Jeremiah 43

To Tahpanhes

The survivors of Judah, having sworn to obey the Lord and then refused, carry Jeremiah to Egypt, where he hides stones at Pharaoh's door and says whose throne will stand on them.

After the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C. by the Bible Dictionary) and the murder of Gedaliah (chapter 41); the chapter gives no year Read with footnotes in Gospel Library

Background

Jerusalem has fallen. Babylon made Gedaliah governor over the poor who were left, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah murdered him at Mizpah (Jer. 41).

Jerusalem has fallen. Babylon made Gedaliah governor over the poor who were left, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah murdered him at Mizpah (Jer. 41). Johanan, who rescued the people from Ishmael, led them toward Egypt “because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them” (Jer. 41:17–18). Before crossing, the captains and all the people asked Jeremiah to pray for guidance and swore to obey whatever the Lord said, “whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Jer. 42:5–6). The answer came: stay in Judah and be built up, and do not go to Egypt (Jer. 42:10, 19).

Chapter 43 is what they did with that answer. The first seven verses are the refusal and the march; verses 8–13 are a new word given to Jeremiah on the Egyptian border, with an acted sign (burying stones) and a prophecy that the king of Babylon will come there.

The last the book shows of Jeremiah's ministry, then, is not in Jerusalem but in Egypt: a prophet taken along by people who would not take his word. Chapter 44 follows with his address to the Judeans in Egypt.

The thread through the chapter

Chapter 43 answers the question, what happens to a people who ask God for direction and then decide the answer is wrong?

Chapter 43 answers the question, what happens to a people who ask God for direction and then decide the answer is wrong? They do not say they are disobeying. They say Jeremiah is lying (verse 2). The prophet is then carried along into the very place he told them not to go (verses 6–7), and there, on Egypt's own soil, the Lord shows them that the safety they chose will be the next place the Babylonian king arrives (verses 10–13).

The argument turns on a reversal. They went to Egypt “where we shall see no war” (Jer. 42:14); the word at Tahpanhes says the sword will follow them. They feared the king of Babylon (Jer. 42:11); the Lord calls him “my servant” (verse 10). They called the prophet a liar; the stones hidden in the clay at Pharaoh's door while they watched (verse 9) will be the proof.

Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.

Verses 1–3

“Thou speakest falsely”

In plain words

When Jeremiah had finished telling the people everything the Lord their God had sent him to say, Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men answered him: “You are lying. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there.’ Baruch son of Neriah is turning you against us, to hand us over to the Chaldeans to be killed or carried off to Babylon.”

1 And 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:

Context #

They had promised to obey

The men who call Jeremiah a liar are the same men who, days earlier, asked him to pray and swore that “whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the…

The men who call Jeremiah a liar are the same men who, days earlier, asked him to pray and swore that “whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God” (Jer. 42:5–6). Jeremiah had told them then that “ye dissembled in your hearts” when they asked (Jer. 42:20), and verse 2 shows it. They cannot say they refuse the Lord, so they deny that the Lord spoke: the word, they say, is Jeremiah's own.

The leaders named are Johanan and “Azariah the son of Hoshaiah.” In Jer. 42:1 the man named beside Johanan is “Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah,” so on one reading “Azariah” is an error for Jezaniah, the same man, though the text does not say so. Either way, the objection comes from the captains who led the group, and “all the proud men” join them.

Sources: The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Jeremiah, Trans. David Patrick and James Kennedy. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1874–1880; in Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, online at Bible Hub.

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.

Context #

Baruch the scribe

Baruch was Jeremiah's scribe (Jer. 32:12–13; Jer. 36), and he too was taken to Egypt.

Baruch was Jeremiah's scribe (Jer. 32:12–13; Jer. 36), and he too was taken to Egypt. Blaming him lets the captains say the word came from the scribe, not from the Lord.

The charge feeds on a fear they already had. They were leaving Judah “because of the Chaldeans,” for “Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah… whom the king of Babylon made governor” (Jer. 41:18); they expected Babylon to punish them for the murder. The accusation also repeats what Jeremiah's counsel had cost him during the siege, when his call to surrender left him “viewed as a traitor and a subversive.” Staying in Judah, in their eyes, meant being handed over.

Sources: “Baruch”, Bible Dictionary. The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Chapter 24: The Babylonian Captivity (Jeremiah 20–22; 24–29; 32; 34–45; 52; Lamentations), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).

Verses 4–7

Down to Egypt

In plain words

So Johanan and all the army captains and all the people did not obey the Lord's voice to stay in Judah. Johanan and the captains took the whole remnant of Judah, including those who had come back from the nations where they had been scattered to live in Judah: men, women, children, the king's daughters, and everyone Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, along with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch. Because they did not obey the Lord's voice, they came into Egypt as far as Tahpanhes.

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.

Latter-day Prophets #

Popularity is never a test of truth

The chapter shows what President Ezra Taft Benson taught about the prophet and the crowd: “As a prophet reveals the truth it divides the people.

