Глава 44

1–14. Convicting the Jews who lived in Egypt of their passion for idolatry. 15–19. Objection to the prophet. 20–30. The prophet's answer. Jeremiah 44:1–14. The prophet points out to the Jews living in Egypt the desolation of their homeland as a clear evidence of the wrath of God that fell upon the worshipers of foreign gods. Now it seems to the prophet that it is especially vile for the Jews to resort to the same customs that had previously led to the destruction of the Jewish state. There is no doubt that the wrath of God will finally destroy this race, entrenched in its vices. The Prophet especially mentions Jewish women as the most prone to pagan superstition. Jer.44:1. The word that came to Jeremiah about all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, who settled in Magdol and Taphnis, and in Noph, and in the land of Paphros: "Magdol", where there apparently existed a very large Jewish colony, is a border town on the north-eastern side of Egypt, close to the Nile Canal passing near Pelusium and not too far from the Mediterranean Sea. On Egyptian monuments, it is called mak-thai. Magdol, mentioned in the book. The outcome (Exodus 14.2) must be sought in a more southern direction. – “Tafnis” and “Noph” – see Jer 2.16. – “Paphros” is upper Egypt, as can be seen from the book. Isaiah (Isaiah 11.11) and from Egyptian monuments, according to which Thebes is listed as the main city in the “country of the south” (Pa-to-ris). Jeremiah 44:15–19. The people, including women, object to the prophet’s denunciations. On the contrary, they say, serving foreign gods and, especially, the queen of heaven has brought us nothing but benefit. All our misfortunes came precisely from the fact that we stopped serving the goddess of the sky. Jer.44:15. And all the husbands who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women who stood there in great numbers, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Paphros, answered Jeremiah, and said: From this it is clear that the prophet was speaking to a large assembly of Jews. What the reason for this meeting was is unknown. In any case, it was not a holiday in honor of the Queen of Heaven or, in general, some kind of pagan celebration. Otherwise, the expression: “who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods” would be completely inappropriate. But the Jewish women, obviously, could have had the intention of organizing some kind of, perhaps secret, celebration here in honor of the goddess of the sky. Jer.44:17. but we will certainly do everything that came out of our mouths, to burn incense to the goddess of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judea and on the streets of Jerusalem, because then we were well-fed and happy and saw no trouble. The “goddess of the sky” or the queen of the sky, to whom they turned with the hope of fulfilling desires regarding everyday well-being (for example, resolution of infertility), was, of course, the goddess of the moon. – “What has come out of our mouths” is an expression used about making vows (Numbers 30.3, 13; Deut. 23.23; Judges 11.36). – “Incense” means to burn the grain offering with some of the incense. – The Jews refer to ancient customs that were practiced before the reform of Josiah and were preserved among the people even under Joachim (Jer 7.17). Jer.44:19. And when we burned incense to the goddess of heaven and poured out libations to her, did we, without the knowledge of our husbands, make her pies with her image and pour out libations to her? Here it is more clearly indicated that it was mostly women who spoke. They, in their justification, refer to their husbands, who did not prevent them from serving the queen of heaven. Jeremiah 44:20–30. In response to the Jews, Jeremiah solemnly declares that it was nothing else, not neglect of serving the goddess of heaven, but precisely disobedience to the first commandment of God’s law that was the cause of the devastation of their native country. If the Jews still want to persist in their bad habits, then the Lord will completely destroy the entire Jewish race, which has now found refuge in Egypt: only a few will be saved in Judea. To prove the truth of this announcement of his about the destruction awaiting the stubborn Jews, the prophet shows them a sign: soon Pharaoh Wathri or Ofra, who apparently sits very firmly on the throne, must perish. Jer.44:26. Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all Jews who live in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says the Lord, that in all the land of Egypt My name will no longer be spoken by the mouth of any Jew, saying: “As the Lord God lives!” Apparently, Jeremiah’s prophecy was not fulfilled: there were a lot of Jews left in Egypt and their number increased further later. Alexander the Great gave them a significant quarter even in Alexandria, which he founded. It is most likely, therefore, to believe that Jeremiah’s prophecy, especially reinforced by the fulfillment of his prediction about the death of Pharaoh Ophra, had a beneficial effect on his listeners and they gradually overcame their inclinations to idolatry. In 1908, the remains of a church dedicated to Jehovah by the Jews around 400 BC were found in Egypt, and this testifies to their conversion to serving the One God. Jeremiah 44:30. Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh Bethri, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies and into the hands of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy and who sought his life. Pharaoh Ofra, according to Herodotus (II, 169), who believed that no god was able to deprive him of the throne, was betrayed by his son-in-law Amasis into the hands of the rebellious people. Special note. The event here described belongs to a very late period in the activity of Jeremiah, as can be seen from the fact that the Jews were already settled throughout Egypt. This was shortly before the fall of Ofra (about 570). Jeremiah was then over 70 years old. You might be interested in: