Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 2:8
The priests said not, Where [is] the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.
8. The wickedness of the people is matched and encouraged by that of the chief men both in Church and State.
For the denunciation of priests and false prophets on the part of Jeremiah, cp. Hosea and Micah (see Intr. iii. 3, 5), Micaiah (in 1 Kings 22) and Isaiah (Isa 28:7). So later Ezekiel (Jer 13:1 ff.).
Three classes of persons are spoken of.
(1) (this class is subdivided into two) the priests. The duty of the tribe of Levi was not only to serve at the altar, but to handle the law; i.e. to direct its administration, whether in accordance with oral or written regulations. Cp. Jer 8:8 (with note), Jer 18:18; Eze 7:26; Mal 2:7; also Deu 17:1 ff; Deu 33:10.
(2) the rulers (mg. Heb. shepherds), meaning, as elsewhere in the Old Testament, kings or princes. Cp. Jer 3:15, Jer 10:21, Jer 23:1-4, Jer 25:34; 1Ki 22:17; Eze 34:2. So in Homer the kings are “shepherds of the people.”
(3) the prophets, whose duty it was to declare the will of God from time to time, and urge upon the people reformation and a religious life. Jeremiah felt most keenly the wickedness of both priest and prophet, since in his own person he represented both orders, and “by a singularly tragical fate he lived precisely at that age at which both of those great institutions seemed to have reached the utmost point of degradation and corruption” (Stanley, Jewish Church, 11. pp. 439, 440). “He who by each of his callings was naturally led to sympathise with both, was the doomed antagonist of both, victim of one of the strongest of human passions, the hatred of Priests against a Priest who attacks his own order, the hatred of Prophets against a Prophet who ventures to have a voice and a will of his own” ( ibid.).
said not, Where is the Lord?] i.e. they were indifferent to God’s will, and thought of nothing less than consulting Him.
transgressed ] better, rebelled.
by Baal ] lit. by the Baal. The singular is used collectively for false gods in general, and is equivalent to the plural, which occurs Jer 2:23, Jer 9:13. So Hosea uses the singular collectively in Jer 2:8, Jer 13:1; substituting the plural in Jer 2:13; Jer 2:17, Jer 11:2. The word is thus generic, denoting the local deities worshipped in various districts.
things that do not profit ] See on Jer 2:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The guilt of this idolatry is ascribed to the four ruling classes:
(a) The accusation brought against the priests is indifference.
(b) They that handle the law belonged also to the priestly class Deu 33:10. Their offence was that they knew not God. Compare Mic 3:11.
(c) The third class are the pastors or shepherds, that is the temporal rulers. Their crime is disobedience.
(d) The fourth class are the prophets. It was their business to press the moral and spiritual truths of the law home to the hearts of the people: but they drew their inspiration from Baal, the Sun-god. Upon the corruption of the prophetic order at this time, see the Jer 14:13 note.
Things that do not profit – Here idols, which are not merely unreal, but injurious. See 1Sa 12:21; Isa 44:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. They that handle the law] vethophe shey, they that draw out the law; they whose office it is to explain it, draw out its spiritual meanings, and show to what its testimonies refer.
The pastors also] Kings, political and civil rulers.
Prophesied by Baal] Became his prophets, and were inspired with the words of lying spirits.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They that handle the law knew me not: q.d. They that should have taught others knew as little as they, or regarded as little to know, Hos 4:6, who are said here to handle or teach the law, viz. the priests and Levites, who Were the ordinary teachers of the law; not that they did so, but that either they ought to do so, or pretended to do so. This was their office, Deu 33:10, and their practice, Neh 8:8. The phrase is a metaphor taken from warriors, that are said tractare bellum, to handle their arms.
The pastors; either teachers, as instructors; or kings and princes, as conductors. See 1Ki 22:17.
The prophets prophesied by Baal; they that should have taught the people the true worship of God were themselves worshippers of Baal, 1Ki 18:22. Or, instead of fetching their oracles from me, saying,
Thus saith the Lord, they would say, Thus saith Baal; or they did make use of lesser deities (for so doth Baal or Baalim signify) in conjunction with God, persuading themselves they could honour God together with them, as the calves, 1Ki 12:28.
