Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 13:18
Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory.
18. your headtires ] The word in MT. means the place of the head (and so the same consonants with rather different vocalisation in Gen 28:11, 1Sa 19:16; 1Sa 26:7). We should therefore by a slight shortening of the word (so LXX) render for come down from your head is your beautiful crown (lit. crown of beauty).
Humble yourselves, sit down ] better, as mg. Sit ye down low. Cp. Jer 14:2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
18, 19. Address to the king and the queen-mother
The highest shall be brought low, and the land with its cities emptied by universal captivity.
Graf and Du. make the king to be Jehoiakim and thus the queen-mother Zebidah (2Ki 23:36). Most however take the utterance as belonging to the three months’ reign of his successor, Jehoiachin, whose mother, Nehushta, is referred to in 2Ki 24:8; 2Ki 24:12 ; 2Ki 24:15. The prominence attached to the queen-mother by Eastern custom would be in that case enhanced by the king’s youth. Cp. Jer 22:26.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The queen – i. e., the queen-mother: the word signifies literally the great lady. The kings mother took precedence of his wives.
Sit down – The usual position of slaves.
For your principalities … – Rather, for the ornaments of your heads, even the crown of your majesty, shall come down.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. Say unto the king and to the queen] Probably Jeconiah and his mother, under whose tutelage, being young when he began to reign, he was left, as is very likely.
Sit down] Show that ye have humbled yourselves; for your state will be destroyed, and your glorious crown taken from your heads.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The author of holy writ is discernible by this as by other things, that the Scripture equally speaks to the greatest persons as to persons of meaner rank. God here calls to the king of Judah, whether it was at this time Jehoiakim, or his son Jehoiachin, is uncertain. By
principalities he means both their dignity and their liberty, that which he often calleth the crown of their glory. Some expound it head-tires, because the word deriveth from a word which signifies the head.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. kingJehoiachin orJeconiah.
queenthe queen motherwho, as the king was not more than eighteen years old, held the chiefpower. Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan, carried away captive withJehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar (2Ki24:8-15).
Humble yourselvesthatis, Ye shall be humbled, or brought low (Jer 22:26;Jer 28:2).
your principalitiesrather,”your head ornament.“
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Say unto the king, and to the queen,…. Jehoiachin, and his mother Nehushta, as it is generally interpreted by the Jewish commentators, and others; who, with many princes and officers, were carried captive into Babylon, 2Ki 24:12 or rather Zedekiah and his wife; since the captivity after threatened is a perfect and complete one, which Jehoiachin’s was not:
humble yourselves, sit down; or, “sit down humbled” d; come down from your thrones, and sit in the dust; humble yourselves before the Lord for your own sins, and the sins of the people; in times of general corruption, and which threatens a nation with ruin, it becomes kings and princes to set an example of repentance, humiliation, and reformation; though it may be this is rather a prediction of what would be, that they should descend from their throne, and lose their grandeur, and be in a low and abject condition, than an exhortation to what was their duty; since it follows:
for your principalities shall come down; their royal state and greatness, and all the ensigns of it; and especially such as they had upon their heads, as the word used denotes, and as the following explanation shows:
even the crown of your glory; or glorious crown, which should fall from their heads, or be taken from them, when they should be no more served in state, or treated as crowned heads.
