Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’s house, in the ears of all the people.
10. Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe ] Shaphan was himself scribe in the days of Josiah (2Ki 22:3). If this Shaphan be the one mentioned in Jer 26:24, Gemariah was brother of Ahikam, who was friendly to Jeremiah. He is, of course, distinct from the Gemariah mentioned Jer 29:3.
upper court ] the same as the “inner court” of 1Ki 6:36; 1Ki 7:12. See on Jer 20:2.
new gate ] See on Jer 26:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gemariah seems to have inherited his fathers office of public scribe or secretary of state (see 2Ki 22:3). As brother of Ahikam, he would be favorable to Jeremiah.
The higher court – The inner court; into which it was not lawful for the people to enter, but the chamber probably itself formed one of its sides, and could be approached from the outer court.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. In the chamber of Gemariah] He was one of the princes of Judah. See Jer 36:12.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This verse only attesteth Baruchs obedience to the command of the prophet Jeremiah, not only as to the thing. his reading it in the temple, but as to the circumstance, in as public a manner as he could,
in the chamber of Gemariah, & c., most likely out of some window, or in some balcony, the people being below, and hearing it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. chamberBaruch read fromthe window or balcony of the chamber looking into the court where thepeople were assembled. However, some of the chambers were largeenough to contain a considerable number (Ne13:5).
Gemariahdistinct fromthe Gemariah, son of Hilkiah, in Jer29:3.
Shaphanthe same personas in 2Ki 22:3.
scribesecretary ofstate, or he who presided over the public records.
higher courtthat ofthe priests, the court of the people being lower (2Ch4:9).
new gate (Jer26:10). The east gate.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord,…. The prophecies of Jeremiah he had taken from him in writing on a roll of parchment; these he read in the temple, in a part of it, after described:
in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe; not a scribe of the law, or an officer of the temple, but the king’s chancellor or secretary of state; for this is the title, not of Gemariah, who had a chamber in the temple here mentioned, in which Baruch read his roll, and was an officer there, but of Shaphan, as the accents show, and as his title runs elsewhere, 2Ki 22:9; which chamber was
in the higher court; it looked into it, which some say was the court of the priests; but into that Baruch, not being a priest, could not enter: rather, according to Dr. Lightfoot, it was the court of Israel, on the same ground with it, though parted from it, and divided from the court of the women by a wall, to which they went by an ascent of fifteen steps; so that it might with great propriety be called the higher court:
at the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house; the eastern gate, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret it: here Baruch read his roll,
in the ears of all the people; that were in the court; so that being in a chamber, he must read out of the chamber window, or in a balcony before it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He says that the roll was then read in the Temple, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan the scribe The chambers, as we have before said, were annexed to the court of the priests; for the Levites were the guardians of the Temple; and every priest also, while performing his duty, remained in the Temple. As to Shaphan, he is called a scribe, not the king’s chancellor, who is afterwards called by the same name; for I regard him as being an actuary. For they called the scribes ספרים, sepharim; but sometimes by this name are meant the interpreters of the Law, and sometimes the actuaries, whose office it was to collect the prophecies, or who were engaged in collecting public acts. Then Gemariah, the son of Shaphan the scribe, had his chamber in the Temple; and he says, in the higher court Hence we conclude, according to what I have already said, that these chambers were parts of the court. And he adds, In the entrance of the new gate of the Temple Some think that this was the eastern gate, and that the greatest concourse of people was usually there. We hence see that Baruch boldly performed his duty in reading the roll, though the reading of it must have greatly exasperated the minds of the whole people. It follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) In the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan.The man thus named belonged to a family which, through three successive generations, presented conspicuous examples of devout patriotism. His father Shaphan was energetic in the work of re-building the Temple under Josiah (2Ki. 22:3), in conjunction with the high priest Hilkiah, and had taken an active part in publishing the contents of the newly-discovered book of the Law of the Lord (2Ki. 23:12). As a scribe, he must have taken part in the kings edicts for the restoration of the true worship, and probably also in ordering copies of the new-found treasurethe whole Law, or, more probably, the book of Deuteronomyto be made by the scribes who worked under him. We have seen one of his sons, Ahikam, protecting the prophet Jeremiah in Jer. 26:24. Here Gemariah places his chamber in the Temple court at the service of the prophets delegate. The new gate may well have been a prominent part of the wor!r effected by Shaphan and Hilkiah (2Ki. 22:5-6), and this may have led to a chamber over it being assigned to his son. (See Note on Jer. 35:4.) The people addressed may have been either in the outer court of the Temple, or gathered outside the gate. A chamber over the gateway would naturally have an opening on either side. The general use of the word for entry is in favour of the latter hypothesis.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. In the chamber of Gemariah Probably from the window or balcony.
Higher court That of the priests; the court of the people being lower. “The chamber,” then, would seem to be between the two courts.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 36:10. Scribe Chancellor or secretary.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 36:10 Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house, in the ears of all the people.
Ver. 10. Then Baruch read in the book. ] He read with a courage, verbis non solum disertis sed et exertis, out of a chamber window, that the people under him might the better hear.
In the chamber of Gemariah.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gemariah. He was brother of Ahikam (Jer 26:24), and not the Gemariah of Jer 29:3, who was Hilkiah’s son.
Shaphan. See note on 2Ki 22:3.
the scribe: i.e. Shaphan (not Gemariah), who was the scribe in Josiah’s days. See 2Ki 22:3, 2Ki 22:8, 2Ki 22:9, 2Ki 22:10, 2Ki 22:12. At the time of this history Elishama was the scribe (unless there were more than one). See verses: Jer 36:12, Jer 36:20, Jer 36:21.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Then: Jer 36:6, Jer 36:8
in the chamber: Jer 35:4
Gemariah: Jer 36:11, Jer 36:25
Shaphan: Jer 36:11, Jer 26:24, Jer 29:3
the scribe: Jer 52:25, 2Sa 8:17, 2Sa 20:25, 2Ki 18:37
entry: or, door, Jer 26:10, 2Ki 15:35
Reciprocal: 2Ki 22:9 – Shaphan 2Ch 34:8 – sent Shaphan Jer 7:2 – Stand Jer 17:19 – General Jer 36:12 – Gemariah Jer 43:3 – Baruch Eze 8:11 – Shaphan Eze 40:29 – the little Act 5:20 – stand
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 36:10. The places named here were parts of the house of God where the people could assemble to hear the reading of the book. Baruch read in such a manner that all the people could hear.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
36:10 Then Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entrance of the {h} new gate of the LORD’S house, in the ears of all the people.
(h) Which is the East gate of the temple.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
On this occasion also, Baruch read Jeremiah’s scroll to all the people present. He stood in the room of Gemariah ben Shaphan the scribe (state secretary), in the upper or outer temple courtyard near the New Gate of the temple (cf. Jer 20:2; Jer 26:10; 2Ki 15:35). [Note: See the diagram of Solomon’s Temple near my comments on 20:2.] This location would have made it easy for the people there to hear him. It also suggests that Gemariah was sympathetic to Jeremiah (cf. Jer 26:24). When the priests discovered the scroll of the law in the temple during Josiah’s reign, it was Shaphan, Gemariah’s father, who had read it to the people (cf. 2Ki 22:3 to 2Ki 23:3). [Note: See the diagram with information about Shaphan’s sons near my comments on 26:24.]