Things that do not profit, viz. idols, a periphrasis, that were never able to do them any service, as Jer 2:5,11. See Poole “Isa 44:10“. Sure the state must be very bad, when priests, prophets, and people were thus corrupt.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. The three leading classes,whose very office under the theocracy was to lead the people to God,disowned Him in the same language as the nation at large, “Whereis the Lord?” (See Jer 2:6).
priestswhose office itwas to expound the law (Mal 2:6;Mal 2:7).
handleare occupiedwith the law as the subject of their profession.
pastorscivil, notreligious: princes (Jer 3:15),whose duty it was to tend their people.
prophetswho shouldhave reclaimed the people from their apostasy, encouraged them in itby pretended oracles from Baal, the Phoelignician false god.
by Baalin his name andby his authority (compare Jer11:21).
walked after things . . . notprofitanswering to, “walked after vanity,“that is, idols (Jer 2:5; compareJer 2:11; Hab 2:18).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The priests said not, where is the Lord?…. Whose business it was to draw nigh to God, and offer the sacrifices of the people, and inquire of God for them; whose lips should keep knowledge, and at whose mouth the law should be sought, they being the messengers of the Lord of hosts, Mal 2:7:
and they that handle the law knew me not; the sanhedrim, according to Jarchi; or the lawyers and scribes, the Rabbins and doctors of the law, whose business it was to read and explain it; these did not understand it, nor the mind of God in it; and much less did they know him in a spiritual and evangelical manner; or as he is in Christ, and revealed in the Gospel:
the pastors also transgressed against me; kings, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi interpret it, who were pastors or shepherds in a civil sense; whose business it was to feed the people as the shepherd does his flock; that is, to guide and govern them by wholesome laws, by the laws of God; but, instead of this, they rebelled against the Lord, and transgressed his commands:
and the prophets prophesied by Baal; in his name; pretending to be inspired by that idol, and to receive the spirit of prophecy from him:
and walked after things that do not profit; the gods of the Gentiles, which could not supply them with the least temporal blessing, and much less give them spiritual and eternal ones; see Jer 14:22. This is to be understood of false prophets, as Ben Melech.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
God assails here especially the teachers and those to whom was committed the power of ruling the people. It often happens that the common people fall away, while yet some integrity remains in the rulers. But God shews here that such was the falling away among the whole community, that priests as well as prophets and all the chief men had departed from the true worship of God, and from all uprightness.
Now, when Jeremiah thus rebukes the teachers and the priests and others, he does not excuse the common people, nor extenuate the crimes, which then prevailed everywhere, as we shall see from what follows. As many think that they set up a shield against God, when they pretend that they are not acquainted with so much learning as to distinguish between light and darkness, but that they are guided by their rulers, the Prophet, therefore, does not here cast the faults of the people upon their rulers, but, on the contrary, he amplifies the atrocity of their impiety, for they had, from the least to the greatest, rejected God and his Law. We now, then, understand the design of the Prophet. (33)
We may learn from this passage how unwise and foolish are they who think that they are in part excusable when they can say, that they have proceeded in their simplicity and have been drawn into error by the faults of others; for it appears evident that the whole community was in a hopeless state when God gave up the priests and rulers unto a reprobate mind; and there is no doubt but that the people had provoked God’s vengeance, when every order, civil as well as religious, was thus corrupt. God then visited the people with deserved punishment, when he blinded the priests, the prophets, and the rulers.
Hence Jeremiah now says, that the priests did not inquire where Jehovah was: and he adds, and they who keep the law, etc. The verb תפש t a ph e sh, means to keep, to lay hold on, and sometimes to cover; so that there may be here a twofold meaning, — that the priests kept the law, — or, that they had it shut up as it were under their keeping. It would not, however, be in harmony with the passage to suppose that the law was suppressed by them; for God, by way of concession, speaks here honorably of them, thought he thereby shews that they were the more wicked, as they had no care for their office. He says, then, that they were the keepers of his law, not that they really kept the law, as though a genuine zeal for it prevailed among them, but because they professed this. They indeed wished to be thought the keepers of the law, who possessed the hidden treasure of celestial truth; for they wished to be consulted as though they were the organs of God’s Spirit. Since, then, they boasted that they kept and preserved the law, the Prophet now more sharply rebukes them, because they knew not God himself. And Paul seems to have taken from this place what he says in the second chapter of the Epistle to the Romans,
“
Thou who hast the form of the law — thou who preachest against adultery, committest adultery, and thou who condemnest idols art thyself guilty of sacrilege; for thou keepest the law, restest in it, boastest in God, and with thee is understanding and knowledge.” (Rom 2:20.)