d “degite humiliter”, Castalio; “abjectissime considite”, Junius Tremellius “loco humili considite”, Piscator
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The fall of the kingdom, the captivity of Judah, with upbraidings against Jerusalem for her grievous guilt in the matter of idolatry. – Jer 13:18. “Say unto the king and to the sovereign lady: Sit you low down, for from your heads falls the crown of your glory. Jer 13:19. The cities of the south are shut and no man openeth; Judah is carried away captive all of it, wholly carried away captive. Jer 13:20. Lift up your eyes and behold them that come from midnight! Where is the flock that was given thee, thy glorious flock? Jer 13:21. What wilt thou say, if He set over thee those whom thou hast accustomed to thee as familiar friends, for a head? Shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail? Jer 13:22. And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore cometh this upon me? for the plenty of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, thy heels abused. Jer 13:23. Can an Ethiopian change his skin, and a leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good that are accustomed to doing evil. Jer 13:24. Therefore will I scatter them like chaff that flies before the wind of the wilderness. Jer 13:25. This is thy lot, thine apportioned inheritance from me, because thou hast forgotten me and trustedst in falsehood. Jer 13:26. Therefore will I turn thy skirts over thy face, that thy shame be seen. Jer 13:27. Thine adultery and thy neighing, the crime of thy whoredom upon the ills, in the fields, I have seen thine abominations. Woe unto thee, Jerusalem! thou shalt not be made clean after how long a time yet!” From Jer 13:18 on the prophet’s discourse is addressed to the king and the queen-mother. The latter as such exercised great influence on the government, and is in the Books of Kings mentioned alongside of almost all the reigning kings (cf. 1Ki 15:13; 2Ki 10:13, etc.); so that we are not necessarily led to think of Jechoniah and his mother in especial. To them he proclaims the loss of the crown and the captivity of Judah. Set yourselves low down (cf. Gesen. 142, 3, b), i.e., descend from the throne; not in order to turn aside the threatening danger by humiliation, but, as the reason that follows show, because the kingdom is passing from you. For fallen is , your head-gear, lit., what is about or on your head (elsewhere pointed , 1Sa 19:13; 1Sa 26:7), namely, your splendid crown. The perf. here is prophetic. The crown falls when the king loses country and kingship. This is put expressly in Jer 13:19. The meaning of the first half of the verse, which is variously taken, may be gathered from the second. In the latter the complete deportation of Judah is spoken of as an accomplished fact, because it is as sure to happen as if it had taken place already. Accordingly the first clause cannot bespeak expectation merely, or be understood, as it is by Grotius, as meaning that Judah need hope for no help from Egypt. This interpretation is irreconcilable with “the cities of the south.” “The south” is the south country of Judah, cf. Jos 10:40; Gen 13:1, etc., and is not to be taken according to the prophetic use of “king of the south,” Dan 11:5, Dan 11:9. The shutting of the cities is not to be taken, with Jerome, as siege by the enemy, as in Jos 6:1. There the closedness is otherwise illustrated: No man was going out or in; here, on the other hand, it is: No man openeth. “Shut” is to be explained according to Isa 24:10: the cities are shut up by reason of ruins which block up the entrances to them; and in them is none that can open, because all Judah is utterly carried away. The cities of the south are mentioned, not because the enemy, avoiding the capital, had first brought the southern part of the land under his power, as Sennacherib had once advanced against Jerusalem from the south, 2Ki 18:13., Jer 19:8 (Graf, Ng. , etc.), but because they were the part of the kingdom most remote for an enemy approaching from the north; so that when they were taken, the land was reduced and the captivity of all Judah accomplished. For the form see Ew. 194, a, Ges. 75, Rem. 1. is adverbial accusative: in entirety, like , Psa 58:2, etc. For this cf. , Amo 1:6, Amo 1:9.
The announcement of captivity is carried on in Jer 13:20, where we have first an account of the impression which the carrying away captive will produce upon Jerusalem (Jer 13:20 and Jer 13:21), and next a statement of the cause of that judgment (Jer 13:22-27). In and a feminine is addressed, and, as appears from the suffix in , one which is collective. The same holds good of the following verses on to Jer 13:27, where Jerusalem is named, doubtless the inhabitants of it, personified as the daughter of Zion – a frequent case. Ng. is wrong in supposing that the feminines in Jer 13:20 are called for by the previously mentioned queen-mother, that Jer 13:20-22 are still addressed to her, and that not till Jer 13:23 is there a transition from her in the address to