of Baruch (Jer 2:24 f.) does allude to acts of desecration at the fall of Jerusalem.
For those who escape the destruction of Jerusalem and go into exile life will be so miserable that they will wish they were dead (Jer 7:3). Practically nothing is known about the Jews who scattered into the neighboring countries of Syria-Palestine during the war with Babylon. Something of the despair of the Jewish exiles in Babylon shortly after 587 B.C. can be seen in Psalms 137. Time, of course, softened the utter despair of the exiles. The deportation to Babylon was for them a tremendous religious shock. They were forced to rethink their whole theology. As the exiles changed their mind and their heart in respect to God their lot improved. They adjusted to their surroundings and many of them actually prospered in exile. Jer 7:3 must be describing the initial reaction of those who were carried away captive. Laetsch views Jer 7:3 as a conditional threat which was unfulfilled because of the repentance of the exiles.
False Religion Worthless – Jer 7:1 to Jer 8:3
Open It
1. What circumstances tend to lull people into complacency?
2. When can you say that who you are (your race, nationality, family, etc.) or who you know (influential friends) have helped you get ahead?
Explore It
3. In what specific place did God tell Jeremiah to deliver his prophecy? (Jer 7:1-2)
4. What did the people need to do in order to continue to live in their land in peace? (Jer 7:2-3)
5. What had the people been taking for granted as a sign of their permanent standing with God? (Jer 7:4)
6. What specific changes was God looking for in the behavior of the people of Israel? (Jer 7:5-7)
7. How was Israel demonstrating double-mindedness in relation to God? (Jer 7:9-10)
8. What did God say about the attitude the people had developed toward the temple? (Jer 7:11)
9. How did the former worship place at Shiloh provide an example for Jerusalem in Jeremiahs day? (Jer 7:12-15)
10. Why did God tell Jeremiah not even to pray for the people? (Jer 7:16-18)
11. Who suffered the greatest harm from the evil deeds of Israel? (Jer 7:19)
12. How long had God been trying to communicate that He was more interested in the attitude of the heart than in empty actions? (Jer 7:21-26)
13. By what symbolic action was Jeremiah to demonstrate Gods rejection of the people? (Jer 7:28-29)
14. What was going on at Topheth that was detestable to God? (Jer 7:30-31)
15. What event did Jeremiah predict for Topheth in the future? (Jer 7:32-34)
16. What horrible things did Jeremiah say would happen under the “sun and the moon and all the stars of heaven” which the people had made into gods? (Jer 8:1-2)
17. What curse would all the survivors of the invasion have in common? (Jer 8:3)
Get It
18. Why was the gate of the temple a particularly appropriate place for Jeremiah to speak what God had revealed to him?
19. What ways do we have of changing outwardly but not inwardly?
20. What messages in the church and the world around us might lull us into a false sense of security with respect to a righteous God?
21. Who gets hurt the most when we turn away from God?
22. Why can there be no exemptions from Gods righteous standards?
23. Why would it be difficult to deliver a message you had been warned in advance would be poorly received?
24. How do modern day people “look to the sun, moon and stars”?
25. How do you think God views our modern fascination with astrology?
26. How can a place become detestable to God?
Apply It
27. How can you explain the problem with astrology to someone who consults horoscopes?
28. How could you strengthen your resolve this coming week to share Gods Word when you need to, regardless of how it may be received?
Questions On Jeremiah Chapter Seven
By Brent Kercheville
1 What is the warning in Jer 7:1-4?
What did the people think about the temple?
What do we learn from this?
2 What does God promise (Jer 7:5-7)? What do we learn?
3 What is Gods message in Jer 7:8-15? Where is verse 11 quoted in the New Testament and what was its meaning?
4 What does God tell Jeremiah (Jer 7:16-20)? What do we learn from this? What New Testament passage teach similarly?
5 What is repeatedly said about this people in Jer 7:21-29? What did God tell them? What is the warning of verse 24 that our culture needs to hear today?
