Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 44:15
Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
15. and all the women ] It has been suggested that it is hardly likely that women would have come so far, and that “even Pathros” is a gloss. Pathros was the S. part of what is now called Egypt, but was once politically separated from it, Ethiopia claiming its possession. It is identical with the Thebais of the Greeks, commencing a few miles S. of Memphis, and extending to Syene on the first cataract.
a great assembly ] Du. followed by Co. reads (by a slight alteration in MT.) with a loud voice.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
15 19. See introd. summary to the ch. This passage, unlike the preceding, apparently comes intact from Baruch’s memoirs.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Had burned incence – Omit had; burned incense. This appeal of the prophet was made at a public festival held somewhere in Pathros, i. e., Upper Egypt: for the women are assembled in a great congregation (compare Jer 26:9), here formed for religious purposes. As they advance in regular procession to worship the moon-goddess, in accordance as it seems with a vow Jer 44:17, Jeremiah meets them, makes the procession halt upon its way, and pronounces in Yahwehs name words of solemn warning. The reply that all the settlers in Egypt were formally putting themselves under the Queen of heavens protection was made by the heads of the congregation.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. Then all the men – and all the women] We have not seen the women in determined rebellion before. Here they make a common cause with their idolatrous husbands.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The burning of incense was a religious rite, which God had appointed the Jews as a piece of Divine homage to be paid to him alone, and by an ordinary figure is put for worship; so as burning incense to other gods is the same with worshipping other gods. It should seem that all the Jews had not been thus far guilty, and those that did it were mostly women, or at least they were the leaders in this idolatry; and one would think the phrase implieth that those who were thus culpable did it with some privacy, so as all their husbands did not know of it; but those that did were as bad as their wives, conniving at them, and justifying them in their idolatry, and joining with them in the following peremptory answer to and contempt of the prophet.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. their wivesThe idolatrybegan with them (1Ki 11:4;1Ti 2:14). Their husbands’connivance implicated them in the guilt.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then all the men which knew that their wires had burnt incense unto other gods,…. Which was a rite God appointed to be used in his worship; and is here put for the whole of religious worship, which was given to idols by the Jewish women; this their husbands knew of, and winked at, and did not restrain them from it, as they should; they seem to be themselves irreligious persons, a sort of atheists, who had no regard for the true God, nor any other gods, and cared not who were worshipped:
and all the women that stood by; the wives of the men that stood by their husbands, and other women that stood and heard Jeremiah’s sermon, and were conscious to themselves of being guilty of what they were charged with by him:
a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt,
in Pathros; in that part of Egypt so called, which was Thebais: here it seems Jeremiah was with that part of the people that took up their residence there; and by this it appears there was a large number of them, men and women, and who were all become idolaters, or connivers at, and encouragers of, such as were: these
answered Jeremiah, saying, one in the name of the rest made a reply, as follows:
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The answer of the people to this threatening address. – Jer 44:15. “Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women standing [there], a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, Jer 44:16. [As for] the word which thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jahveh, we will not hearken unto thee: Jer 44:17. But we will certainly perform every word that has proceeded out of our own mouth, by burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring out libations to her, just as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; and we were filled with bread, and became prosperous, and saw no evil. Jer 44:18. But since we ceased to offer incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out libations to her, we have been in want of everything, and are consumed by sword and famine. Jer 44:19. And when we [women] have been burning incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out libations to her, have we made cakes to her without our husbands, making an image of her, and offering libations to her?” To the word of the prophet the men and women oppose their pretended experience, that the adoration of the queen of heaven has brought them comfort and prosperity, while the neglect of this worship, on the other hand, has brought want and misfortune. No doubt they inferred this, by the argument post hoc, ergo propter hoc , from the fact that, after idolatry had been rooted out by Josiah, adversity had befallen the land of Judah; while, up till that time, the kingdom of Judah had been independent, and, for more than a century before, had been spared the suffering of misfortune. Thus, through their blindness, peculiar to the natural man, they had overlooked the minor transient evils with which the Lord visits His people when they sin. Not till near the end of Josiah’s reign did misfortune fall on Judah: this was when the Egyptian army, under Pharaoh-Necho, marched through Palestine; Josiah was slain in the battle he had lost, the land was laid waste by the enemy, and its inhabitants perished by sword and famine. In Jer 44:15, those who are represented speaking are all the men who knew of their wives’ idolatry, i.e., who permitted it, and all the women, “a great company,” i.e., gathered together in great numbers, and all the rest of the people who lived in Egypt. The specification “in Pathros” is not in apposition to the words “in the land of Egypt,” but belongs to the verb ; it tells where the gathering took place, viz., in a district of Upper Egypt. From the presence of a large number of women, we may conclude that the assembly was a festival in honour of the queen of heaven. The former portion of Jer 44:16 forms an absolute clause, from to , “as regards the word which…we will not listen to thee,” i.e., with regard to this word we obey thee not. The expression, “the word which has gone forth out of our mouth,” points to the uttering of vows: cf. Num 30:13; Deu 23:24. ‘ means “all that we have uttered as a vow,” every vow to offer incense, etc., i.e., to present meat and drink offerings to the queen of heaven, – that shall we keep, fulfil, as we and our fathers have done in the land of Judah. On this mode of worship, cf. Jer 7:17., and the remarks there made. “And we were satisfied with bread,” i.e., in consequence of this worship we had amply sufficient food. Towbiym , “good,” well, comfortable; cf. Jer 22:16. , “from that time” = since. is for , from , as in Num 17:1-13:28; cf. Ewald, 197, a. To this statement on the part of the men, the women further add, Jer 44:19, that they do not engage in this sacrificial worship or prepare the sacrificial cakes without their husbands, i.e., without their knowledge and approval. This is put forward by the women in the way of self-vindication; for, according to the law, Num 30:9., the husband could annul, i.e., declare not binding, any vow which had been made by his wife without his knowledge. Although it is women who are speaking, the masc. is used as being the gender which most commonly occurs; it also pretty often stands for the feminine. The inf. constr. (with ) is here employed, in conformity with later usage, instead of the inf. abs., for the finite verb, by way of continuation; cf. Ewald, 351, c, where, however, many passages have been set down as falling under this rule that demand a different explanation. The meaning of is disputed; the final is a suffix, written with Raphe, though Mappik also occurs in some MSS. The Hiphil of this verb is found elsewhere only in Psa 78:40, and there in the signification of vexing, grieving, like the Piel in Isa 63:10; Psa 66:6. Ewald translates “in order to move her,” i.e., make her well-disposed, – but quite arbitrarily, for to provoke is the very opposite of rendering propitious. The verb also signifies “to form, shape,” Job 10:8; and in this sense the Hiphil is used here, “in order to put them into shape,” i.e., to form the moon-goddess (queen of heaven) in or on the sacrificial cakes (Kimchi, Raschi, Dahler, Maurer, Graf, etc.). The sacrificial cakes ( , see on Jer 7:18) probably had the form of a crescent, or even of the full moon, like the of the Greeks, which used to be offered in Athens at the time of the full moon in the month of Munychion, to Artemis, as goddess of the moon; cf. Hermann, gottesdienstliche Alterthmer der Griechen , 2 Ausg. S. 146, Anm. 13, u. S. 414.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The People’s Insolent Reply. | B. C. 587. |
15 Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, 16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. 17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. 18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. 19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
We have here the people’s obstinate refusal to submit to the power of the word of God in the mouth of Jeremiah. We have scarcely such an instance of downright daring contradiction to God himself as this, or such an avowed rebellion of the carnal mind. Observe,
I. The persons who thus set God and his judgments at defiance; it was not some one that was thus obstinate, but the generality of the Jews; and they were such as knew either themselves or their wives to be guilty of the idolatry Jeremiah had reproved, v. 15. We find, 1. That the women had been more guilty of idolatry and superstition than the men, not because the men stuck closer to the true God and the true religion than the women, but, I fear, because they were generally atheists, and were for no God and no religion at all, and therefore could easily allow their wives to be of a false religion, and to worship false gods. 2. That it was consciousness of guilt that made them impatient of reproof: They knew that their wives had burnt incense to other gods, and that they had countenanced them in it, and the women that stood by knew that they had joined with them in their idolatrous usages; so that what Jeremiah said touched them in a sore place, which made them kick against the pricks, as children of Belial, that will not bear the yoke.
II. The reply which these persons made to Jeremiah, and in him to God himself; it is in effect the same with theirs who had the impudence to say to the Almighty, Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
1. They declare their resolution not to do as God commanded them, but what they themselves had a mind to do; that is, they would go on to worship the moon, here called the queen of heaven; yet some understand it of the sun, which was much worshipped in Egypt (ch. xliii. 13) and had been so at Jerusalem (2 Kings xxiii. 11), and they say that the Hebrew word for the sun being feminine it may not unfitly be called the queen of heaven. And others understand it of all the host of heaven, or the frame of heaven, the whole machine, ch. vii. 18. These daring sinners do not now go about to make excuses for their refusal to obey, nor suggest that Jeremiah spoke from himself and not from God (as before, ch. xliii. 2), but they own that he spoke to them in the name of the Lord, and yet tell him flatly, in so many words, “We will not hearken unto thee; we will do that which is forbidden and run the hazard of that which is threatened.” Note, Those that live in disobedience to God commonly grow worse and worse, and the heart is more and more hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Here is the genuine language of the rebellious heart: We will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth, let God and his prophets say what they please to the contrary. What they said many think who yet have not arrived at such a degree of impudence as to speak it out. It is that which the young man would be at in the days of his youth; he would walk in the way of his heart and the sight of his eyes, and would have and do every thing he has a mind to, Eccl. xi. 9.
2. They give some sort of reasons for their resolution; for the most absurd and unreasonably wicked men will have something to say for themselves, till the day comes when every mouth shall be stopped.
(1.) They plead many of those things which the advocates for Rome make the marks of a true church, and not only justify but magnify themselves with; and these Jews have as much right to them as the Romanists have. [1.] They plead antiquity: We are resolved to burn incense to the queen of heaven, for our fathers did so; it is a practice that pleads prescription; and why should we pretend to be wiser than our fathers? [2.] They plead authority. Those that had power practised it themselves and prescribed it to others: Our kings and our princes did it, whom God set over us, and who were of the seed of David. [3.] They plead unity. It was not here and there one that did it, but we, we all with one consent, we that are a great multitude (v. 15), we did it. [4.] They plead universality. It was not done here and there, but in the cities of Judah. [5.] They plead visibility. It was not done in a corner, in dark and shady groves only, but in the streets, openly and publicly. [6.] They plead that it was the practice of the mother-church, the holy see; it was not now learned first in Egypt, but it had been done in Jerusalem. [7.] They plead prosperity: They had we plenty of bread, and of all good things; we were well and saw no evil. All the former pleas, I fear, were too true in fact; God’s witnesses against their idolatry were few and hid; Elijah though that he was left alone: and this last might perhaps be true as to some particular persons, but, as to their nation, they were still under rebukes for their rebellions, and there was no peace to those that went out or came in, 2 Chron. xv. 5. But, supposing all to be true, yet this does not at all excuse them from idolatry; it is the law of God that we must be ruled and judged by, hot the practice of men.