the nation taken collectively and regarded as the mother of the country. The contents of Jer 13:20 do not tally with Ng. ‘s view; for the queen-mother was not the reigning sovereign, so that the inhabitants of the land could have been called her flock, however great was the influence she might exercise upon the king. The mention of foes coming from the north, and the question coupled therewith: Where is the flock? convey the thought that the flock is carried off by those enemies. The flock is the flock of Jahveh (Jer 13:17), and, in virtue of God’s choice of it, a herd of gloriousness. The relative clause: “that was given thee,” implies that the person addressed is to be regarded as the shepherd or owner of the flock. This will not apply to the capital and its citizens; for the influence exerted by the capital in the country is not so great as to make it appear the shepherd or lord of the people. But the relative clause is in good keeping with the idea of the idea of the daughter of Zion, with which is readily associated that of ruler of land and people. It intimates the suffering that will be endured by the daughter of Zion when those who have been hitherto her paramours are set up as head over her. The verse is variously explained. The old transll. and comm. take in the sense of visit, chastise; so too Chr. B. Mich. and Ros.; and Ew. besides, who alters the text acc. to the lxx, changing into the plural . For this change there is no sufficient reason; and without such change, the signif. visit, punish, gives us no suitable sense. The phrase means also: to appoint or set over anybody; cf. e.g., Jer 15:3. The subject can only be Jahveh. The words from onwards form an adversative circumstantial clause: and yet thou hast accustomed them , for rof , , to thee (cf. for c. , Jer 10:2). The connection of the words depends upon the sig. assigned to . Gesen. ( thes.) and Ros. still adhere to the meaning taken by Luther, Vat., and many others, viz., principes, princes, taking for the sense of the whole: whom thou hast accustomed (trained) to be princes over thee. This word is indeed the technical term for the old Edomitish chieftains of clans, Gen 36:15., and is applied as an archaic term by Zec 9:7 to the tribal princes of Judah; but it does not, as a general rule, mean prince, but familiar, friend, Ps. 655:14, Pro 16:28, Mic 7:5; cf. Jer 11:19. This being the well-attested signification, it is, in the first place, not competent to render over or against thee ( adversus te , Jerome); and Hitz.’s exposition: thou hast instructed them to thy hurt, hast taught them a disposition hostile to thee, cannot be justified by usage. In the second place, cannot be attached to the principal clause, “set over thee,” and joined with “for a head:” if He set over thee – as princes for a head; but it belongs to “hast accustomed,” while only “for a head” goes with “if He set” (as de Wet., Umbr., Ng. , etc., construe). The prophet means the heathen kings, for whose favour Judah had hitherto been intriguing, the Babylonians and Egyptians. There is no cogent reason for referring the words, as many comm. do, to the Babylonians alone. For the statement is quite general throughout; and, on the one hand, Judah had, from the days of Ahaz on, courted the alliance not of the Babylonians alone, but of the Egyptians too (cf. Jer 2:18); and, on the other hand, after the death of Josiah, Judah had become subject to Egypt, and had had to endure the grievous domination of the Pharaohs, as Jeremiah had threatened, Jer 2:16. If God deliver the daughter of Zion into the power of these her paramours, i.e., if she be subjected to their rule, then will grief and pain seize on her as on a woman in childbirth; cf. Jer 6:24; Jer 22:23, etc. , woman of bearing; so here, only, elsewhere (cf. the passages cited); is infin., as in Isa 37:3; 2Ki 19:3; Hos 9:11.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 18-19: CAPTIVITY OF THE CROWN
1. This has reference to the 18-year-old Jehoiachin, and his queen-mother (Nehusta) after a reign of only three months in Jerusalem, (comp. 2Ki 24:8-15).
a. Here is a call for these royal personages to humble themselves before Jehovah, (vs. 18a; comp. 2Ch 33:12; 2Ch 33:19).
b. Their beautiful, royal headdress (signifying their honor, glory and power) has been removed from them, (vs. 18b).
c. Thus, Jeremiah rebukes the fallen leaders of Judah for the contempt with which they have treated his message.
2. The cities of the south were shut up (barricaded) so that refugees who fled the fury of the invader could not enter, (vs. 19a; comp. Jer 32:44).
3. Judah is carried away captive – though, in reality, only the potential leaders and skilled workers are, at this time, taken to Babylon; they are representative of the captivity of the whole.
a. In the Hebrew writings one often finds poetic exaggeration, hyperboles, and the employment of various figures of speech; thus, this must not be regarded as a contradiction.
b. This principle of representation undergirded the entire sacrificial system in the Old Testament.
