Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 16:7
Neither shall [men] tear [themselves] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall [men] give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
7. break bread for them ] The same verb as in Isa 58:7 (“deal”). There the word for bread ( leem) stands in MT., and a very slight change here would convert “for them” (Heb. lahem) into the same word. If on the other hand we keep lahem, leem must have dropped out after it. The reference is to the custom for mourners to fast (cp. 2Sa 3:35), whereupon their sympathetic friends brought them bread and wine to console them.
the cup of consolation ] on the principle stated Pro 31:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Tear themselves – Better as in the margin; break broad for them. It was customary upon the death of a relative to fast, and for the friends and neighbors after a decent delay to come and comfort the mourner, and urge food upon him 2Sa 12:17; food was also distributed at funerals to the mourners, and to the poor.
Cup of consolation – Marginal reference note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning to comfort them for the dead: if we allow our translation here of the word with the word supplied, themselves, it will be hard to give a tolerable sense of these words, for then tearing is the same with the cutting themselves mentioned in the former verse, which though it might be as a passionate expression of the persons sorrow that did it, yet how it should comfort the friends of the deceased will be very hard to conceive. But the truth is, the word hath but two significations, and we have here given it what doth worst suit this text. It signifies to divide, and to tear, or rend. Both in kal the first conjugation, and in pihel the third conjugation, it is used to signify dividing: in the former, Isa 58:7, where we interpret it deal; to deal, that is, divide thy bread to the hungry; which is the only text (excepting this) where it is used in this conjugation. In the ether conjugation it is so used in many texts, Lev 11:4,5 &c.; Deu 14:7; so certainly it ought to have been translated here, Neither shall men deal out bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead, and seemeth to hint to us a custom in use amongst them, when they had any friend that had lost his or her relations, to send them some meat or victuals, (for amongst the Hebrews all things that they ate were called bread,) and then to go and dine or sup with them, to have opportunity to speak comfortably to them. This doubtless is the sense of the words, and so it is plain enough, and this is confirmed by the next phrase.
Neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother; neither shall men drink the cup of consolation for their father, &c.; as in such cases they were wont to have something to eat, so they were also wont to send bottles of wine, or other cheering liquor, to drink, that they might forget their sorrows; this is called the cup of consolation, from the end for which the sending and drinking of it was intended. God tells them that the time should come that so many should die, and so fast, and the rest should be so much upon the brink of the grave, that they should have no leisure for or heart to these ceremonies.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. tear themselvesrather,”break bread,” namely, that eaten at the funeral-feast(Deu 26:14; Job 42:11;Eze 24:17; Hos 9:4).”Bread” is to be supplied, as in La4:4; compare “take” (food) (Ge42:33).
give . . . cup of consolation. . . for . . . fatherIt was the Oriental custom for friendsto send viands and wine (the “cup of consolation”) toconsole relatives in mourning-feasts, for example, to children uponthe death of a “father” or “mother.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Neither shall men tear themselves,…. Either their flesh, or their clothes: or, “stretch out” y; that is, their hands, and clap them together, and wring them, as persons in great distress do: or “divide”, or “break”, or “deal unto them” z; that is, bread, as at their funeral feasts. Thus the Septuagint version, neither shall bread be broken in their mourning; and to the same sense the Targum; so the word is used in Isa 63:7, a practice that obtained among the Heathens; see De 26:14 and now with the Jews, as it seems: which they did
for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; they used to carry or send food to the surviving relations, and went and ate with them, in order to comfort them for the loss of their friends; but this now would not be done, not because an Heathenish custom, but because they would have no heart nor leisure for it: see Eze 24:17.
Neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother: not give them a cup of good liquor to comfort and cheer their spirits, overwhelmed with sorrow, on account of the death of a father or mother; which was wont to be done, but now should be omitted; the calamity would be so great, and so universal, that there would be none to do such offices as these; see Pr 31:6.
y “et non expandent, [sub.] manus suas”, Vatablus, Montanus; “extendent”, Pagninus, Calvin. So Kimchi and Ben Melech. z “Non divident”, Tigurine version; “neque impertientur, [sub.] cibum”, Junius Tremellius “partientur panem”, Piscator; “neque cibum dabunt”, Schmidt. So Jarchi, Joseph Kimchi, and Abarbinel.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
, as in Isa 58:7, for , Lam 4:4, break, sc. the bread (cf. Isa. l.c.) for mourning, and to give to drink the cup of comfort, does not refer to the meals which were held in the house of mourning upon occasion of a death after the interment, for this custom cannot be proved of the Israelites in Old Testament times, and is not strictly demanded by the words of the verse. To break bread to any one does not mean to hold a feast with him, but to bestow a gift of bread upon him; cf. Isa 58:7. Correspondingly, to give to drink, does not here mean to drink to one’s health at a feast, but only to present with wine to drink. The words refer to the custom of sending bread and wine for refreshment into the house of the surviving relatives of one dead, to comfort them in their sorrow; cf. 2Sa 3:35; 2Sa 12:16., and the remarks on Eze 24:17. The singular suffixes on , , and , alongside of the plurals and , are to be taken distributively of every one who is to be comforted upon occasion of a death in his house; and is not to be changed, as by J. D. Mich. and Hitz., into .