(2.) They suggest that the judgments they had of late been under were brought upon them for leaving off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, v. 18. So perversely did they misconstrue providence, though God, by his prophets, had so often explained it to them, and the thing itself spoke the direct contrary. Since we forsook our idolatries we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword, the true reason of which was because they still retained their idols in their heart and an affection to their old sins; but they would have it thought that it was because they had forsaken the acts of sin. Thus the afflictions which should have been for their welfare, to separate between them and their sins, being misinterpreted did but confirm them in their sins. Thus, in the first ages of Christianity, when God chastised the nations by any public calamities for opposing the Christians and persecuting them, they put a contrary sense upon the calamities, as if they were sent to punish them for conniving at the Christians and tolerating them, and cried, Christianos ad leones–Throw the Christians to the lions. Yet, if it had been true, as they said here, that since they returned to the service of the true God, the God of Israel, they had been in want and trouble, was that a reason why they should revolt from him again? That was as much as to say that they served not him, but their own bellies. Those who know God, and put their trust in him, will serve him, though he starve them, though he slay them, though they never see a good day with him in this world, being well assured that they shall not lose by him in the end.
(3.) They plead that, though the women were most forward and active in their idolatries, yet they did it with the consent and approbation of their husbands; the women were busy to make cakes for meat-offerings to the queen of heaven and to prepare and pour out the drink-offerings, v. 19. We found, before, that this was their work, ch. vii. 18. “But did we do it without our husbands, privately and unknown to them, so as to give them occasion to be jealous of us? No; the fathers kindled the fire while the women kneaded the dough; the men that were our heads, whom we were bound to learn of and to be obedient to, taught us to do it by their example.” Note, It is sad when those who are in the nearest relation to each other, who should quicken each other to that which is good and so help one another to heaven, harden each other in sin and so ripen one another for hell. Some understand this as spoken by the husbands (v. 15), who plead that they did not do it without their men, that is, without their elders and rulers, their great men, and men in authority; but, because the making of the cakes and the pouring out of the drink-offerings are expressly spoken of as the women’s work (ch. vii. 18), it seems rather to be understood as their plea: but it was a frivolous plea. What would it avail them to be able to say that it was according to their husbands’ mind, when they knew that it was contrary to their God’s mind?
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Va. 15-19: THE SCORNFUL RESPONSE OF THE REMNANT
1. The determined apostasy of the refugees is evidenced by their response to Jeremiah.
2. In essence, they told him that he might as well save his breath; they had no intention of giving heed to his words, (vs. 15-16; Jer 5:3; Jer 43:2; Pro 11:21).
3. They will certainly perform what they have sworn to “the queen of heaven” (Ashteroth) – even though they did not hesitate to lie to the man of God! (vs. 17).
a. They have every intention of continuing to burn incense and pour out drink-offerings to the “queen of heaven” – justifying their action by what their fathers, kings and princes have done before them in Judah, (Jer 32:32; Jer 7:18; Neh 9:34).
b. So long as they honored HER (according to their remembrance), they had plenty to eat, enjoyed good health, and everything went well with them, (comp. Exo 16:3; Isa 48:4-5; Hos 2:59; Isa 1:3).
c. But, since they ceased worshipping her (evidently under Josiah’s religious reforms, 2Ki 23:4-20), the land has been consumed by sword, famine and pestilence, (comp. Num 11:5-6; Isa 58:3; Mal 3:13-15).
4. And these women want it understood that their husbands HAVE FULLY SUPPORTED THEM in the practice of these abominations! (vs. 19).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Here is more fully seen the irreclaimable obstinacy of that nation; for Jeremiah had given them more than sufficient evidences of his integrity. They ought then to have been fully convinced that he was a true Prophet of God. Though they had disregarded him for forty years and more, he had yet given full proof of his legation when he had constantly, even to the last, prophesied of the destruction of the city and the Temple. They had, then, learnt by their own calamities that Jeremiah was an instrument of the Holy Spirit, and a true interpreter of God’s will. And it hence appears how blind they were when they rejected all his admonitions, and counted his threatenings as fables. Thus, as in a mirror, the Holy Spirit of God sets before us how great the madness of men is when Satan once takes possession of their minds. But let us, at the same time, learn that this is the reward rendered to obstinacy, when God’s Prophets are despised. It was, indeed, a monstrous and most disgraceful thing, when they dared so insolently to repudiate the holy Prophet, while, at the same time, they had been reduced to the greatest extremities, and when spoiled of all things, had fled into Egypt, and lived there, as we have seen, in a servile and miserable condition. Inasmuch, then, as they were still ferocious and still arrogant towards God’s Prophet, it hence appears that they were untamable.
He then says, that all the men to whom the impiety of their wives was known, answered Jeremiah By these words the Prophet intimates that the beginning of idolatry was from the women. Things then had not as yet gone so far that all the men openly worshipped idols; but the women had taken this liberty, and the men readily indulged them. But why then did the Prophet before reprove them, as though they all made incense to idols? We doubtless learn from this passage, that they are not only guilty before God who openly do what is wicked, but also those who by connivance tolerate them; for the men ought to have interfered so as to restrain their wives from polluting themselves with ungodly superstitions; but this they patiently endured. Then their consent was the same as the deed, as we may rightly conclude from the words of the Prophet. He then says, that the men offered incense, not indeed openly and with their own hands, but that they knew of their wives, and that this impiety was done by the women with their consent. The rest I cannot now finish, I will proceed with it to-morrow.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
2. The warning rejected (Jer. 44:15-19)
TRANSLATION
(15) And all the men who knew that their wives offered incense to other gods, and all the women who were standing around, a great congregation, even all the people who were dwelling in the land of Egypt in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, (16) As regards the word which You have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken to you. (17) On the contrary we will continue to do everything which we have vowed to doto offer incense to the queen of heaven and pour out libations as we have previously done, we, our fathers, our kings, our princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem when we had plenty of bread, and were well-off, and had not experienced calamity. (18) But from the time we ceased to offer incense to the queen of heaven, and pour out libations to her, we have lacked all of these things and have perished by sword and famine. (19) Surely we are going to keep on offering incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her. Was it without our men that we made for her cakes that depicted her and poured out libations to her?