c. Its perfect, supreme manifestation awaited the substitutionary sacrifice of the Son of Man on the cross, at Calvary, (Joh 11:50-52; comp. Isa 53:4-6; Rom 4:25; Rom 15:3; 2Co 5:14-15; Rom 6:1-11; Rom 8:11; Rom 6:12-14).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
The Prophet is here bidden to address his discourse directly to King Jehoiakim and his mother; for the term lady is not to be taken for the queen, the wife of Jehoiakim, but for his mother, who was then his associate in the kingdom, and possessed great authority. (86) And there is no doubt but that God thus intended to rouse more fully the community in general; that is, by shewing that he would not spare, no, not the king nor the queen. But we may hence also learn what has already been observed, that the truth announced by the prophets is superior to all the greatness of the world. For it was said before to Jeremiah, “Reprove mountains and rebuke hills;” (87) and still farther,
“
Behold, I have set thee over kingdoms and nations, to pull down and to pluck up,” etc., (Jer 1:10)
This ought to be carefully noticed; for kings and those who are eminent in the world, think that they are not only, by a singular privilege, exempt from all laws, but also free from every obligation to observe modesty and to avoid shame. Hence it is, that they from their elevation despise God and his prophets. Here God shews, that he supplied the prophets with his word for this end, — that they might close their eyes to all the splendor of the world, and shew no respect of persons, but pull down every height, and bring to order everything that is elevated in this world. Paul also teaches us, that ministers of the gospel are endued with this power;
“
Given to us,” he says, “is power against every height that exalteth itself against Christ.” (2Co 10:5)
And hence we must observe, that all who are chosen to the office of teaching, cannot faithfully discharge their duty except they boldly, and with intrepid spirit, dare to reprove both kings and queens; for the word of God is not to be restricted to the common people or men in humble life, but it subjects to itself all, from the least to the greatest. This prophecy was no doubt very bitter to the king as well as to the common people; but it behooved Jeremiah to discharge faithfully his office; and this was also necessary, for the king Jehoiakim and his mother thought that they could not possibly be dethroned.
He therefore bids them to descend and to lie down; that is, he bids them to forget their ancient greatness. He does not simply exhort them to repent, but shews, that as they had been so refractory in their pride, the punishment of disgrace was nigh at hand, for the Lord would with a strong hand lay them prostrate. It is not then an exhortation that the Prophet gives; but he only foretells what they little thought of, — that they in vain flattered themselves, for the Lord would in a short time expose them to reproach by casting them down.
And this is evident from what is added, For descend shall the crown of your honor; that is, it shall be taken away from your highnesses, or from your eminencies, or from your heads; for the word ראשה, rashe, means sometimes the head. (88) But some think that it means here eminencies, and that “the magnificent crown” is put here in apposition.
I have omitted, if I mistake not, to notice one thing; that is, the pride mentioned by the Prophet; except ye hear, weep will my soul in secret on account of pride Interpreters render it “your pride;” that is, the pride with which the Jews were filled; but I am inclined to take a different view, that the Prophet speaks here of the pride or the great power of those enemies whom the Jews then did not in any degree fear. “Since then,” says the Prophet, “ye are so secure, I will retire and weep by myself, and my soul by mourning shall mourn, yea, my eye shall flow down with tears, on account of the pride of the enemies, who are now so much despised by you;” Let us now proceed —
(86) So Gataker and Lowth; and they refer to 2Kg 24:12, and to Jer 22:26. From this circumstance it is gathered that this prophecy was delivered in the short reign of that king, which lasted only three months.
The word “queen,” in our version, is rendered “mistress or lady — domina,” by Calvin, but “potentates” by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic; “governess — dominatrix,” by the Vulgate; and “queen” by the Targum. The word means governess; it is rendered “mistress” in Gen 16:4; “lady” in Isa 47:5; and “queen” in 2Kg 10:13. — Ed.
(87) There is an oversight here; the passage referred to is in Mic 6:1; nor is it a right view of it. See vol. 3 on the Minor Prophets, p. 328. — Ed.
(88) All the early versions render the words, “Fallen from your head has the crown of your glory.” Our version is that of Montanus. If מ be a formative, then the word, in every instance in which it occurs, means bolsters or pillows, things for the head to rest on. The word for head has commonly a masculine termination in the plural number; but here it is feminine. The most literal rendering is the following: —
For bring down from your heads will he the crown of your glory.
The latter words mean “your glorious crown,” the expression being an Hebraism.
