Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 39:10
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
10. of the people ] Probably we should read, as in Jer 52:15 mg., of the artificers.
gave them fields ] but See on Jer 52:16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 10. Left of the poor of the people] The very refuse of the inhabitants, who were not worthy of being carried away; and among them he divided the fields and vineyards of those whom he took away.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This is usual with conquerors, for whose profit it is not that the countries conquered by them should lie waste, like wildernesses, but be peopled, and manured, that they may render some tribute to them: withal the justice of God is often seen in this, thus restoring to them ofttimes with advantage, by the hands of enemies that prove conquerors, those estates which in corrupt times their proper magistrates by violence and oppression took from them, or at least more than compensating their losses by acts of violence and injustice.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. left . . . the poor . . . whichhad nothingThe poor have least to lose; one of theprovidential compensations of their lot. They who before had beenstripped of their possessions by the wealthier Jews obtain, not onlytheir own, but those of others.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah,…. Because they would have been of no service to the Chaldeans, but a burden to them; and because they had nothing to fear from them; they had no arms to rebel against them, nor money to purchase any; and because it would be to their interest to have the land manured, and not lie waste, that they might have some tribute from it:
and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time; as their own property to dress and cultivate, and receive the advantage of them; though very probably a tax was laid upon them; or they were to pay tribute to the king of Babylon; or, however, contribute out of them to the support of the government that was placed over them; and this was a happy incident in their favour; here was a strange change of circumstances with them; though the nation in general was in distress, they, who before had nothing, are now proprietors of vineyards and fields, when the former owners were carried captive: there might be much of the justice of God conspicuous in this affair; such who had been oppressed and ill used by the rich are now retaliated with their possessions. The Targum is,
“and he appointed them to work in the fields and in the vineyards in that day.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He now adds, that some were left to inhabit the land, even the poor and those who had nothing He says that these were made, as it were, the lords of the land when the Chal-deans returned into their own country. We here see that poverty is often an advantage, for the nobles, as we have seen, were killed, and many also of the middle class were killed in the siege of the city, and some of them were treated a little more humanely. Still the exiles were miserable, and driven to a distant land without any hope of return. The land was now left to the poor alone; and those who possessed not’ a foot of ground before, lived now very comfortably; for they were not so large a number, but that each of them had some extent of land, as we shall hereafter see. While then these miserable men, who before lived very scantily, and perhaps begged their bread, while these remained secure in the land of Judah, the possessors of the land were torn away and driven into exile; and as Nebuzaradan had assigned to each of them vineyards and fields, it hence appears how much better it was for them to have suffered hunger for a time, to have been in an ignoble condition, and to have been trodden as it were under foot by others, than to have lived in pomp and splendor. Thus often God shews his care for us, when he suffers us not to rise high, but keeps us in an obscure and humble condition; and the issue at length proves that he thus had a regard for our salvation.
At the same time there is here set before our eyes a woeful change. The king is led bound in chains, and is also blind; and all the rest having left their own, are driven into exile; and, on the other hand, the poor alone, and needy men who had nothing, dwell at large, as it were, in their own possessions. As, then, they had their quiet habitations and large fields, and enjoyed a land so fertile and rich, there is no doubt but that Nebuzaradan meant thus to rouse the envy of the exiles; for they saw that needy and worthless men dwelt in that land from which they had been banished. Hence their indignation was increased when they saw that they were more severely and cruelly treated than those lowest of men. It follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
I read this verse by itself, to remark distinguishing mercies. The poor also in a spiritual sense, who have nothing, find all things in Jesus!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 39:10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
Ver. 10. See on 2Ki 25:11-12 . Sic vides miras rerum vices. See what a wonderful turn of things was here on the sudden, and how that of Seneca was here made good, Una dies interest inter magnam civitatem et nullam, There is but a day’s difference sometimes between a great city and no city. Josephus and some others say that the Rechabites, as men peaceable, and given much to contemplation, were also left in the land. This destruction of Jerusalem was, saith Oecolampadius, a kind of type of the general judgment. For like as in Jerusalem the wicked perished, but the poor and peaceable were not only spared, but enriched, so shall it be at that day.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
poor. Hebrew. dal. See note on “poverty”, Pro 6:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