COMMENTS
Jeremiahs ministry ended on the same note with which it began. The people rejected the word of God which he brought to them. God had warned him at the outset, they shall fight against you but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to deliver you (Jer. 1:19). From that day forward Jeremiah had forced his people into confrontation with the word of God that is sharper than any two-edged sword. That tender hearted and timid youth had indeed become the iron pillar, fenced city and brazen wall that God had predicted (Jer. 1:18). With unflinching courage he stands up in the midst of that pagan festival to manfully preach the word. Resentment in the faces of that apostate audience is quite obvious as Jeremiah strikes at them with the whiplash of divine rebuke. That resentment boils over into violent anger when Jeremiah mentions the guilt of the women of Judah. Men who exhibit amazing restraint when being personally attacked often burst into uncontrollable rage when someone criticizes their wives. They might have ignored the old prophet and dismissed what he said as being the sentiments of a religious fanatic. But he had touched a sensitive nerve and they felt compelled to reply to him.
a) Their resoluteness in idolatry (Jer. 44:15-17 a). The defiant reply of the accused people is not clothed in diplomatic camouflage. They mince no words. As for the word that you have spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, they sarcastically say, We will not hearken unto you (Jer. 44:16). They do not accuse Jeremiah of speaking falsely in the name of the Lord as they had charged him at Bethlehem (Jer. 43:2-3). Now they do not even bother to argue the point. They could not care less what the God of Jeremiah expected or demanded of them. Even if the word of the prophet does come from the Lord, they will not receive it. Rather they declare we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth. They are here expressing their determination to perform the vows that they have made to the queen of heavento offer incense to her and pour out libations to her.[363]
[363] Further evidence of the existence of the Ishtar cult in Egypt is provided by an Aramaic papyrus dating from the fifth century B.C. found at Hermopolis in which the temple of the queen of heaven is explicitly mentioned. Illustrated World of the Bible, op. cit., III, 102.
b) Their rationalization of idolatry (Jer. 44:17 b Jer. 44:19). In attempting to rationalize their idolatry the assembly offers three arguments. First they argue that the worship of the queen of heaven is nothing new. Their fathers had worshiped her throughout the land of Judah and even in the streets of Jerusalem. Furthermore the worship of this goddess was prestigious having attracted both kings and princes of the land. Could a religion practiced for so long by so many be wrong?
In the second place, the assembly argues that the worship of the queen of heaven is advantageous to the nation. When we faithfully worshiped this goddess all was well; but from the day we ceased to Worship her we experienced one calamity and disaster after another (Jer. 44:18). Rather than thanking the Lord for the blessings He had poured out upon them they attributed their prosperity to their false gods. On the contrary all of the misfortune which had befallen the nation from the death of Josiah to the present time they blamed upon those prophets and leaders who had made a valiant effort to stamp out idolatry in the land. The people were forced to cease the open worship of the queen of heaven during the reformations of king Josiah. But no sooner had the reform under Josiah commenced then one calamity after another struck the nation culminating finally in the destruction of Jerusalem. Thus it was only when they attempted to worship the Lord exclusively and neglected the worship of other deities that trouble started.
Now history can be read in different ways. Jeremiah had one interpretation for the events of the past few years while the people had an altogether different one. They interpreted the decline and fall of their nation as being due to the exclusive worship of the Lord and the neglect of other deities who might have been able to save them. On the other hand the prophet regards the disasters which had befallen his people as due to the gradual degradation of the people through idolatry practiced in the days of Manasseh and Amon and renewed subsequent to the death of Josiah. Apart from the fact that Jeremiah was guided by the Holy Spirit in the interpretation of the significance of past events, any objective analysis of the history of Judah in her last years must vindicate the prophets interpretation of those events. Had the nation heeded his advice and followed his direction the course of history would have been altered.
Boiled down to its simplest terms, this second argument of the assembly is simply this: We will worship the god who has done the most for us. The queen of heaven has done more for us than the God whom you represent. Therefore we will serve the queen of heaven. Like so many people today those Jews were searching for a religion which would give them the maximum amount of blessing for the minimum amount of service.
The third argument is added by the women who were present.[364] Whatever acts of worship were performed by us, say the women, were done with the consent of our husbands. In other words, since we have the approval of our husbands for this worship you have no right, Jeremiah, to interfere with it. Thus the whole community is involved in this final rejection of the Lord as the sole deity of Israel.
[364] Some think that the entire reply recorded here was framed by the women.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(15) All the men which knew that their wives had burned incense.The fact thus mentioned incidentally shows that the prophets words in Jer. 44:9 had not missed their mark. As of oldas, we may add, in the Rome of the Empire (Juvenal, Sat. vi. 526534)the women practised a cultus in which their husbands acquiesced, even though they did not join in it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
REPLY OF THE JUDAHITES, THAT THEY WERE PROSPEROUS EVEN WHEN IDOLATROUS, Jer 44:15-19.
