Commentary on the Epistle of Jeremiah

1. Inauthenticity of the message. The Epistle of Jeremiah, written in Greek, is not actually the work of the great Jewish prophet. This is proven, firstly, by the fact that it is not at all in the Hebrew Bible, in the Syriac translation of Peshito, and even in some copies of the LXX; secondly, the very content of the message has almost nothing in common with the content of the book of the prophet Jeremiah, and thirdly, and finally, the language of the message is far from similar to the brilliant language of the book of the prophet Jeremiah. In addition, in his message, Jeremiah could not use such inaccurate expressions as seven generations instead of seventy years (to designate the period of the Babylonian captivity) and the like. The unknown author of the letter, apparently a Hellenistic Jew, compiled it and called it Jeremiah, probably to give it more meaning in the eyes of readers. Most likely, the message was written in Phrygia - it contains fairly clear traces of the author’s acquaintance with the Phrygian pagan cult. 2. Contents of the message. The author of the letter wants to warn his fellow tribesmen, the Jews, against being carried away by idolatry. To do this, he portrays idols as simple insensitive idols that see and hear nothing and with which you can do anything. That is why they are called gods incorrectly: even the Chaldeans themselves do not properly honor them. They are not even able to save themselves from danger, and even wild animals are better than them, because they have an instinct for self-preservation. The entire message consists of 72 verses and can be divided into 4 parts: 1) the inscription (Post. 1:1); 2) introduction (Post.1:2–6); 3) the main part of the message is a discussion about the insignificance of idols and the vanity of idolatry (Post.1:7-71) and 4) conclusion (Post.1:72). 3. The dignity of the message. Our Orthodox theologians sometimes express the idea that the message of Jeremiah is canonical (Metropolitan Macarius - in the Introduction to Orthodox Theology, Smaragdov, Afanasiev). This is undoubtedly a reflection of the Catholic view that this epistle is truly the work of Jeremiah. But most of our interpreters quite rightly consider this message to be non-canonical (Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, Metropolitan Arseny of Kiev, etc.). 4. Sources and benefits. In addition to the general works on the prophet Jeremiah indicated in the preface to the book of Jeremiah, here you can point out a trial lecture by Prof. Zhdanov “On the Message of Jeremiah” (Addition to the Works of the Holy Fathers 1888, IV, 441–466). Post.1:1–72. The insignificance and powerlessness of idols. PostIer.1:1 . A list of the message that Jeremiah sent to the captives being taken to Babylon by the king of Babylon, to tell them what God had commanded him. PostIer.1:1–6. This contains the inscription and introduction to the book. 1. It seems strange that Jeremiah addresses the message to those Jews with whom he himself was when they were taken into captivity (Jer. 40: 1), and to whom he could have addressed verbal instructions. After.1:2. For the sins you have committed before God, you will be taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. PostIer.1:3. Having entered Babylon, you will remain there for many years and a long time, even until seven generations; after this I will bring you out from there in peace. 3. The Jews must stay in Babylon even until seven generations. This expression is very vague and is used in different meanings. If the prophet Jeremiah had written about the duration of captivity, then he, of course, would have defined this time as in his book, i.e., 70 years. (Jer.25:11). PostIer.1:4. Now you will see in Babylon gods of silver and gold and wood, carried on the shoulders, instilling fear in the pagans. 4. Again, here it seems strange that Jews would only see images of pagan gods in captivity. No, these images were well known to them even before they were taken into captivity. PostIer.1:5. Beware, therefore, lest you too become like the foreigners, and lest the fear of them take possession of you too. Seeing the crowd in front and behind them worshiping before them, say in your mind: “You must be worshiped, Master!” PostIer.1:6. For My Angel is with you, and he is the protector of your souls. 6. The angel is perhaps the Archangel Michael, the protector and representative of the Jewish people (Dan.12:1). By mentioning this angel, God indicates that the Jews have no need to seek protection from the pagan gods - they have a protector given to them by God. PostIer.1:7. Their tongue is carved by the artist, and they themselves are set in gold and silver; but they are false, and cannot speak. PostIer.1:7–15. To show the insignificance of idols, the writer depicts the method of preparing idols and the complete powerlessness of idols, which cannot use either the tongue that is attached to them, or the scepter and sword that are placed in their hands. PostIer.1:8. And as if for a maiden who loves jewelry, they take gold and prepare crowns for the heads of their gods. PostIer.1:9. It also happens that priests steal gold and silver from their gods and use it for themselves; PostIer.1:10. They give some of it to the harlots under their roof; They decorate the