Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 22:19
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
19. buried with the burial of an ass ] i.e. as the succeeding words explain, cast forth dishonoured.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The burial of an ass – i. e., he shall merely be dragged out of the way, and left to decay unheeded. Nothing is known of the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. With the burial of an ass] Cast out, and left unburied, or buried without any funeral solemnities, and without such lamentations as the above.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass; that is, he shall not be buried at all, or he shall be buried in an indecent and contemptible manner, none attending him to his grave, none mourning for him. The last words of this verse incline some to think that Jehoiakim was buried near to Jerusalem; but the Scripture, which mentioneth his being carried into Babylon, saith nothing of his being brought back; nor is that very probable which some say, that the king of Babylon thought to have carried him to Babylon, but upon second thoughts altered his purposes, and caused him to be slain at Jerusalem, and his body to be ignominiously dragged out of the gates. The Scripture saith expressly he was carried to Babylon, 2Ki 24:15; and if he died there, yet this text remaineth true, the scope of which seemeth to be to show the vanity of this prince in his great and stately buildings, which he was not like long to enjoy, nor to be buried nigh to them, nor in any degree of honour proportionate to the splendour of them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. burial of an assthat is,he shall have the same burial as an ass would get, namely, he shallbe left a prey for beasts and birds [JEROME].This is not formally narrated. But 2Ch36:6 states that “Nebuchadnezzar bound him in fetters tocarry him to Babylon”; his treatment there is nowhere mentioned.The prophecy here, and in Jer36:30, harmonizes these two facts. He was slain byNebuchadnezzar, who changed his purpose of taking him to Babylon, onthe way thither, and left him unburied outside Jerusalem. 2Ki24:6, “Jehoiakim slept with his fathers,” does notcontradict this; it simply expresses his being gathered to hisfathers by death, not his being buried with his fathers(Ps 49:19). The two phrasesare found together, as expressing two distinct ideas (2Ki 15:38;2Ki 16:20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass,…. Have no burial at all, or no other than what any brute creature has; which, when it dies, is cast into a ditch, and becomes the food of dogs, and the fowls of the air. The “ass” is mentioned, as being a sordid stupid creature; and such an one was this king;
drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem; as the carcass of a beast is dragged about by dogs; or as a malefactor, when executed, is dragged and cast into a ditch: this perhaps was done by the Chaldeans, who, when he was slain, dragged him along, and cast him beyond the gates of Jerusalem. So Josephus w says, that when Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem, he slew the most robust and beautiful with Jehoiakim their king, and ordered him to be cast without the walls unburied; and so, though he is said to “sleep with his fathers”, yet not to be buried with them, 2Ki 24:6. Kimchi says that he died without Jerusalem, as they were carrying him into captivity a second time; and the Chaldeans would not suffer him to be buried. Jerom reports, from the Hebrew history, that he was killed by the robbers and thieves of the Chaldeans, Syrians, Ammonites, and Moabites. Some think, that as he was bound in chains, in order to be carried to Babylon, that he was had there, and there died, and after his death used in this ignominious manner: and the words will bear to be rendered, “cast forth far beyond the gates of Jerusalem” x; even as far as Babylon; see 2Ch 36:6.
w Antiqu. l. 10. c. 6. sect. 3. x “et projiciendo procul ultra portas Hierosolymae”, Schmidt. So Grotius and Gataker.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Hence, the Prophet says now, He shall be buried with the burial of an ass He mentions the ass because it is a mean animal; he might have named a horse or an ox, but as the ass is a meaner and more contemptible animal, it is the same thing as though he had said, “Jehoiakim shall be cast away with the dogs.” This prophecy no doubt grievously wounded not only the mind of the king himself, but also that of the whole people; for as yet his throne stood, and all highly regarded the family of David, and thought the kingdom sacred, as it was under the guardianship and protection of God. But the Prophet hesitated not to denounce what was afterwards confirmed by the event; for Jehoiakim was buried with the burial of an ass, as he was cast forth far beyond the gates of Jerusalem. Here the Prophet amplifies the disgrace by which the King Jehoiakim would be branded, for he might have been left dead in a journey; but he expresses what is more grievous than the casting forth; Drawn out, he says, and cast forth, etc.; that is, Jehoiakim shall not only be cast forth, but also drawn as an ass or a dog, lest his foetor should infect the city; as though he was unworthy not only of a grave, but also of being seen by men. (58)
And this is to be especially noticed, for we hence conclude how great his perverseness was in despising the threatenings of God, since the Prophet could not otherwise storm the mind of the king, and terrify the people, than by exaggerating the indignity that was to happen to him. For if there had been any teachable spirit in the king and the people, the Prophet would have been content with making a simple statement, “Jehoiakim shall not be buried;” that is, God will punish him even when dead; the curse of God will not only be upon him while living, but he will also take vengeance on him after his death. He was not content with this kind of statement; but he shall be buried, he says, as an ass, and shall be cast far off; and further still, his carcass shall be drawn or dragged; so that it was to be an eternal mark of infamy and disgrace.