6 What sins are the people condemned for committing in Jer 7:30-34?
7 What principle does God declare in Jer 7:31?
TRANSFORMATION:
How does this relationship change your relationship with God? What did you learn about him? What will
you do differently in your life?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the days: Jer 19:6, Lev 26:30, Eze 6:5-7
for: Jer 19:11, Jer 19:13, 2Ki 23:10
Reciprocal: Jos 15:8 – valley of the son Jos 18:16 – the valley of the son 2Ch 28:3 – the valley 2Ch 33:6 – caused Neh 11:30 – the valley Isa 30:33 – Tophet Jer 8:1 – General Jer 19:2 – the valley Jer 19:4 – filled Jer 19:5 – which Jer 20:3 – hath Jer 31:40 – the whole
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 7:32. No more be called Tophet does not mean the name will be forgotten, but the place will not be referred to merely as one that was known by such a name. But the great work of the Lord in destroying the enemies of righteousness who assembled in that place will be so outstanding that it will be remembered and mentioned because of such a great slaughter.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 7:32-34. It shall be no more called Tophet, but The valley of Slaughter King Josiah first of all defiled this place, as the text speaks, 2Ki 23:10; that is, polluted it by burying dead bodies in it, by casting filth into it, and scattering there the dust and ashes of the idols which he had broken to pieces and burned. And afterward, when great numbers died in the siege of Jerusalem, and the famine that followed upon it, it became a common burying-place of the Jews: see Jer 19:6. Whereby was fulfilled that prophecy of Eze 6:5, I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols. They shall bury in Tophet till there be no place Till it be entirely filled, and there be no vacant place left. The Vulgate reads this clause, They shall be buried in Tophet, because there shall be no place, which reading Houbigant approves. The time shall come when there shall be so great a slaughter in Jerusalem, that, the graves being insufficient to bury the dead, they shall be forced to throw them into Tophet, and leave them without interment. This prediction received its last and perfect completion in the war of Nebuchadnezzar against the Jews, and that of the Romans against the same people. Josephus informs us, that in this latter war an infinite number of dead bodies were thrown over the walls, and left in the valleys round the city; insomuch, that Titus himself, beholding this spectacle, could not help lifting up his hands to heaven, and calling God to witness that he had no part in these inhuman practices. In chap. 19., Jeremiah repeats the same threatenings with more latitude and force; declaring that Tophet shall become the lay-stall of Jerusalem, and that Jerusalem herself shall be reduced to the condition of Tophet; that is to say, polluted and filled with dead bodies. And in Jer 31:40, he calls it the valley of the dead bodies. Then will I cause to cease the voice of mirth, &c. All kinds and degrees of mirth shall cease, all places shall be filled with lamentation and wo, their singing shall be turned into sighing, and they shall lay aside all things that are for the comfort of human society. The voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride Persons will have no encouragement to marry when they see nothing but ruin and desolation before their eyes.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Because of this gross sin, the Lord promised that in the future the site would have a new name: the Valley of Slaughter. Jesus used this valley as a figure for hell, "Gehenna" being a transliterated form of the Greek name of this site (Mat 5:22; Mat 5:29-30; Mat 10:28; Mat 18:9; Mat 23:15; Mat 23:33; et al.). This name, the Valley of Slaughter, would be appropriate because so many of the idolatrous Israelites would die there in the coming siege. The enemy would fill this valley with Israelite bodies because it would be an easy way to dispose of their corpses. In ancient Near Eastern culture, to die and remain unburied was an insult as well as a tragedy (Jer 14:16; Deu 28:26; Psa 79:3; Isa 18:6). The Law prescribed that even criminals should be buried (Deu 21:23).
"All too appropriately, the place where parents tried to buy their own safety at their children’s terrible expense, would become an open grave for their own remains (32-33)." [Note: Kidner, p. 51.]