The chapter shows what President Ezra Taft Benson taught about the prophet and the crowd: “As a prophet reveals the truth it divides the people. The honest in heart heed his words but the unrighteous either ignore the prophet or fight him… Popularity is never a test of truth. Many a prophet has been killed or cast out.” Jeremiah had ended in prison and then was “compelled to live in Egypt,” a prophet who was right and unwelcome at the same time.

The test is not whether a people honor prophets in the abstract. Elder Spencer W. Kimball observed that “many are prone to garnish the sepulchres of yesterday's prophets and mentally stone the living ones.” And President Benson put the point as a test: “How we respond to the words of a living prophet when he tells us what we need to know, but would rather not hear, is a test of our faithfulness.” Johanan's company is a case study. They had no quarrel with prophecy; they asked for it. The quarrel began when the answer cost them what they wanted.

Sources: Chapter 11: Follow the Living Prophet, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson (2014). Chapter 24: The Babylonian Captivity (Jeremiah 20–22; 24–29; 32; 34–45; 52; Lamentations), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).

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 king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan 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.

Context #

The king's daughters and Jeremiah himself

The “king's daughters” are among the people Babylon left with Gedaliah at Mizpah, carried off by Ishmael and recovered by Johanan (Jer. 41:10, 16).

The “king's daughters” are among the people Babylon left with Gedaliah at Mizpah, carried off by Ishmael and recovered by Johanan (Jer. 41:10, 16). The text does not say which king's daughters they are. Verse 6 says they were among those Nebuzar-adan had left with Gedaliah.

The verse also says Jeremiah and Baruch were taken, not that they chose to go: Johanan and the captains “took” the remnant, “and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch” with them (verses 5–6). The prophet who would not stop speaking to them could not stop them from carrying him along.

One reading connects this verse to the Book of Mormon: Mulek, Zedekiah's son who reaches the Americas (Hel. 6:10), “may have been secreted away to Egypt by family retainers and close associates of the king along with ‘the king's daughters.’” On that reading Egypt was “the most viable way to keep Mulek safe… just as other Israelites were doing at that time.” It is a proposal, not something Jeremiah says, and Jeremiah 43 never mentions a son.

Sources: The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. John L. Sorenson, “The “Mulekites””, BYU Studies 30, no. 3 (1990), 6–22. Scripture Central, “How Did Mulek Get to the New World?”, KnoWhy #753 (September 20, 2024).

7 So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.

Context #

Egypt, the refuge that was not

Tahpanhes was “a frontier town of Egypt on the Pelusian branch of the Nile.”

Tahpanhes was “a frontier town of Egypt on the Pelusian branch of the Nile.” The town is named again in Jeremiah's oracle on Babylon coming to Egypt: “Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee” (Jer. 46:13–14).

They had chosen Egypt for what it promised: “where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread” (Jer. 42:14). Judah's leaders had long looked to Egypt “for protection and power against Babylon's growing influence, even though Jeremiah had again and again warned Judah not to trust in Egypt for deliverance.” The remnant now does the same thing on a smaller scale, and the Lord's word at Tahpanhes shows where that road ends.

Sources: Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Jeremiah, Trans. David Patrick and James Kennedy. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1874–1880; in Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, online at Bible Hub. The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Enrichment G: Babylonia and the Conquest of Judah, Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).

Verses 8–13

Stones at Pharaoh's door

In plain words

At Tahpanhes the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Take large stones and hide them in the clay of the brickwork at the entrance to Pharaoh's house, while the men of Judah watch. Then tell them: ‘The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will send for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and set his throne over these stones, and he will spread his canopy over them. He will come and strike Egypt: those meant for death will die, those meant for captivity will be taken captive, those meant for the sword will fall by the sword. I will set fire to the temples of Egypt's gods; he will burn them and carry the gods off, and wrap Egypt around himself as a shepherd wraps his cloak, and leave in peace. He will break the sacred pillars of the House of the Sun in Egypt and burn the temples of Egypt's gods.’”

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 Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

Imagery #

Stones in the clay

Jeremiah buries large stones in the clay at the entrance to Pharaoh's house, in the sight of the Judeans, so that the Lord's prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar's throne can be pointed to.

Jeremiah buries large stones in the clay at the entrance to Pharaoh's house, in the sight of the Judeans, so that the Lord's prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar's throne can be pointed to. The Hebrew word the KJV renders “brickkiln” (malben) means a brick-mould, but in this verse it is glossed “quadrangle,” something rectangular at Tahpanhes rather than a kiln. Exactly what the structure at Pharaoh's door was, the text does not say.

The text explains the sign itself: the stones are where Nebuchadnezzar will set his throne and spread his canopy (verse 10). What it adds is that the act was done “in the sight of the men of Judah”: it was first a message to them, that Egypt, where they had fled to be safe, would be the next to fall.

Sources: Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.

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.

Related Scriptures #

Nebuchadnezzar, “my servant”

The Lord calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant, as He has before: “I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my…

The Lord calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant, as He has before: “I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant” (Jer. 25:9), and “have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant” (Jer. 27:6). The title does not praise him; as Ezekiel puts it below, his conquests are work done for the Lord, which is why fleeing him is no help.

Ezekiel says the same of Egypt: “I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon… I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God” (Ezek. 29:19–20). The labour was the siege of Tyre (Ezek. 29:18); on this word Egypt is the king's wages for it, given by the Lord.

Nebuchadrezzar here and Nebuchadnezzar in 27:6 are the same king; the KJV spells the name both ways.

Sources: The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Language #

His throne and his pavilion

The throne set over the stones is a conqueror's seat of judgment. Jeremiah saw the same picture at his call, when the kingdoms of the north would “set every one his throne at the…

The throne set over the stones is a conqueror's seat of judgment. Jeremiah saw the same picture at his call, when the kingdoms of the north would “set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem,” and the Lord said, “I will utter my judgments against them” (Jer. 1:15–16); now the throne is to stand at Pharaoh's door. The Hebrew word behind “royal pavilion” occurs only here, and its sense is doubtful: “apparently of (brightly-coloured?) royal pavilion, canopy, or possibly carpet.” The picture is plain enough: the king's throne with its covering, set up on the spot where Jeremiah has buried the stones, before the eyes of those who had fled from him.

Sources: Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906. The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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.

Related Scriptures #

Death, captivity, the sword

The threefold sentence on Egypt is a formula Jeremiah had used before: “Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the…

The threefold sentence on Egypt is a formula Jeremiah had used before: “Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity” (Jer. 15:2). Each person receives his own appointed lot. In chapter 42 the same fate was named for those who went to Egypt: “they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape” (Jer. 42:17). What was said to the people is now said to Egypt, the place they trusted.

Chapter 44 names the Pharaoh: “Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies… as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar” (Jer. 44:30).

How and when this was fulfilled is disputed. One reading holds that Nebuchadnezzar did take Egypt, on the word of Berosus as quoted by Josephus, while granting that Josephus's own detailed account of the campaign is drawn from these verses rather than from independent evidence. Others deny that the conquest happened. The Lord's word needs no date to be the point of the chapter: Egypt is no sanctuary.

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.

Related Scriptures #

Judgment on the gods of Egypt

The judgment falls on Egypt's gods as well as its people, as in the first Passover: “against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord” (Ex. 12:12).

The judgment falls on Egypt's gods as well as its people, as in the first Passover: “against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord” (Ex. 12:12). Isaiah had said the same: “the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it” (Isa. 19:1). Jeremiah says it again in chapter 46: “I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings” (Jer. 46:25).

The shepherd's garment in the same verse is, on one reading, a picture of ease: “the point of likeness is the easiness of the action.” The king will wrap Egypt around himself as a shepherd throws on his cloak, and leave unopposed. The remnant had come to Egypt for security, and Egypt's power and its gods fall together.

13 He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.

Seeing Christ in Jeremiah 43

The chapter shows by contrast what the Lord had offered. In chapter 42 He told the people not to fear Babylon, “for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand” (Jer. 42:11), the same promise He gave Jeremiah at his call (Jer. 1:8). They would not take it from Him. In Egypt the Lord stays the one who is with His prophet, who keeps speaking, and who still acts as king over nations, calling even Nebuchadnezzar “my servant.” The refuge He offered was to stay and trust Him; the refuge they chose was the one thing He had told them would fail.

Worth exploring next

The people's answer. Read Jer. 44, Jeremiah's address to the Judeans in Egypt, and compare it with their oath in Jer. 42:5–6.
The same judgment on Egypt, from other prophets. Read Jer. 46, Ezek. 29:17–20, and Isa. 19.
A prophet's word and the people's choice. Read Jer. 42 straight through before chapter 43.
Mulek. Read Hel. 6:10 and Omni 1:15 with the KnoWhy on how Mulek reached the New World.

This chapter elsewhere in scripture

Hel. 6:10 — Mulek, a son of Zedekiah, is brought to the Americas; one reading ties his survival to Egypt (note on verse 6).

Sources & further reading

The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Jeremiah, Trans. David Patrick and James Kennedy. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1874–1880; in Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, online at Bible Hub.
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.
“Baruch”, Bible Dictionary.
“Beth-shemesh”, Bible Dictionary.
Chapter 24: The Babylonian Captivity (Jeremiah 20–22; 24–29; 32; 34–45; 52; Lamentations), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).
Enrichment G: Babylonia and the Conquest of Judah, Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).
Chapter 11: Follow the Living Prophet, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson (2014).
John L. Sorenson, “The “Mulekites””, BYU Studies 30, no. 3 (1990), 6–22.
Scripture Central, “How Did Mulek Get to the New World?”, KnoWhy #753 (September 20, 2024).
“Jeremiah”, Bible Dictionary.

I’ve studied Jeremiah 43