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
With regard to the seventh verse, (161) we may learn from it what I have already referred to, — that the Jews made funeral feasts, that children and widows might receive some relief to their sorrow; for the Prophet calls it the cup of consolations, when friends kindly attended; they had also some ridiculous gesticulations; for no doubt laughter was often excited by mourners among the Jews. But we see that men vied with one another in lamenting for the dead; for it was deemed a shame not to shew grief at the death of their friends. When tears did not flow, when the nearest relations did not howl for the dead, they thought them inhuman; hence it was, that there was much dissimulation in their mourning; and it was foolishly regarded an alleviation to extend the cup of consolation. But as I have said before, the Prophet here did not point out what was right, but borrowed his words from what was commonly practiced. It follows —
(161) Calvin, having in his version explained the beginning of this verse, passes it by here. His rendering is, “And they shall not beat their hands together for them, to console any one for the dead.” He omits one word, rendered, “in mourning” in our version. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Arabic and the Targum give another meaning. They must have read לחם “bread,” instead of להם “for them.” The difference is so small that we are inclined to think it the true readIng, though there be but two MSS. in its favor. The passage itself seems to require this reading, — the verb which precedes it, and the correspondence between the former and latter part of the verse — bread and drink. The verse then would read thus, —
7. And they shall not divide bread to the mourner, To console him for the dead: Nor shall they give them to drink the cup of consolations, Each one for his father and for his mother.
Blayney quotes Jerome, who says, “It was usual to carry provisions to mourners, and to make an entertainment, which sort of feasts the Greeks call περιδειπνα, and the Latin parentalia .” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) Neither shall men tear themselves.The marginal reading, Neither shall men break bread for them, as in Isa. 58:7; Lam. 4:4, gives the true meaning. We are entering upon another region of funeral customs, reminding us of some of the practices connected with the wakes of old English life. After the first burst of sorrow and of fasting, as the sign of sorrow (2Sa. 1:12; 2Sa. 3:35; 2Sa. 12:16-17), friends came to the mourner to comfort him. A feast was prepared for them, consisting of the bread of mourners (Hos. 9:4; Eze. 24:17) and the cup of consolation, as for those of a heavy heart (Pro. 31:6). It is probable that some reference to this practice was implied in our Lords solemn benediction of the bread and of the cup at the Last Supper. As His body had been anointed for the burial (Mat. 26:12), so, in giving the symbols of His death, He was, as it were, keeping with His disciples His own funeral feast. The thought of the dead lying unburied, or buried without honour, is contemplated in all its horrors.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Neither tear themselves Better, as the margin translates, break bread, fitly joined here with the cup of consolation. The allusion is to a custom of going to the home of a bereaved family to comfort them and to urge them to take necessary sustenance. See 2Sa 3:35; 2Sa 12:16, etc.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 16:7. Neither shall men tear themselves for them, &c. Neither shall men break bread in mourning to comfort them, &c. Houbigant, &c. See Joh 11:19. Pro 31:6. Tobit orders his son to give bread on the burial of the just. See Tob 4:17. God tells Jeremiah, that nothing of this sort shall be done for parents or friends, in the state of confusion and desolation which was to follow.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 16:7 Neither shall [men] tear [themselves] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall [men] give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
Ver. 7. Neither shall men tear themselves for them. ] Or, Neither shall they deal them bread in mourning to comfort any for the dead. Compare Eze 24:17 . Of feasting at funerals mention is made by Herodotus, Cicero, Lucian, Pliny, Clement, and Chrysostom. See Jer 16:5 .
Neither shall men give them the cup of consolation,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
men tear themselves = break [bread]. Hebrew. paras, to break, used of breaking bread, as in Isa 58:7. Eze 24:17. Hos 9:4, and Revised Version. The Ellipsis, is wrongly supplied in Authorized Version. See the margin there.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
tear themselves: or, break bread, Deu 26:14, Job 42:11, Eze 24:17, Hos 9:4
cup: Pro 31:6, Pro 31:7
Reciprocal: 2Sa 3:35 – cause Jer 16:5 – Enter Joe 2:1 – let Luk 22:17 – took
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 16:7. This verse is on the same subject as the preceding one, giving a few more details of the bitter experiences that were in store for the wicked citizens of Anathoth who had been so keen in their persecution of Jeremiah.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 16:7. Neither shall men tear themselves for them According to this translation the phrase alludes to another expression of immoderate grief, which consisted in tearing their flesh with their nails. But according to the marginal reading, the sense is, Neither shall men break bread for them; alluding to the mourning-feast, mentioned Jer 16:5. So the LXX., , bread shall by no means be broken in their mourning, for consolation concerning the dead. So also the Vulgate. As to the custom alluded to, Jerome informs us, in his commentary on this place, that it was usual to carry provisions to mourners, and to make an entertainment, which sort of feasts the Greeks call , and the Latins parentalia. The origin of which custom undoubtedly was, that the friends of the mourner, who came to comfort him, (which they often did in great numbers, as we learn from Joh 11:19,) easily concluding, that a person so far swallowed up of grief, as even to forget his own bread could hardly attend to the entertainment of so many guests, each sent in his proportion of meat and drink, in hopes to prevail upon the mourner, by their example and persuasions, to partake of such refreshment as might tend to recruit both his bodily strength and his spirits. To this custom Tobit is thought to refer when, among other exhortations to his son, he directs him to pour out his bread on the burial of the just. See Blaney. It must be observed, that among the Hebrews all things eaten were called bread. Neither shall men give them the cup of consolation for their father, &c. They were also wont, on these occasions, to send wine, or some other cheering liquor to drink, that they might forget their sorrows. This is called here the cup of consolation. Sir John Chardin, in one of his MSS. tells us, that the oriental Christians still make banquets of the same kind, by a custom derived from the Jews; and that the provisions spoken of in this verse were such as were wont to be sent to the house of the deceased, where healths were also drunk to the survivers of the family. God here tells the Jews by his prophet, that the time should come when so many should die, and so fast, and the rest should be so much upon the brink of the grave, that they should have neither leisure nor heart for using these ceremonies.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:7 Neither shall [men] tear [themselves] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall [men] give them the {d} cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
(d) For in these great extremities all consolation and comfort will be in vain.