Jeremiah 43 KJV
Jeremiah Taken to Egypt
Jeremiah Chapter 43: Jeremiah Taken to Egypt
Jeremiah's abduction to Egypt extends his inaugural call as prophet to the nations by placing him in a foreign power center where he continues delivering oracles, demonstrating that divine speech is not territorially confined to Judah.
1nd it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words,
2 Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:
3 But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.
4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah.
5 But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;
6 Even men, and women, and children, and the kingโs daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.
7 So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
8 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9 Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaohโs house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;
10 And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.
11 And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.
12 And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.
13 He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
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Did You Know?
Jeremiah's abduction to Egypt extends his inaugural call as prophet to the nations by placing him in a foreign power center where he continues delivering oracles, demonstrating that divine speech is not territorially confined to Judah.
The burial of large stones in the pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes functions as a subversive foundation deposit ritual, inverting ancient Near Eastern practices of laying commemorative bricks to instead announce Babylonian sovereignty over Egyptian soil.
The remnant's choice to drag Jeremiah and Baruch to Egypt directly violates their solemn oath in chapter 42 to heed whatever word the Lord would send, illustrating how fear of Babylonian reprisal overrides covenant loyalty and repeats the pattern of pre-exilic disobedience.
Baruch's presence alongside Jeremiah in Tahpanhes highlights the scribal companion's indispensable role in safeguarding and transmitting the prophetic message amid forced migration, offering a glimpse into the mechanisms by which the Jeremiah tradition was preserved outside the land.
The specific prediction that Nebuchadnezzar would spread his royal canopy over these same stones links the chapter to broader biblical Egypt oracles in Isaiah and Ezekiel, portraying Egypt not as refuge but as the next stage in the empire's divinely ordained expansion.