15. Had burned Rather, burned, or were burning. The practice was even then going on.
A great multitude It would seem probable that this was at a great religious feast or convocation, which accounts for a great congregation of women.
Answered Jeremiah, saying The substance of this answer is, that worship of the queen of heaven, had in their experience been associated with prosperity, but the leaving off of this worship had been followed by calamity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2). The People’s Defence To The Charge And Their Response To Jeremiah’s Words (15-19).
The people’s defence is now blatantly stated, and confirms all that Jeremiah has said. As far as they were concerned their ways had prospered when they had worshipped ‘meleketh hashamayim’ (the queen of heaven or the handiwork of heaven) and other gods. Since being turned to the sole worship of YHWH by Josiah things had only gone wrong (they overlooked the years of prosperity and independence under Josiah and the fact that after he had died public worship went back to its syncretism). As far as they were concerned it was that that had brought on them famine and sword. It should be noted that this was not a total rejection of YHWH, He was after all the God of Israel, but it was a claim that He was only one among others, and that in their view the help of more than one God was needed. But it was a very weak argument, ignoring the facts and only convincing to themselves because they wanted to be convinced.
Reference to meleketh hashamayim is found only here and in Jer 7:18. It is often equated with malkath hashamayim (‘the queen of Heaven’, the moon) but may rather signify ‘the heavenly handiwork (mele’keth hashamayim)’ i.e. the stars. These were worshipped in different guises all over the Ancient Near East. Either way false gods were being worshipped alongside YHWH, something later confirmed by the Elephantine papyri where YHWH was being worshipped alongside Anath-bethel and Ishum-bethel, Anath being the mother goddess, thus being very similar to the false worship here and in Jerusalem (Jer 7:18).
Jer 44:15
‘Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,’
Jeremiah now found himself faced by a large group of people whose spokespersons were both the men whose wives were involved in the false worship, and the wives themselves. Indeed it would appear that the women were the chief spokespersons (Jer 44:19), although clearly what was said by a number of people is being summarised in what appears to us to be one speech. We must view the words realistically. Clearly all the Jewish men and women in Pathros could not have spoken all at once (although it might have seemed like that to Jeremiah at the time), nor was it likely that literally every Jew throughout the land of Egypt was present. . The point is rather that all the Jewish men and women who had gathered there in Pathros, possibly for ceremonies connected with the moon/star god/goddess, spoke to Jeremiah through their spokespersons, whether official or unofficial, and gathered behind them in support. The word for ‘All’ rather therefore signifies ‘a large number, a great proportion’ as so often in Scripture.
Jer 44:16
“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of YHWH, we will not listen to you.”
Their disobedience to the word of YHWH as communicated through Jeremiah is once more blatantly stated (compare Jer 43:2 and contrast Jer 42:5). They openly declare that they will not listen to Jeremiah’s words spoken in the name of YHWH. It is a deliberate rejection of YHWH’s true prophet, and therefore of YHWH Himself as He really is. They were rejecting ‘the word of YHWH’.
Jer 44:17
“But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven (or ‘to the heavenly handiwork’), and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.”
Rather, they insisted that what they would do was obey themselves and their inclinations. They would fulfil all the vows that they had made to the moon/star god by burning incense and pouring out drink offerings before her, just as they had previously done in the streets of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah (Jer 7:18), along with their fathers, kings and princes (who, they should have noted, were now either dead or in exile). In other words they were looking back to what they saw as ‘the good times’ and giving the credit for them to the moon/star god/goddess whom they had been unofficially worshipping at the time, completely overlooking what had occurred since. They were blaming all the bad things on YHWH.
We have here in summary the typical attitude of the natural man towards religion. What he is concerned about is what he can get out of it. His question is, ‘does it work?’ In other words does it make him prosperous and make his life easy. It was Satan’s view expressed about Job, ‘does Job fear God for nothing?’ (Job 1:9). In contrast the spiritual man asks, ‘is it making me more pure, more righteous, more true? Am I more God-like as a result?’ That last was a question that this people never even considered, for had they done so they would have known the answer.
Jer 44:18
“But since we left off burning incense to the Queen of Heaven, and pouring out drink-offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.”
For, the women claimed, it was only since they had been forced to leave off burning incense and offering drink-offerings to the moon/star god/goddess that they had found themselves in want, and had experienced the sword and famine. This was, of course, an exaggeration, for after the death of Josiah all the kings who followed him had ‘done evil in the sight of YHWH’, thus allowing the burgeoning of idolatry. It was therefore rather a vague memory of a time in the past when King Josiah had caused all such things to cease as far as worship in Jerusalem and other major cities was concerned (it had still gone on secretly in the high places). And they conveniently saw everything that followed as resulting from that.
Jer 44:19
“And when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven, and poured out drink-offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink-offerings unto her, without our husbands?”
And the women assured Jeremiah that they were not alone in thinking like this. Their husbands had been equally involved. They had been fully aware of what their wives were doing, and had even connived in it. This would in fact have been necessary for no woman in Judah could make a binding vow unless her husband was in agreement with it (Num 30:3-16). Furthermore this worship was not something that they could have kept secret from their husbands. Indeed, as Jer 7:18 so vividly portrays, ‘the children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the moon/star god/goddess and to pour out drink-offerings to other gods’. They were all involved together.