Paul in these words detects the wickedness of hypocrites; for the more detestable they were, as they were thus inflated with false glory; they profaned the name of God, while they pretended to be his heralds, and as it were his prophets. We now see that this second clause refers to the priests, and that they are called the keepers of the law, because they were so appointed, according to what we read in Malachi. (34)
He afterwards adds, The pastors have dealt treacherously with God We may apply this to the counselors of the king as well as to the governors of cities. The Prophet, I have no doubt, included all those who possessed authority to rule the people of God; for kings and their counselors, as well as prophets, are in common called pastors.
And he says, that the prophets prophesied by Baal The name of prophet is sacred; but Jeremiah in this place, as in other places, calls those prophets (contrary to the real fact) who were nothing but impostors; for God had taken from them all the light of divine truth. But as they were held still in esteem by the people, as though they were prophets, the Prophet concedes this title to them, derived from their office and vocation. We do the same in the present day; we call those bishops and prelates, and primates and fathers, who under the papacy boast that they possess the pastoral office, and yet we know that some of them are wolves, and some are dumb dogs. We concede to them these titles in which they take pride; and yet a twofold condemnation impends over their heads, as they thus impiously, and with sacrilegious audacity, claim for themselves sacred titles, and deprive God of the honor rightly due to him. So then Jeremiah, speaking of the prophets, does now point out those as impostors who at that time wickedly deceived the people.
He says that they prophesied by Baal: they ascribed more authority to idols than to the true God. The name of Baal, we know, was then commonly known. The prophets often call idols Baalim, in the plural number; but when Baal signifies a patron, when the prophets speak either of Baal in the singular number, or of Baalim in the plural, they mean the inferior gods, who had then been heaped together by the Jews, as though God was not content with his own power alone, but had need of associates and helpers, according to what is done at this day by those under the papacy, who confess that there is but one true God; and yet they ascribe nothing more to him than to their own idols which they invent for themselves at their pleasure. The same vice then prevailed among the Jews, and indeed among all heathen nations; for it was the plain and real confession of all, that there is but one supreme Being; and yet they had gods without number, and these all were called Baalim. When, therefore, the Prophet says here, that the teachers were ministers of Baal, he sets this name in opposition to the only true God, as though he had said that the truth was corrupted by them, because they passed over its limits, and did not acquiesce in the pure doctrine of the law, but mingled with it corruptions derived from all quarters, even from those many gods which heathen nations had invented for themselves.
Nor does the Prophet insist on a name; for it may have been that these false teachers pretended to profess the name of the eternal God, though falsely. But God is no sophist: there is then no reason for the Papists to think that they are at this day unlike these ancient impostors, because they profess the name of the only true God. It has always been so. Satan has not begun for the first time at this day to transform himself into an angel of light; but all his teachers in all ages have presented their poison, even all their errors and fallacies, in a golden cup. Though, then, these prophets boasted that they were sent from above, and confidently affirmed that they were the servants of the God of Abraham, it was yet all an empty profession; for they mingled with the truth those corruptions which they had derived from the ungodly errors of heathen nations.
It follows, And after those who do not profit have they gone (35) He again, by an implied comparison, exaggerates their sin, because they had despised him whom they had known, by so many evidences, to be their Father and the author of salvation, whose infinite power they had as it were felt by their own hands, and then they followed their own inventions, though there was nothing in all their idols which could have justly allured the people of Israel. Since, then, they followed vain and profitless deceptions, the more heinous and inexcusable was their sin. It afterwards follows —
(33) It appears that the Prophet has already condemned the people in the foregoing portion of this chapter. In Jer 1:18, we find the different classes thus arranged — kings and princes, priests, the people of the land. At the beginning of this chapter, he addresses the people-the whole community, and here he names the priests, and the pastors, i. e. , in the state, including kings and princes. Thus he reverses the order according to the common usage of Scripture: but to these are added here, prophets, because they were the spiritual pastors, as kings and princes were the civil. — Ed.
(34) Perhaps no better word can express the verb here used than that of our versions., “handle” —”they that handle the law,” that is explain and teach it. To “handle the harp,” is to play on it, Gen 4:21; to “handle war,” is to carry it on, Num 31:27; to “handle the oar,” is to ply with it, Eze 27:29; and to “handle the bow,” is either to use it, or to know how to use it, Amo 2:15. They who handled the law were evidently those who undertook to explain and teach it to others. To lay hold on, seems to be the primary meaning of the verb, and that either for a good or a bad purpose. “The Scribes,” observes Scott, “who undertook to expound the Scriptures, did not understand them.” — Ed.