left of: Jer 40:7, 2Ki 25:12, Eze 33:24
at the same time: Heb. in that day
Reciprocal: 2Ki 24:14 – the poorest sort Pro 13:8 – the poor Isa 7:21 – a man Jer 39:9 – captain of the guard Jer 40:10 – gather Jer 43:6 – every Jer 52:16 – certain Jer 52:27 – Thus Eze 5:3 – a few
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
SOME SHALL BE TAKEN AND OTHERS LEFT
Nebuzar=adan left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
Jer 39:10
I. It is an ill wind that blows nobody good, and the sack of Jerusalem strangely blessed the poor.Perhaps in the bosom of every judgment of heaven there lies an unexpected joy for somebody. The very poor were not carried off to Babylon. Here, at any rate, blessed were the poor. They received gifts of fields and grants of vineyards from Nebuchadrezzars captain who had been left in charge. Note, too, that Jeremiah was not made prisoner. Our chapter dwells in some detail on that. The Chaldeans had learned the burden of his prophecy, and they regarded the prophet as their friend. Word came to the city that he should be set at liberty. He was committed to the charge of a staunch and godly home. Perhaps Nebuchadrezzar thought the prophet would exult in the fulfilment of the doom that he had heralded. But it is one thing to be a messenger of sorrow and another to rejoice when sorrow comes. A prophet may be constrained of heaven to speak, yet suffer an agony when the speech proves true. It is never the man whose lips have been touched by God who can find pleasure in saying, I told you so. So Jeremiah was not exultant now. His heart was desolate in a desolate city. He is pictured as sitting in the forsaken streets, or in the cave near the Damascus gate that still bears his name. It is now, if ever, that we find him in the attitude of hopeless sorrow, that is attributed to him by Michael Angelo.
II. Note the second lesson from the sad story. Good intentions are not enough to save us.If ever there was a man of good intentions, I think that King Zedekiah was that man. He was not a monarch who sinned with a high hand; his heart was in the right place, as we say. He meant well, when he resisted Babylonia. He meant well, when he rescued Jeremiah. Yet for all his well-meaning, here is his enddarkness and worse than death in Chaldea. We may have the best intentions, and still be castaways. Our hearts may respond to what is bright and good, and life may be a failure after all. From Zedekiah we should learn that courage is needed, and trust in God in the teeth of all appearance, if our path is to move into the perfect day.
III. Our weakness is certain to make others suffer.I am sure that Zedekiah was proud of his bodyguard. It was a very gallant and devoted band. And he loved his sons. He would have fought to the death for them very gladly. He never wished them illbut he was weak, and that cost them all their lives. And is not that the worst of weakness always? It involves in suffering our dearest and our best. For none of us can be untrue to God, nor can we halt or hesitate in our obedience, nor can we hearken to the baser voices, nor play the coward when the trumpet calls, but life will be made harder for our friend, and shadows will fall on lives we dearly love, and others will suffer because we are weak.
IV. We are doing Gods will when we little dream of it.Do you think that when the Chaldeans took the city, they knew that Jehovah had foretold that doom? Do you think that they set themselves to work that judgment, because they felt it was the will of God? Chaldea had its own hopes and ends and purposes of vengeance; but behind all, we trace the Sovereign Will. Let us try to realise that in our lives. God is behind us when we dream not of it. We plan and toil, we prosper and we fail, but underneath are the everlasting arms. The Sovereign Will is working to its goal.
Illustration
Notice the beneficial purposes served by the seventy years of captivity in Babylon.
(i.) The tribes which had hitherto been divided under the rival kings of Israel and Judah lost sight of this mischievous distinction. When they returned, it was as a united people once more.
(ii.) By being scattered over the eastern empire, the Jews carried to far-off places the knowledge of the true God. The Books of Daniel and Esther, for example, show us that good missionary work was done by these exiles. There is that scattereth and yet increaseth. So the truth was spread at the beginnings of Christianity (Act 8:1).
(iii.) This destruction of Jerusalem, and the consequent breaking up of the privileged classes, went far to renew the blood of Israel. The old families were separated, and marriages became possible which would otherwise never have been thought of.
(iv.) Better than all, idolatry received its death blow. Never again did the people return to it. A severe remedy was the fall of the city, the banishment of the people, the shattering for a time of national life. But all was justified if only idolatry was stopped. The first commandment now, as always, is, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Jer 39:10, We are not told why the captain of the guard extended this favor to the poor, but we do know that certain persona! favors were given to members of the Jewish nation. For instance, we shall learn that Jeremiah did not have to go to Babylon after the fall of the city. These poor of the nation had been the victims of the greedy leaders (Isa 3:15; Isa 10:2; Isa 58:3), and it was just for them now to have some enjoyment in the use of the lands that had been wrongfully taken from them.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
39:10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the {d} poor of the people, who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
(d) For the rich and the mighty who put their trust in their shifts and means, were by God’s just judgments most rigorously handled.