So, if this was a gathering of all the Judeans in Egypt who had gathered together from all over Egypt, it is clear that they stood firm together in their determination not to listen to Jeremiah, but to pursue their own course of syncretistic polytheism. They themselves were claiming that they were making the same choice as their fathers had before them. Once again Jeremiah could have looked everywhere and would have found no one willing to do the will of YHWH (compare Jer 5:1-5). It is manifest that they had failed to learn the lesson of history.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Answer of the Jews and the Lord’s Prophecy of Punishment
v. 15. Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, v. 16. As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee, v. 17. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, v. 18. But since we left off to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, v. 19. And when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink-offerings unto her, did we make her cakes, v. 20. Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people “which had given him that answer, saying, v. 21. The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, v. 22. So that the Lord could no longer bear because of the evil of your doing’s and because of the abominations which ye have committed, v. 23. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, v. 24. Moreover, Jeremiah said unto all the people and to all the women, Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt, v. 25. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her; ye will surely accomplish your vows and surely perform your vows. v. 20. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt, Behold, I have sworn by My great name, saith the Lord, v. 27. Behold, I will watch over them for evil and not for good, v. 28. Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, v. 29. And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that My words shall surely stand against you for evil: v. 30. thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra, king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of them that seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
b. The Replication of the People
Jer 44:15-19
15Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by a [there in the] great multitude [assembly], even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros answered Jeremiah , 16 saying, As for the word12 that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the 17Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing [word] goeth forth [has gone forth] out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well,13 and saw 18no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed1419by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her,15 and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
From the purport of this passage it is manifest that the people had come together to celebrate a festival in honor of the queen of heaven, and to perform the vows they had made. The assembly consisted principally of women. Hence they were the chief speakers. They now declare to the prophet that they will not obey his words (Jer 44:16), but perform their vows, and make their offerings to the queen of heaven, as they had also done at home. It was then well with them (Jer 44:17), only since they neglected her worship, has it gone badly with them (Jer 44:18). In addition, they (the women) had devoted themselves to the service of this goddess only with the concurrence of their husbands.
Jer 44:15. Then all saying. The assembly consisted (1) of men, who well knew that their wives offered incense to other gods (comp. rems. on Jer 44:3); (2) of women, who were a great multitude. From the circumstance that the great assembly is designated as consisting of women, it has been rightly concluded that they formed the majority, which explains the emphasis laid on the women in Jer 44:24-25.The Jewish women thus appear to have come together from all parts of Egypt to a festival of the queen of heaven, which was held in a place of upper Egypt (Pathros), not more particularly designated, in order there to perform their vows made to this goddess. The men seem to have been both those who lived in the neighborhood and those who had come from a distance as husbands of a part of the women mentioned. The assembly consisted (3) of representatives of all the people, who were settled in Egypt, among whom we must suppose individuals, who were neither husbands nor wivesIn Pathros accordingly designates the place of meeting, and is not to be connected with lived but with answered. The prophet had endeavored by his discourse, Jer 44:2-14, to hinder the observance of this idolatrous festival, but was not successful.
Jer 44:16-19. As for the word without our men.We will not hearken. Comp. Jer 7:16.The expression whatsoever word has gone forth out of our mouth indicates vows that had been made (comp. Num 30:3; Num 30:13; Num 32:24; Jdg 11:36). On the queen of heaven comp. rems. on Jer 7:18And when we burned. According to the apodosis this ought properly to be in the feminine instead of the masculine, as in Jer 44:15 (). The masculine form has not only a general justification, as being the chief form, and frequently occurring for the feminine (comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 60, 5, 4), but also a special, since the speakers had in view the entire number who took part in the offering. According to Num 30:7 sqq., the women were responsible for the observance of their vows only when approved by their husbands (or fathers, comp. Jer 44:4). Hence they now declare, that in consequence of having obtained the concurrence of their husbands they are at any rate free from all personal responsibility. On cakes comp. rems. on Jer 7:18. It is evident from the latter passage, that this cult was not first adopted in Egypt, but imported from home.
Footnotes:
[12]Jer 44:16. is to be regarded as accusative of restriction. Not generally, but only with respect to this particular word, do they declare that they will not obey the prophet. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 70, f.
[13]Jer 44:17. felices. Comp. Isa 3:10, and Delitzsch ad loc.
[14]Jer 44:18.On the form , which is found only in the root , comp. Olsh., S. 483, f.
[15]Jer 44:19.. The Hiph. here only. The Piel only in Job 10:8 decidedly in the meaning of to form, shape. Compare further , (Jer 22:28), so the meaning of the Hiph. in this place cannot be other than to form, copy, with reference to the moon-shaped form of the cakes. Comp. rems. on Jer 7:18. The circumstance that the is written without Mappik (which however is found in some MSS.) does not stand in the way of this. (Comp. Olsh., 96, e; Isa 21:2; Isa 23:17-18). [We must then render: make her cakes to copy her.S. R. A.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
While we remark the patience and long suffering of the Lord; are we not compelled no less to remark, and be astonished at the impudence, and incorrigible hardness of the human heart? Was there ever an example of more daring impiety, than what is here represented? Alas! how sin hardens. Well may every poor sinner, who reads it, exclaim in the language of that prayer, from pride and hardness of heart, and contempt of thy word; good Lord, deliver us! The idol here spoken of, the queen of heaven, to whom the wives of the people paid homage, very probably, was the Moon. Under the influence of this planet, they conceived, that they had favourable seasons. And it is likely, that in conjunction with the Moon, they worshipped also the other heavenly bodies – Alas! how fallen! Act 7:42-44 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 44:15 Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
Ver. 15. Then all the men which knew that their wives had burnt incense. ] And by suffering them so to do had consented to what they had done; for qui non, cum potest, prohibet, iubet.
And all the women that stood by.
“ Sicut ferrum trahit magnes:
Sic masculum suum trahit Agnes. ”
Answered Jeremiah, saying. a
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 44:15-19
15Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, 16As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you! 17But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. 18But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine. 19And, said the women, when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?