Our common version, as Blayney observes, violates grammar; for the gender of the verb ירד, (which, the same author thinks, ought to be יורד, future in Hiphil) is masculine, while the noun made its nominative is feminine. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
D. WARNING: Pride Leads to Dishonor Jer. 13:18-19
TRANSLATION
(18) Say to the king and the queen-mother, Sit down in abasement for your headdress, your glorious crown has come down. (19) The cities of the south have been shut up and there is no one to open them. All Judah is carried captive, everyone is taken captive.
COMMENTS
Three problems face the interpreter of Jer. 13:18-19. The first problem is the identity of the king to whom this brief oracle was addressed. A likely candidate is Jehoiachin who was deported to Babylon after a brief reign of three months. If this identification is correct then the queen-mother (lit., mistress) would be Nehushta, the widow of Jehoiakim and mother of Jehoiachin (2Ki. 24:8). In the kingdom of Judah the position of queen-mother seems to have been a position of no little prestige and dignity. The Book of Kings is always careful to mention the name of the mother of the reigning king in all but two cases. Scripture commends Asa for removing the wicked Maachah from this position (1Ki. 15:13). Athaliah was able to use this position as a stepping stone to the throne (2 Kings 11).
The second problem is to identify the tone of this passage. Is Jeremiah sincerely urging the king and queen-mother to humble themselves or is this a sarcastic imperative intended to drive home a warning concerning pride? Sarcasm is often difficult to recognize. One needs to hear the voice inflection, and see the facial expression in order to be assured that sarcasm is being employed. Even then when sarcasm is used artistically the listener may ponder many moments before he is sure that this rhetorical device has indeed been employed. And if sarcasm is difficult to detect in speech how much more in writing! However a comparison with the sincere invitation to repent in Jer. 13:14 would lead one to conclude that Jer. 13:18 falls into the category of a sarcastic imperative. The meaning then would be that the king and queen-mother would be dethroned and dishonored, reduced to the status of commoners. They had refused to humble themselves before God. Therefore God would debase and dishonor them in the sight of all men. The royal crown and headdress of which they were so proud would topple from their brow. If the king is Jehoiachin the fulfillment of this prediction is recorded in 2Ki. 24:15.
The third problem concerns the tense of this utterance. Was Jeremiah predicting something which would take place in the future or was he describing what had recently happened? Frequently in the English Bible, Hebrew predictive prophecy is couched in past tense. The prophet was so sure of what would transpire that he could describe it as though it had already happened. If Jer. 13:18 is indeed sarcastic imperative then it is predictive for such is the nature of this rhetorical device. In the case of Jer. 13:19 it is impossible to determine whether the two statements are descriptive or predictive. If the former, then Jeremiah was speaking at a time when the northern enemy had overrun the entire land even as far as the remote southern cities. These cities are spoken of as shut up i.e., under siege. All of Judah, i.e., the outlying regions of the land, had fallen to the enemy. This would fit quite well the situation that existed just prior to the surrender of Jehoiachin in 597 B.C. If Jer. 13:19 is predictive it could be dated to almost any year between 609 and 587 B.C.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(18) The queen.Not the usual word, the Hebrew feminine of king, but literally the great lady (dominatrix Vulg.), the title of a queen-mother (in this case, probably, of Nehushta, the mother of Jehoiachin, 2Ki. 24:8), sharing the throne during her sons minority. The same word is used of Maachah, the mother of Asa (1Ki. 15:13; 2Ki. 10:13; 2Ch. 15:16), and meets us again in Jer. 29:2.
Your principalities.Literally, as in the margin, your head-tires, i.e., the diadems which were signs of kingly state. The word is used nowhere else, and may have been coined by the prophet or taken from the court vocabulary of the time.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. Queen Rather, queen-mother. It seems to have been the custom among many Oriental peoples for the king’s mother to take precedence of his wife.
Principalities The marginal reading is better, your head-tires, even the crown of your glory, shall come down.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 13:18. Say unto the king, and to the queen That is, to Joachin and his mother, who were carried captives into Babylon at the first coming of Nebuchadnezzar. See 2Ki 24:15. Others suppose that Zedekiah and his mother are addressed. We may read the latter clause, For the crown of your glory is fallen, or shall fall from your heads.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
I interrupt not the reading of those verses, because they are connected. They contain the solemn expostulation of the Lord, in the view of their sins. They point out also the utter impossibility of the
sinner’s recovery by any efforts of his own, under the strong figure of the black hue of the Ethiopian, and of the spots of the leopard. But here again precious Jesus, how unspeakably blessed is it to the soul of thy redeemed, that what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh; thou through the Father’s sending, hast in thine own flesh accomplished; Rom 8:3 . And dost thou say to me as to Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean? Oh!, for grace, to look unto thee, that I may be made whole by thee!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 13:18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory.