gods with gold and silver and wooden clothes, like people. PostIer.1:11. But they are not saved from rust and moths, although they are clothed in purple clothing. PostIer.1:12. They wipe their faces from the dust in the church, of which there is a lot on them. PostIer.1:13. He also has a scepter, just as a man is a judge of the country, but he cannot kill the guilty before him. PostIer.1:14. He has a sword in his right hand and an ax, but will not defend himself from the army and robbers: from this it is known that they are not gods; So, don't be afraid of them. 14. According to Viguru, a statue of the Babylonian god Bela-Merodach is depicted here, but, as can be seen from the photographs from this statue, neither a scepter nor a sword was placed in the hands of Merodach. PostIer.1:15. For just as a broken vessel becomes useless for a person, so do their gods. PostIer.1:16. After they are placed in the churches, their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those entering. PostIer.1:16–53. When the idol is placed in the church, it stands motionless, having no strength to protect itself from the dust that gets into its eyes, from the worms that wear away its clothes, from the soot of incense, from bats and cats. Idols are carried by priests and endure all the outrages that priests and dissolute women commit before them. Moreover, they cannot provide any benefit to the country. PostIer.1:17. And just as the entrance to the dwelling of one who has offended the king is blocked when he is taken to death, so their churches are guarded by the priests with their doors and locks and bolts, so that they are not robbed by robbers; 17. This refers to the custom according to which the offender's house was sealed so that all property could then safely enter the royal treasury. PostIer.1:18. they light lamps for them, and more than for themselves, but they cannot see a single one of them. PostIer.1:19. They are like logs in a house; Their hearts, they say, are eaten away by earthworms, and they eat them and their clothes, but they do not feel. PostIer.1:20. Their faces are black from smoking in the churches. PostIer.1:21. Bats and swallows and other birds fly onto their bodies and heads, and cats also climb on them. PostIer.1:22. From this you will understand that these are not gods; So, don't be afraid of them. PostIer.1:23. If someone does not remove the rust from the gold with which they are surrounded for beauty, they will not shine; and when they poured them out, they did not feel. 23. The Babylonians did not have idols, only those overlaid with gold, but almost exclusively stone or clay ones. Obviously, the author was unfamiliar with the Babylonian cult. PostIer.1:24. They were bought at a high price, but there is no spirit in them. PostIer.1:25. Legless, they are carried on their shoulders, thereby showing their insignificance to people; and those who serve them are put to shame; 25. Babylonian idols had legs. PostIer.1:26. because if they fall to the ground, they cannot get up on their own; also, if someone puts them straight, they cannot move by themselves, and if someone tilts them, they cannot straighten up; but as before the dead they place gifts before them. PostIer.1:27. Their victims are sold and abused by the priests; Likewise, their wives salt some of it, and do not give anything to either the beggar or the sick. PostIer.1:28. Their victims are touched by unclean women and women in childbirth. So, having learned from this that they are not gods, do not be afraid of them. PostIer.1:29. How can we call them gods? women make sacrifices to these silver and gold and wooden gods. PostIer.1:30 . And in their churches sit priests in torn clothes, with shaved heads and beards and bare heads: 30. Nothing like this is known about the Babylonian priests. Rather, this can be said about the Phrygian priests. – Jews were forbidden to tear their clothes (Lev.10:6), shave their beards (Lev.19:27), especially priests (Lev.21:5). PostIer.1:31. They roar with a cry before their gods, like others at wakes for the dead. 31. They roar... like at a wake for the dead. The pagans, according to Epiphanius (Ancorat.), bringing food to the tomb of the deceased, loudly shouted: “Get up, Hector, eat and drink!” PostIer.1:32. The priests take some of their clothes for themselves and dress their wives and children with them. PostIer.1:33. If they experience good or evil from someone, they cannot repay; They cannot install a king or depose him. PostIer.1:34. They cannot give either wealth or even a small copper coin. If someone, having promised them a vow, did not fulfill it, they will not repay it. PostIer.1:35. They will not deliver a person from death, nor will they take away the weak from the strong; PostIer.1:36. sight will not be restored to a blind person; they will not help a person in need; PostIer.1:37. no compassion will be shown to the widow, and no good will be done to the orphan. PostIer.1:38. These gods, made of wood and set in gold and silver, are like stones from the mountains, and those who serve them will be put to shame. PostIer.1:39. How can one think or say that they are gods? PostIer.1:40. Moreover, the Chaldeans themselves treat them disrespectfully: when they see a dumb man who cannot speak, they bring him to Baal and demand that he speak as if he could feel. PostIer.1:41. And they cannot, having noticed this, leave them, because they do not make sense. PostIer.1:42. Women, tied with reed belts, sit in the streets, burning incense from olive grains. 