Jer 44:16 As the Judean remnant in Judea would not listen (cf. Jer 42:14-17; Jer 43:2), so too, the ones already in Egypt.
Jer 44:17-19 These Judeans attribute their current condition to their lack of idolatrous sacrifices! O my, when light becomes darkness, how great is the darkness!
Jer 44:17 we will certainly carry out every word The VERB is an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and IMPERFECT VERB from the same root (BDB 793, KB 889). This same intensive form is in Jer 44:25 (twice). It denotes their strong intent to offer idolatrous sacrifices!
Jer 44:18 The historical period these idolaters are referring to must have been the reign of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, who reigned 55 years and was the most wicked king of Judah. Josiah tried to bring the idolatry to an end (cf. 2 Kings 23) but at his death it returned!
These three kings (i.e., Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Josiah) may be the background to Ezekiel 18.
Jer 44:19 The queen of heaven (i.e., female fertility goddess, cf. Jer 7:18; Jer 44:17; Jer 44:19; Jer 44:25; 2Ki 17:16) was a popular idol for women in the Ancient Near East. Notice the number of times wife or women is used in this chapter (cf. Jer 44:9 [twice],15,19,20,24,25).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
all. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Whole), for the specified part.
men. Hebrew, plural of enosh App-14: i.e. the husbands.
multitude = assembly.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 44:15-19
Jer 44:15-19
JUDAH’S NEW GOD, THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN
Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great assembly, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink-offerings unto her, without our husbands?
The capital letters for QUEEN OF HEAVEN in the above paragraph are a variation from our text. This is to emphasize the adoption of a new god by the Jewish sojourners in Egypt.
THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN
There was nothing either honorable or innocent in the worship of this ancient sex-goddess by God’s people. Who was the Queen of Heaven? She is identified primarily with Ashteroth, Astarte, Ishtar, Venus, Aphrodite and other female goddesses of antiquity. She was worshipped as the goddess of fertility and was the female equivalent of Baal.
“The immoral rites of the worship of this deity entered Canaan from Babylon, long before God sent the children down into Canaan to extirpate it and replace it with the knowledge of the true God.”
The type of sexual orgies that went along with such worship is clearly visible in Numbers 25, in which event Israel demonstrated their preference for that kind of worship over that which God had commanded, a preference which they maintained down to the events of this chapter.
“The Israelites turned to the worship of the Queen of Heaven as Ashteroth soon after their arrival in Canaan; it was depraved in the extreme; it was rife in the times of Samuel (1Sa 7:3-4); after Saul’s death, his armour was placed in the temple of Ashteroth at Beth-shan (1Sa 21:10); and Solomon gave it royal sanction (2Ki 23:13).” “In the times of Jeremiah, prior to the exile, the Chosen People had given themselves over to the worst and vilest forms of heathen worship in their worship of the Queen of Heaven.” Furthermore, it appears from the events in these last two chapters that it was Israel’s desire to continue uninterruptedly their worship of this vile goddess that sparked their willingness to go back to Egypt.
All the women that stood by…
(Jer 44:15). This was probably an idolatrous festival (to the Queen of Heaven) in which the women were taking a leading part. With regard to the part which the women played in such a festival, Numbers 25 gives the daughters of Moab as examples! Cheyne agreed that, This special mention of the women suggests that the occasion of the gathering was a festival in honor of the Queen of Heaven.
Since we left off burning incense to the Queen of Heaven…
(Jer 44:18). This appears to be a reference to that period in the days of Josiah the king, whose widespread reforms had, for a season, suppressed the shameful paganism which had taken the land. They senselessly attributed the disasters to Judah to Josiah’s reforms, claiming that idolatry had done more for them than had the Lord. Not once did the people connect their disasters with their sins! Nothing is more blinding than infidelity; and the type of theological acrobat that can suppose sin to be a better benefactor than the righteousness of God is here revealed to have been a very ancient specimen, the prototype of many such theological gymnasts in our own day.
Like the harlot in Hosea, Israel “Did shamefully, and said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink” (Hos 2:5); and she did not know that it was her God who gave all those things she desired.
As the women concluded this shocking reply to Jeremiah, that said, in effect, “And don’t think for a minute that we do all this without our husbands consent!”
Did we (do all this). without our husbands …..
(Jer 44:19)? Vows taken by women, in order to be valid, were required by the Law of Moses to be with their husband’s consent (Num 30:7-16); and it is certainly amazing that these women here seem to have been boasting that they had engaged in this shameful worship according to law. Indeed, indeed! This is the key to the error in their thinking that they could do all of those sinful things and yet keep on worshipping God! The result was a kind of syncretism, much like that which Jezebel attempted to set up between Christianity and paganism in Thyatira (Rev 2:10-14).
Did we make cakes to worship her.?
(Jer 44:19) The cakes were made in the form of a crescent, representing the moon, believed to have been especially sacred to the Queen of Heaven.
This worship of the Queen of Heaven had all kinds of astrological connotations, similar to that of practically all of the mythological gods and goddesses of antiquity. They were severally identified with the sun, the moon, and the stars, and with certain planets in particular. When Stephen referred to the Israelites having worshipped “the host of heaven” (Act 7:42), the reference was precisely to these ancient deities.
