The fog of war - then, now — demands decisions that sometimes seem impossible. Where is safety? What is home? Where can I find shelter? And once again the biblical history meets today in chilling ways.
In those hot summer days in 597 BCE, following the brutal fall of Jerusalem, the city was set on fire, its inhabitants exiled to Babylon, in chains. But not all. Jeremiah, released from prison, was spared, among the poorest of the city who were left behind to work the fields. In the previous chapter it seems that he gets special treatment as an elder wise elder with recognition on the part of the Babylonians that his prophecies favored them. They released him from his shackles and gave him the choice of accompanying the exiles to Babylon—where he would be looked after—or remaining in Judah. A slightly different version shows up in today’s chapter:
“The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH, after Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, set him free at Ramah, to which he had taken him, chained in fetters, among those from Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.”
So what exactly happened? There seem to be two conflicting versions - the one in the last chapter and this one. Robert Alter tries to figure it out:
“The first verse in chapter 40 is an outright contradiction of the report in the preceding chapter that Nebuchadrezzar gave orders that Jeremiah be sent to stay with Gedaliah at Mizpah, unhampered and unharmed. Various attempts at harmonization of the two stories have been made, but it looks as though the text has combined two contradictory sources.”
The confusion echoes in the next verse where the verb ‘shuv’ - that can either be ‘turn’ ‘return’ or ‘settle’ - shows up three times and is quite awkwardly phrased - perhaps including a quote from the Babylonian’s directives? Or perhaps an indication of Jeremiah’s confused hesitation: where do I turn or return? Where to next?
“But Jeremiah still did not turn back. —“Or return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has put in charge of the towns of Judah, and turn to be with him among the people, or go wherever you want to go.”
The chief of the guards gave him an allowance of food, and dismissed him.”
With a food parcel in hand, Jeremiah, a refugee, has to make the next move. He will finally submit to the fate the Babylon assigned him, hoping it’s the right move:
Mizpah is the name of the old fort town where the prophet Samuel led the nation, and crowned Saul as King - many centuries earlier. Now it was to be the seat of the new commissioner, loyal to the Babylonians, Gedalliah.
What was to be Jeremiah’s role in this displaced people’s camp is unknown but in any case - this won’t last long. Too many factions among the survivors are deliberating their response to this calamity and Jeremiah would soon have to make another choice.
Coming next chapter/week.
Jeremiah & the Queen of Heaven
Next Below the Bible Belt Zoom Live Conversation with Rabbi Amichai
October 18, 5pm ET
As we wrap up our long journey with the Prophet Jeremiah, as witnesses to the fall of Jerusalem, we get to ponder and ask some big questions. Some of these were heard among the survivors and the refugees of Jerusalem’s destruction, some still echo today. What do we learn from these tragic chapters about the ways we face our own big questions and keep cultivating hope?
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