Ver. 18. Say to the king and to the queen. ] Or Madam, the lady or mistress; that is, to the queen regent, even to Necustah, the mother of Jeconiah, say the Jews. When Beza, in the behalf of the reformed churches in France, made a speech at Possiacum before the young king and the queen mother, he spake so effectually, saith Rivet, that a great cardinal who heard it wished that either he had been dumb that day, or that they had all been deaf. This king and queen in the text might be as much convinced, though not thoroughly converted.
Humble yourselves, sit down.
For your principalities.
The crown of your glory.
“ Nobilis es, fateor, rutilisque onerata lapillis,
Innumeris curis sod comitata venis:
Quod bene si nossent omnes expendere, nemo,
Nemo foret quite tollere vellet humo. ”
the king and to the queen. This was Jehoiachin, and the queen-mother. See 2Ki 24:12, 2Ki 24:15. Jehoiachin was only eighteen, so that the queen-dowager would hold a position of some influence (490, or 489 B.C.)
principalities = head-gear.
Jer 13:18-19
Jer 13:18-19
WARNING TO THE ROYAL FAMILY
Say thou unto the king and to the queen-mother, Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headtires are come down, even the crown of your glory. The cities of the South are shut up, and there is none to open them: Judah is carried away captive, all of it; it is wholly carried away captive.
The mention of the queen-mother indicates the importance of the king’s mother among the kings of Judah. “They seem to have had some official status in Judah; indeed, 1Ki 2:19 suggests that she even occupied a throne adjacent to that of the king.” The passage before us also may indicate that she likewise wore a crown. “Because Jewish kings generally married subjects, and lived in polygamy, the king’s mother took precedence over his wives.”
Dummelow also mentioned the importance of this verse in ascertaining the date when this chapter was written. “The date of this prophecy is shown pretty clearly by the word queen-mother, namely, Nehushta, mother of Jehoiachin. The queen-mother always had a high position; and, in Jehoiachin’s case, this would have been especially so, owing to the king’s young age.”
Pride Leads to Dishonor Jer 13:18-19
Three problems face the interpreter of Jer 13:18-19. The first problem is the identity of the king to whom this brief oracle was addressed. A likely candidate is Jehoiachin who was deported to Babylon after a brief reign of three months. If this identification is correct then the queen-mother (lit., mistress) would be Nehushta, the widow of Jehoiakim and mother of Jehoiachin (2Ki 24:8). In the kingdom of Judah the position of queen-mother seems to have been a position of no little prestige and dignity. The Book of Kings is always careful to mention the name of the mother of the reigning king in all but two cases. Scripture commends Asa for removing the wicked Maachah from this position (1Ki 15:13). Athaliah was able to use this position as a stepping stone to the throne (2 Kings 11).
The second problem is to identify the tone of this passage. Is Jeremiah sincerely urging the king and queen-mother to humble themselves or is this a sarcastic imperative intended to drive home a warning concerning pride? Sarcasm is often difficult to recognize. One needs to hear the voice inflection, and see the facial expression in order to be assured that sarcasm is being employed. Even then when sarcasm is used artistically the listener may ponder many moments before he is sure that this rhetorical device has indeed been employed. And if sarcasm is difficult to detect in speech how much more in writing! However a comparison with the sincere invitation to repent in Jer 13:14 would lead one to conclude that Jer 13:18 falls into the category of a sarcastic imperative. The meaning then would be that the king and queen-mother would be dethroned and dishonored, reduced to the status of commoners. They had refused to humble themselves before God. Therefore God would debase and dishonor them in the sight of all men. The royal crown and headdress of which they were so proud would topple from their brow. If the king is Jehoiachin the fulfillment of this prediction is recorded in 2Ki 24:15.
