Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 7:30
For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
30. they have set their abominations ] as Manasseh had done (2Ki 21:5; 2Ki 21:7).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The children of Judah; either Judahs posterity, Jos 14:6, or Judahs inhabitants, which are often called their children; so Jer 2:16. In my sight, i.e. though they will not see it, yet I see it, and they shall know that it is in my sight, i.e. that it displeaseth me.
They have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name: here he instanceth in one species of their abominations for all the rest, whereby it appears they were grown to a great height of impiety. It was not enough to have their idols and superstitions abroad in the hills and groves, nor in private in their own houses, Isa 57:6-8; Jer 19:13; but they must bring them into Gods house, as Manasseh did, 2Ki 21:4; God having but one house in the world, as it were, to confront him, 2Ch 36:14; Jer 32:31; Eze 43:8.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
30. set their abominations in thehouse (Jer 32:34; 2Ki 21:4;2Ki 21:7; 2Ki 23:4;Eze 8:5-14).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord,…. Meaning not a single action only, but a series, a course of evil actions; and those openly, in a daring manner, not only before men, but in the sight of God, and in contempt of him, like the men of Sodom, Ge 13:13:
they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it; that is, set their idols in the temple; here Manasseh set up a graven image of the grove, 2Ki 21:7 which was done, as if it was done on purpose to defile it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Lest the Jews should murmur and complain that God was too rigorous, the Prophet adds, that they were not given up to destruction without the justest reasons. How so? They had done evil To do evil here means, that they had not offended in one thing, but had given themselves up to wickedness and evil doings. It is the same as though he had said, that they were so corrupt that they were wholly inured to the doing of evil, and had by long use contracted evil habits; for they continually provoked God. But as they flattered themselves, the Prophet reminds them here of God’s judgment: “It is enough, “he says, “that the Judge condemns you; for if ye see not your wickedness nor acknowledge your sin, yet this will not avail you; for God declares that you are guilty in his sight.”
We see that there is an implied contrast between the sight of God and the delusions by which hypocrites soothed themselves, while they made evasions or perversely excused their sins, or sought to escape by circuitous windings. God then shews that his own sight, or knowledge, is sufficient, how blind soever man may be, and however the whole world may connive at their sins.
He adds one kind of sin, that they had set up their abominations (212) in the Temple. This refers to superstitions. But as we have seen elsewhere, and shall often have to observe, the Prophets frequently reproved sins by mentioning only one sin for the whole. Then what was especially wicked in the people he states, and that was, that the Temple was polluted with superstitions. We have already said, that it was an intolerable sacrilege to pollute the Temple with abominations, which was then the only true Temple in the world: for it was God’s will that sacrifices should be offered to him in that one place; and he had carefully described everything necessary for a right worship. When, therefore, the Jews polluted that very Temple, how abominable was such a profanation? It was not then without reason that the Prophet brings forward what was especially wicked in the people, — that God’s house was polluted with superstitious and many spurious ceremonies, and that there his whole worship was vitiated. The rest to-morrow.
(212) The word means what is unclean and filthy, “their filthy things.” They were the idols which were introduced into the Temple. They did this evil “before his eyes,“ or in his presence, as the Temple was his habitation. They brought idols as it were into his very presence, and thereby literally violated the first commandment, which expressly forbad them to have other gods before him or in his presence. By what means did they evade this explicit command? In the same way as the Church of Rome justifies idolatry, — that idols are helps to devotion: but God regards them as abominations. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(30) In the house which is called by my name.This had been done by Ahaz (2Ch. 28:2), and after the Temple had been cleansed by Hezekiah (2Ch. 29:5) had been repeated by Manasseh (2Ki. 21:4-7; 2Ch. 33:3-7). Josiahs reformation again checked the tendency to idolatry (2Ki. 23:4; 2Ch. 34:3); but it is quite possible that the pendulum swung back again when his death left the idolatrous party in Judah free to act, and that this special aggravation of the evil, the desecration of the Temple of Jehovah by abominations of idol-worship, re-appeared together with the worship of the Queen of Heaven and the sacrifices to Molech.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
30. Have set their abominations in the house called by my name Probably alluding to the profanation of the temple by Manasseh. 2Ki 21:5; 2Ki 21:7.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 7:30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
Ver. 30. They have set their abominations in the house. ] So do those now that broach heresies in the Church.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
in the house. Note the enormity of the evil.
which is called by My name = whereon My name was called.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
they: Jer 23:11, Jer 32:34, 2Ki 21:4, 2Ki 21:7, 2Ki 23:4-6, 2Ki 23:12, 2Ch 33:4, 2Ch 33:5, 2Ch 33:7, 2Ch 33:15, Eze 7:20, Eze 8:5-17, Eze 43:7, Eze 43:8, Dan 9:27
Reciprocal: Jer 7:10 – which is called Eze 8:3 – the image Eze 8:6 – even
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 7:30. Sometimes Judah and at others Jerusalem is named in the passages, and that is because the latter was the capital of the former. In the phrase, children of Judah, the last word means the kingdom and the first is the citizens. They not only committed idolatry but introduced its tokens into the temple that had been honored by being called by the name of the Lord.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 7:30-31. They have set up their abominations, &c. They have set up images and altars for idolatrous worship even in my temple, and the courts near it. This seems to be spoken of what was done in the times of Manasseh, or Amon, 2Ki 21:4; 2Ki 21:7; 2Ch 33:4. And they have built the high places of Tophet To burn their sons and their daughters in the fire. Concerning this unnatural and cruel custom of burning their children, by way of sacrifice to Moloch, which was derived from the Canaanites, see notes on Lev 18:21; 2Ki 23:10; Isa 30:33. Which I commanded them not But, on the contrary, expressed the greatest detestation of it, and forbade it under the severest penalties: see Lev 20:1-5. The words are spoken by the figure called meiosis, by which a great deal less is expressed than is implied; a way of speaking frequent in Scripture. Thus, Deu 17:3, God, speaking of the worship of the host of heaven, adds, Which I have not commanded, meaning, which I expressly forbade. So God, reproving the idolatry of the Jews, says, Isa 65:12, They choose things wherein I delighted not, that is, which I utterly abhorred. And Jeremiah (Jer 2:8) calls idols, things that do not profit, meaning, that their worship was not only insignificant, but likewise extremely wicked and destructive. Thus St. Paul expresses the vilest sins, by calling them things which are not convenient, Rom 1:28.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The reason for this strange behavior was that the Judeans had done evil in the Lord’s sight. Specifically, they had brought things into the temple that were detestable to the Lord and that defiled it. These were idols and other objects associated with idolatry (cf. 2Ki 21:5; 2Ki 23:4-7; Ezekiel 8).