(58) The verb, or rather participle, rendered “drawn,” means to be dragged along, and not carried. See 2Sa 17:13. He was to be dragged out of the city and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. It is said in 2Ch 36:6, that Nebuchadnezzar “bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.” The probability is (for we have no express account) that he died while in fetters at Jerusalem, before he was removed, and that Nebuchadnezzar, from indignation at his rebellion, had him dragged as a dead ass out of the city and exposed as food for rapacious birds and beasts. We find it said in 2Kg 24:6, that “Jehoiakim slept with his fathers;” but this only means that he died, or that he died a natural death and was not killed; for we find this phrase used, when burial is afterwards mentioned. See 2Ch 12:16. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) He shall be buried with the burial of an ass.The same prediction appears in another form in Jer. 36:30. The body of the king was to be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. We have no direct record of its fulfilment, but its reproduction shows that the prophets word had not failed. The king was dragged in chains with the other captives, who were being carried off to Babylon (2Ch. 36:6), and probably died on the journey, his corpse left behind unburied as the army marched. The phrase he slept with his fathers in 2Ki. 24:6 cannot be pressed as meaning more than the mere fact of death. So Ahab, who died in battle, slept with his fathers (1Ki. 22:40).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 22:19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Ver. 19. He shall be buried with the burial of an ass. ] His corpse shall be cast out, like carrion, into some bycorner. A just hand of God upon this wicked one, that he who had made so many to weep, should have none to weep over him; he who had such a stately house in Jerusalem, should not have a grave to house his carcase in: sed insepulta sepultura elatus, a as Cicero phraseth it; but without the ordinary honour of burial, should be cast out, or thrown into a ditch or a dunghill, to be devoured by the beasts of the earth and fowls of heaven. Our Richard II, for his exactions to maintain a great court and favourites, lost his kingdom, was starved to death at Pomfret Castle, and scarcely afforded common burial. King Stephen was interred in Faversham monastery; but since, his body, for the value of the lead wherein it was coffined, was cast into river. Let great ones so live, as that they meet not in the end with the death of a dog, the burial of an ass, and the epitaph of an ox; such as Aristotle calleth that of Sardanapalus –
“ , E , ”& c.
Or that of Pope Alexander VI and his Lucrece –
“ Hospes abi: iacet hic et scelus et vitium. ”
a Philippic i.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
buried with the burial of an ass. Note the Figure of speech Oxymoron, which gives the meaning that he was not buried at all (for asses have no funerals). Jehoiakim is the only king of Judah whose burial is not recorded. See note on 2Ki 24:6.
drawn, &c.: i.e. the ass, not Jehoiakim (Jer 22:26).
cast forth. Compare Isa 26:19.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 15:3, Jer 36:6, Jer 36:30, 1Ki 14:10, 1Ki 21:23, 1Ki 21:24, 2Ki 9:35, 2Ch 36:6
Reciprocal: 2Sa 18:17 – laid 1Ki 11:43 – buried 1Ki 13:22 – carcase 1Ki 16:3 – will make thy house 2Ki 9:10 – the dogs 2Ki 9:37 – the carcase 2Ki 21:18 – and was buried 2Ki 24:6 – slept Neh 9:32 – on our kings Ecc 6:3 – and also Isa 14:19 – thou Isa 34:3 – slain Jer 7:33 – General Jer 8:2 – they shall be Jer 16:4 – neither Jer 16:6 – they Jer 19:7 – and their Jer 26:23 – and cast Eze 16:5 – but thou Eze 19:1 – the princes Eze 19:9 – and brought Eze 19:12 – strong Eze 32:20 – draw Eze 39:5 – open field Act 14:19 – drew
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 22:19. Honorable burial has always been regarded as an indication of the respect with which a person had been held, therefore the lack of it would indicate the opposite. Jehoiakim was to have his body dragged out of the city and buried with no more respect than would have been given to a dumb beast.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
22:19 He shall be {m} buried with the burial of a donkey, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
(m) Not honourably among his fathers, but as carrion are cast in a hole, because their stink should not infect, read 1Ki 14:10 . Josephus writes that the enemy slew him in the city and commanded him to be cast before the walls unburied, see Jer 36:30 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Rather, the people would treat his corpse with great disrespect. They would give him a burial similar to that of a donkey (or Jezebel), which people dragged outside the city gate and left to rot (cf. Jer 36:30; 1Ki 21:23-24). Josephus wrote that Nebuchadnezzar had his body thrown before the walls without any burial (cf. 2Ki 24:6). [Note: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 10:6:3.]
Of some people the Bible says nothing bad, but of Jehoiakim it says nothing good. [Note: Goddard, p. 100.]