The third problem concerns the tense of this utterance. Was Jeremiah predicting something which would take place in the future or was he describing what had recently happened? Frequently in the English Bible, Hebrew predictive prophecy is couched in past tense. The prophet was so sure of what would transpire that he could describe it as though it had already happened. If Jer 13:18 is indeed sarcastic imperative then it is predictive for such is the nature of this rhetorical device. In the case of Jer 13:19 it is impossible to determine whether the two statements are descriptive or predictive. If the former, then Jeremiah was speaking at a time when the northern enemy had overrun the entire land even as far as the remote southern cities. These cities are spoken of as shut up i.e., under siege. All of Judah, i.e., the outlying regions of the land, had fallen to the enemy. This would fit quite well the situation that existed just prior to the surrender of Jehoiachin in 597 B.C. If Jer 13:19 is predictive it could be dated to almost any year between 609 and 587 B.C.
unto: Jer 22:26, 2Ki 24:12, 2Ki 24:15, Eze 19:2-14, Jon 3:6
Humble: Exo 10:3, 2Ch 33:12, 2Ch 33:19, 2Ch 33:23, Mat 18:4, Jam 4:10, 1Pe 5:6
sit: Isa 3:26, Isa 47:1, Lam 2:10
principalities: or, head-tires
Reciprocal: 2Ki 22:10 – the king 2Ch 12:6 – humbled 2Ch 26:18 – withstood Uzziah Neh 13:17 – I contended Psa 25:14 – secret Psa 137:1 – the rivers Isa 66:21 – General Jer 17:20 – General Jer 19:3 – Hear Jer 21:11 – General Jer 36:16 – We Lam 1:9 – came Lam 5:16 – The crown Eze 10:1 – as the Eze 19:1 – take Eze 21:26 – Remove Eze 34:7 – General Eze 34:10 – and I will Dan 5:20 – deposed Hos 5:1 – O house Zec 12:12 – the family of the house of David apart Jam 4:7 – Submit Rev 18:7 – I sit
Jer 13:18. The invasion into and capture of Judah would be a personal blow to the king and his family. That is why he is exhorted to humble himself, and If he did he would be spared the personal humiliation the nation as a whole was destined to suffer.
Jer 13:18. Say unto the king and queen That is, to Jehoiachin, called also Coniah, and his mother, who were carried captives to Babylon at the first coming of Nebuchadnezzar; see Jer 22:26; 2Ki 24:12. Some indeed suppose that Zedekiah and his mother are intended, which does not appear so probable. Humble yourselves By true repentance, and so both give glory to God, and set a good example to your subjects; and sit down Sit down and consider what is coming; sit down and lament your condition. For your principalities shall come down
The honour and power by which you value yourselves, and in which you confide, even the crown of your glory For when you are led away captive, where will the badges of your power and pre-eminence be then? Blessed be God, there is a crown of glory which shall never come down, and which they who humble themselves before God, in true repentance, shall in due time inherit.
Jer 13:18 f. A Dirge on the Doom of Jehoiachin and his Mother (Nehushta, 2Ki 24:8; 2Ki 24:15), c. 597.
Jer 13:18 should read, Say ye (LXX) to the king and the queen-mother, sit ye down low (mg.), for come down from your head (VSS) is your beautiful crown (mg.). The queen-mother is more important than the queen in an Oriental court (cf. Jer 22:26).the South denotes a particular district, the Negeb (p. 32), in the south of Judah (Jos 15:21-32).
13:18 Say to the {g} king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory.
(g) For Jehoiachin and his mother rendered themselves by Jeremiah’s counsel to the king of Babylon, 2Ki 24:12 .
A lament over the king and the queen mother 13:18-19
Jeremiah was to tell the king and the queen mother of Judah to humble themselves, because the Lord had removed their authority (in heaven) and would remove it soon (on earth). Pride was the besetting sin of royalty. The individuals in view are probably young King Jehoiachin and his mother Nehushta (cf. Jer 22:26; 2Ki 24:8-17). They were taken to Babylon as captives in 597 B.C. [Note: Less probably they were King Jehoiakim and his mother Zebidah (2 Kings 23:36).]
The queen mother was an important official throughout Israel’s monarchy, evidently as a counselor to the king, as was common in the ancient Near East (cf. 1Ki 2:19; 1Ki 15:13; 2Ki 10:13). Queen mothers assumed unusual prominence because of the widespread practice of polygamy among the kings.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)