(35) Some say that idols are referred to; and others, as Calvin think that the false gods are intended: the meaning is the same; only the context seems more favorable to the latter idea. The Septuagint have a neuter adjective, “After what is profitless- ἀνωφελοῦσ — have they gone.” The verb for profit is plural; and if we take לא only as a negative, both the antecedent and relative are omitted: but לא here, and in Jer 2:11, and in other places, is evidently a noun or a pronoun, signifying none or nothing: and like (lang. cy) neb , none, in Welsh, it is either singular or plural, according to the verb in connection with it. It precedes here a verb in the plural number, and in Jer 2:11, in the singular. The relative is often understood both in Hebrew and in Welsh before future verbs, and in both languages especially when the present time or act is intended. In the present instance, both languages may be considered to be literally the same. The Hebrew, word for word, may be thus rendered in Welsh:
(lang. cy) Arol neb a lesant y rhodiasant.
After none (who) profit have they walked.
That is, After none who can do them good have they gone. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) The priests said not . . .As throughout the work of Jeremiah and most of the prophets of the Old Testament, that which weighed most heavily on their souls was that those who were called to be guides of the people were themselves the chief agents in the evil. The salt had lost its savour. The light had become darkness. The rebuke, we must remember, came from the lips of one who was himself a priest.
The priests said not, Where is the Lord?The same failure to seek as that condemned in Jer. 2:6. To them, too, all was a routine. Jehovah was absent from their thoughts even in the very act of worship.
They that handle the law.These, probably, were also of the priestly order, to whom this function was assigned in Deu. 33:10. The order of non-priestly scribes, in the sense of interpreters of the law, does not appear till after the captivity. Their sin was that they dealt with the law as interpreters and judges, and forgot Jehovah who had given it.
The pastors.Better, shepherds, the English pastors having gained a too definitely religious connotation. The Hebrew word was general in its significance, but in its Old Testament use was applied chiefly to civil rulers, as in Psa. 78:71; 1Ki. 22:17. Even in Ezekiel 34, where the spiritual aspect of rule is most prominent, the contrast between the false shepherds and the one true shepherd of the house of David (Jer. 2:23) shows that the kingly, not the priestly, office was in the prophets mind.
The prophets prophesied by Baal.The precise form of the sin described was probably connected with the oracular power ascribed to Baal-zebub, as in 2Ki. 1:2. The evil was of long standing. It was one of the sins of the people in Isaiahs time that they were soothsayers like the Philistines (Isa. 2:6). When Ahab first introduced the Phnician worship, it was by the prophets rather than the priests of Baal that the new cultus was propagated (1Ki. 18:19; 1Ki. 22:6).
Things that do not profit.The word had acquired an almost proverbial force as applied to idols (1Sa. 12:21; Isa. 44:9). So the phrase is repeated in Jer. 2:11.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. This verse is doubly climacteric. Its subjects are
1 . Priests in general The priests.
2 . Teaching priests They that handle the law.
3 . Kings and princes Pastors.
4 . Inspired men Prophets. Its predicates are
1 . Indifference Said not, Where is the Lord?
2 . Ignorance Knew me not.
3 . Rebellion Transgressed against me.
4 . Sacrilege Prophesied by Baal.
Note, also, the adjustment of predicate to subject. The prophet charges the priests, whose office was to serve in holy things and thus to quicken the religious sensibilities of the people, with being themselves insensible. He charges those who should be teachers, with ignorance. He charges those selected to wield and exercise authority, with being themselves rebels. And finally, he charges those who profess to speak under the inspiration of God with going to the extreme of becoming prophets of Baal. Never was a more fearful indictment brought against the leaders of the people.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 2:8. The priests said not, Where is the Lord? The priests, or scribes, whose office it was to instruct others in their duty, were ignorant or regardless of it themselves; and this was the principal cause of that degeneracy of manners which prevailed among the people. By the pastors are meant the kings, princes, and chiefs of the nations; for the word roeh, pastor is used in the Prophets for a magistrate, as well as for an ecclesiastical governor; and hence it appears, that all orders and degrees of men in authority had contributed to that corruption of manners whereof Jeremiah complains. See Grotius and Calmet.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 2:8 The priests said not, Where [is] the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.
Ver. 8. The priests said not, a Where is the Lord?] Ignorant they were, and idle. They would not be at the pains of a serious inquisition after God and his will; though he be a “rewarder of all that diligently seek him.” Heb 11:6
And they that handled the law.
The pastors also transgressed against me.