42. Smoking from olive grains or bran was a sacrifice to the goddess Hecate. With this smoking, Phrygian women wanted to attract the attention of passing men. - On the streets. Again, this is more suitable for Phrygia. In Babylon, women who served the goddess Melitta with debauchery sat in “groves.” PostIer.1:43. And when one of them, carried away by the passing one, sleeps with him, she reproaches her friend that she is not worthy of the same as she is, and that her bandage is not torn. PostIer.1:44. Everything that happens among them is false. Therefore, how can one think or say that they are gods? PostIer.1:45. They were built by artists and gold smelters; They are not made anything other than what the artists wanted to make them. PostIer.1:46. And those who prepare them do not last long; PostIer.1:47. how can those made by them be gods? They left behind lies and shame for their descendants. PostIer.1:48. When war and disaster befall them, the priests consult among themselves where they can hide with them. PostIer.1:49. How can one not understand that those who do not save themselves from wars or disasters are not gods? PostIer.1:50 . Since they are made of wood and set in gold and silver, one can know that they are false; It will become clear to all nations and kings that these are not gods, but the works of human hands, and there is no divine action in them. PostIer.1:51. After this, who doesn’t understand that they are not gods? PostIer.1:52. They will not install a king for the country, they will not give rain to the people; PostIer.1:53. the courts will not judge, they will not protect the offended, being powerless, PostIer.1:54. like crows between heaven and earth. For even in that case, when the church of the gods, made of wood or framed in gold and silver, were exposed to fire, their priests would run away and be saved, and they themselves, like logs in the middle, would burn. PostIer.1:54–71. To show the insignificance of idols and express his contempt for them, the writer compares them with priests and robbers. Priests can escape during a fire, but idols cannot. Idols cannot protect themselves from robbers who remove various decorations from them. Much more powerful than idols is a good ruler or some useful household item. More powerful than idols are the various forces of nature that fulfill their purpose. Idols can only be compared to a scarecrow or a decaying corpse. 54. Like the crows... this is the end of the 53rd century. The gods are compared to ravens, which are quite large birds, but completely powerless and useless. PostIer.1:55. They cannot resist either the king or their enemies. How can one accept or think that they are gods? PostIer.1:56. These gods, made of wood and set in silver and gold, cannot protect themselves from thieves or robbers: PostIer.1:57. surpassing them in strength, they take off the gold and silver and the clothes that they are wearing and leave with the spoils, but they are not able to help themselves. PostIer.1:58. Therefore, better is a king who shows courage, or a useful vessel in the house that the owner uses, than false gods; or better is a door in a house that guards the property in it than false gods; or better a wooden pillar in the royal palace than false gods. PostIer.1:59. The sun and moon and stars, being bright and sent for the sake of need, are benevolent. PostIer.1:60. Likewise, lightning is clearly visible every time it appears; also the wind blows in every country. PostIer.1:61. And the clouds, when God commands them to pass over the entire universe, fulfill the command. PostIer.1:62. Fire, too, sent down from above to destroy mountains and forests, does what it is intended to do; and these are not similar to them either in appearance or in strength. PostIer.1:63. Why can one think or say that they are gods, when they are unable to judge judgment or do good to people? PostIer.1:64. So, knowing that they are not gods, do not be afraid of them. PostIer.1:65. They will neither curse nor bless kings; PostIer.1:66. no signs will be shown in heaven or before the nations; They will not illuminate like the sun, and they will not shine like the moon. PostIer.1:67. Animals are better than them: by running away under shelter, they can help themselves. PostIer.1:68. So, from nothing it is clear to us that they are gods; therefore do not be afraid of them. PostIer.1:69. Just as a scarecrow in the garden will not save anything, so will their wooden gods, framed in gold and silver. PostIer.1:70. In the same way, their wooden gods, set in gold and silver, are like a thorn bush in a garden on which all kinds of birds perch, as well as a corpse thrown in the darkness. PostIer.1:71. From the purple and scarlet that decays on them, you can understand that they are not gods; and they themselves will finally be eaten and will be a disgrace in the country. PostIer.1:72. So, better is a righteous man who does not have idols, for he is far from shame. 72. The conclusion confirms the readers of the message in the idea that a righteous person will not honor idols and will not bring shame upon himself.