2. The warning rejected (Jer 44:15-19)
Jeremiahs ministry ended on the same note with which it began. The people rejected the word of God which he brought to them. God had warned him at the outset, they shall fight against you but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to deliver you (Jer 1:19). From that day forward Jeremiah had forced his people into confrontation with the word of God that is sharper than any two-edged sword. That tender hearted and timid youth had indeed become the iron pillar, fenced city and brazen wall that God had predicted (Jer 1:18). With unflinching courage he stands up in the midst of that pagan festival to manfully preach the word. Resentment in the faces of that apostate audience is quite obvious as Jeremiah strikes at them with the whiplash of divine rebuke. That resentment boils over into violent anger when Jeremiah mentions the guilt of the women of Judah. Men who exhibit amazing restraint when being personally attacked often burst into uncontrollable rage when someone criticizes their wives. They might have ignored the old prophet and dismissed what he said as being the sentiments of a religious fanatic. But he had touched a sensitive nerve and they felt compelled to reply to him.
a) Their resoluteness in idolatry (Jer 44:15-17 a). The defiant reply of the accused people is not clothed in diplomatic camouflage. They mince no words. As for the word that you have spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, they sarcastically say, We will not hearken unto you (Jer 44:16). They do not accuse Jeremiah of speaking falsely in the name of the Lord as they had charged him at Bethlehem (Jer 43:2-3). Now they do not even bother to argue the point. They could not care less what the God of Jeremiah expected or demanded of them. Even if the word of the prophet does come from the Lord, they will not receive it. Rather they declare we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth. They are here expressing their determination to perform the vows that they have made to the queen of heaven-to offer incense to her and pour out libations to her. Further evidence of the existence of the Ishtar cult in Egypt is provided by an Aramaic papyrus dating from the fifth century B.C. found at Hermopolis in which the temple of the queen of heaven is explicitly mentioned. Illustrated World of the Bible, III, 102.
b) Their rationalization of idolatry (Jer 44:17 b – Jer 44:19). In attempting to rationalize their idolatry the assembly offers three arguments. First they argue that the worship of the queen of heaven is nothing new. Their fathers had worshiped her throughout the land of Judah and even in the streets of Jerusalem. Furthermore the worship of this goddess was prestigious having attracted both kings and princes of the land. Could a religion practiced for so long by so many be wrong?
In the second place, the assembly argues that the worship of the queen of heaven is advantageous to the nation. When we faithfully worshiped this goddess all was well; but from the day we ceased to Worship her we experienced one calamity and disaster after another (Jer 44:18). Rather than thanking the Lord for the blessings He had poured out upon them they attributed their prosperity to their false gods. On the contrary all of the misfortune which had befallen the nation from the death of Josiah to the present time they blamed upon those prophets and leaders who had made a valiant effort to stamp out idolatry in the land. The people were forced to cease the open worship of the queen of heaven during the reformations of king Josiah. But no sooner had the reform under Josiah commenced then one calamity after another struck the nation culminating finally in the destruction of Jerusalem. Thus it was only when they attempted to worship the Lord exclusively and neglected the worship of other deities that trouble started.
Now history can be read in different ways. Jeremiah had one interpretation for the events of the past few years while the people had an altogether different one. They interpreted the decline and fall of their nation as being due to the exclusive worship of the Lord and the neglect of other deities who might have been able to save them. On the other hand the prophet regards the disasters which had befallen his people as due to the gradual degradation of the people through idolatry practiced in the days of Manasseh and Amon and renewed subsequent to the death of Josiah. Apart from the fact that Jeremiah was guided by the Holy Spirit in the interpretation of the significance of past events, any objective analysis of the history of Judah in her last years must vindicate the prophets interpretation of those events. Had the nation heeded his advice and followed his direction the course of history would have been altered.
Boiled down to its simplest terms, this second argument of the assembly is simply this: We will worship the god who has done the most for us. The queen of heaven has done more for us than the God whom you represent. Therefore we will serve the queen of heaven. Like so many people today those Jews were searching for a religion which would give them the maximum amount of blessing for the minimum amount of service.
The third argument is added by the women who were present. Some think that the entire reply recorded here was framed by the women. Whatever acts of worship were performed by us, say the women, were done with the consent of our husbands. In other words, since we have the approval of our husbands for this worship you have no right, Jeremiah, to interfere with it. Thus the whole community is involved in this final rejection of the Lord as the sole deity of Israel.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
all the: Jer 5:1-5, Gen 19:4, Neh 13:26, Pro 11:21, Isa 1:5, Mat 7:13, 2Pe 2:1, 2Pe 2:2
Reciprocal: Lev 10:1 – put incense 2Ch 28:23 – sacrifice to them Pro 27:22 – General Isa 5:18 – draw Jer 18:15 – burned Jer 44:9 – the wickedness of your Jer 44:19 – we burned Jer 44:24 – all Judah Jer 44:25 – Ye and Eze 33:25 – lift up Hos 11:2 – burned
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 44:15. A man is not responsible for what he cannot prevent or know, but if he can know it and does not oppose it, he is as guilty as those doing an evil thing. The men were aware of the idolatrous practices of their women and were hence in partnership with them in sin.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 44:15. Then all the men and all the women that dwelt in Pathros Which was Upper Egypt; answered Jeremiah, &c. From this it appears with how much reason it was that God ordered Jeremiah to endeavour to prevent their going into Egypt, since the Israelitish women imitated the idolatry of the inhabitants of it, as soon as they came thither, and no people were immersed in a more absurd and shameful idolatry than the Egyptians. It is probable that when the Jewish women perceived the Egyptians to abound in riches and plenty, and to live in peace and security, they foolishly concluded that the gods which the Egyptians worshipped were more powerful, or more beneficent, than Jehovah, whom the Jews worshipped.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Jews to whom this message was sent replied that they were not going to listen to Jeremiah. The wives of many of the Jewish men were burning sacrifices to pagan deities, with their husbands’ knowledge, along with other women.