And the prophets prophesied by Baal.
a Dixerunt, Ubi victimae, ubi nummi? triobolarium Deum faciunt subque hastam mittunt. – Oecol.
they that handle the law. The law therefore well known, and the priests known as the custodians of it. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 10:11. Deu 17:11; Deu 33:10).
pastors = shepherds. Used of kings and other leaders of the People. Compare Jer 17:16; Jer 23:1-8.
transgressed = revolted. Hebrew. pasha’. App-44.
do not profit. Figure of speech Tapeinosis, for emphasis = lead to ruin.
priests: Jer 2:6, Jer 5:31, Jer 8:10, Jer 8:11, Jer 23:9-15, 1Sa 2:12, Isa 28:7, Isa 29:10, Isa 56:9-12, Hos 4:6
and they that: Jer 8:8, Jer 8:9, Deu 33:10, Mal 2:6-9, Luk 11:52, Joh 8:55, Joh 16:3, Rom 2:17-24, 2Co 4:2
the pastors: Jer 10:21, Jer 12:10, Jer 23:1, Jer 23:2
prophets: Jer 23:13, 1Ki 18:29, 1Ki 18:22, 1Ki 18:40
do not: Jer 2:11, Jer 7:8, 1Sa 12:21, Isa 30:5, Hab 2:18, Mat 16:26
Reciprocal: Lev 10:11 – General Deu 18:20 – in the name Job 33:27 – it profited Psa 119:99 – than all Ecc 5:16 – what Jer 6:13 – and Jer 14:18 – go about Jer 16:11 – Because Jer 22:22 – thy pastors Lam 2:14 – prophets Eze 22:26 – priests Eze 34:2 – the shepherds Mal 2:11 – profaned 2Ti 2:14 – to no
Jer 2:8. One person cannot perform the duties of another in tlic service of the Lord, yet the degree of responsibility is not always the same with different men. God always charged the leading men in the nation more severely than he did the common people. Hence this verse names several classes of persona who were chiefly guilty in the coldness against the Lord. The priests were the ones who had charge of the altars and the services pertaining thereto. They that handle means they who wield or execute or teach the law. Pastors Is from BAAH and Strong’s definition is, “a primitive root; to tend a flock, i.e. pasture It; intransitively to graze (literally or figuratively); generally to rule. The original has been rendered by various words in the Old Testament, but the book of Jeremiah is the only one that has pastor. The term refers to the men in the Jewish nation whose special work was to give instruction to the people. The prophets were of two classes as regards their work. One class may he designated “writing prophets, among whom were Isaiah and Jeremiah and others. However, these men were not restricted to writing, but God used them also to make oral predictions to the people. They also served to admonish and chastise the men and women of the nation for their many sins. The other class of prophets did all of their work orally and among such were Elijah and Elisha and others whose names and work appear along In the Bible. All of the men mentioned above bad become indifferent toward the true God, but these prophets had not stopped at their coldness. They were prophesying by Baal which means they did their work in the name of this heathen god and pretended to believe that he would bring their predictions to pass.
2:8 The priests said not, {i} Where [is] the LORD? and they that handle the {k} law knew me not: the {l} rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by {m} Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.
(i) They did not teach the people to seek after God.
(k) As the scribes, who would have expounded the law to the people.
(l) Meaning, the princes and ministers: signifying, that all estates were corrupt.
(m) That is, spoke vain things, and brought the people from the true worship of God to serve idols: for by Baal, which was the chief idol of the Moabites, are meant all idols.
The leaders of the people were no better than the ordinary Israelites. The priests, rulers, and (false) prophets all failed to direct the people to Yahweh and, instead, led them away from Him into unprofitable pursuits. One writer suggested that another wordplay with the name Baal may be lo’ yo’ilu, translated "things that did not profit." [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., pp. 56-57.] A similar phrase, belo yo’il, occurs at the end of Jer 2:11 and is translated "that which does not profit."
The priests should have encouraged the people to be faithful to the covenant and should have kept the sacrificial system pure. The governmental rulers (lit. shepherds) should have directed the people to the Lord rather than away from Him. And many professing prophets, instead of bringing messages from the Lord, brought alleged directions from Baal and followed vain pursuits.
"The reference to Baal here and elsewhere in the prophecy is to idols in general." [Note: Feinberg, p. 389.]
"Surely this has something to do with the message we must speak to our post-Christian world. We must treat men with love, we must treat them and talk to them humanly. But we must not tone down our message: the religious leaders of our day too are leading people astray." [Note: Schaeffer, p. 53.]
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)