Jeremiah 36:23 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 36:23
And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
to call out to (i.e. properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
three
שָׁלֹ֣שׁsha.Losh
H7969
three · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
four
וְאַרְבָּעָה֒ve.'ar.ba.'Ah
H702
four · conjunction + cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
leaves
דְּלָתוֹת֮de.la.tOt
H1817
something swinging · noun, common feminine plural absolute
cut
יִֽקְרָעֶ֙הָ֙yik.ra.'E.ha
H7167
to rend · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
penknife
בְּתַ֣עַרbe.Ta.'ar
H8593
a knife or razor (as making bare) · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
cast
וְהַשְׁלֵ֕ךְve.hash.Lekh
H7993
to throw out · conjunction + verb, hiphil infinitive absolute
fire
הָאֵ֖שׁha.'Esh
H784
fire (literally or figuratively) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
hearth
הָאָ֑חha.'Ach
H254
a fire-pot or chafing dish · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
roll
הַמְּגִלָּ֔הha.me.gi.Lah
H4039
a roll · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
consumed
תֹּם֙tom
H8552
to complete · verb, qal infinitive construct
fire
הָאֵ֖שׁha.'Esh
H784
fire (literally or figuratively) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
hearth
הָאָֽחha.'Ach
H254
a fire-pot or chafing dish · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Kings 22:8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate…
1 Kings 22:27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I com…
Proverbs 1:30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Proverbs 13:13 Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
Proverbs 19:21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
Isaiah 5:18-19 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
Isaiah 28:14-15 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 36:20–end
We have traced the roll to the people, and to the princes, and here we are to follow it to the king; and we find,
I. That, upon notice given him concerning it, he sent for it, and ordered it to be read to him, Jer 36:20, Jer 36:21. He did not desire that Baruch would come and read it himself, who could read it more intelligently and with more authority and affection than any one else; nor did he order one of his princes to do it (though it would have been no disparagement to the greatest of them), much less would he vouchsafe to read it himself; but Jehudi, one of his pages now in waiting, who was sent to fetch it, is bidden to read it, who perhaps scarcely knew how to make sense of it. But…
three or four leaves--not distinct leaves as in a book, but the consecutive spaces on the long roll in the shape of doors (whence the Hebrew name is derived), into which the writing is divided: as the books of Moses in the synagogue in the present day are written in a long parchment rolled round a stick, the writing divided into columns, like pages.
pen-knife--the writer's knife with which the reed, used as a pen, was mended. "He" refers to the king (Jer 36:22). As often as Jehudi read three or four columns, the king cut asunder the part of the roll read; and so he treated the whole, until all the parts read consecutively were cut and burnt; Jer 36:24, "all these words," implies that the w…
And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves,.... Either three or four of the breadths of parchment, which were glued together, and rolled up; or three or four of the columns in those breadths. The meaning is, he had read a few of them. The Rabbins (s) would have it, that three or four verses in the book of the Lamentations are meant:
he cut it with the penknife; that is, he cut the roll to pieces with a penknife he had in his hand, or lay near him. It is difficult to say who it was that did this; whether Jehudi that read the roll, or Jehoiakim the king that heard it; most interpreters understand it of the latter; but the connection of the words carries it to the form…
The Church Fathers
The God of all orders Jeremiah to write the former words in another book. The sheet of paper was burned, but the divine law remained unharmed. So also when the body assumed by the Word suffered, the Word remained free from suffering.
Doubtless you are not unaware that in the early history of the chosen people the sacrilege of idolatry was committed and a prophetic book burned by a scornful king. But the crime of schism would not be punished more severely than any of these acts unless it were considered more grievous. Surely you remember how the earth opened and swallowed up alive the authors of schism and how fire coming down from heaven destroyed those who followed them. But neither the making and adoring of an idol nor the burning of a sacred book deserve to meet such vengeance.
And what manner of prophet said this? Be not curious, nor overbusy. For many of the prophetic writings have been lost; and this one may see from the history of the Chronicles. For being negligent, and continually falling into ungodliness, some they suffered to perish, others they themselves burnt up and cut to pieces. The latter fact Jeremiah relates; the former, he who composed the fourth book of Kings, saying, that after a long time the book of Deuteronomy was hardly found, buried somewhere and lost. But if, when there was no barbarian there, they so betrayed their books, much more when the barbarians had overrun them.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Baruch — Blessed. (1.) The secretary of the prophet Jeremiah (32:12; 36:4). He was of the tribe of Judah (51:59). To him Jeremiah dictated his prophecies regarding the invasion of the Babylonians and the…
Book — This word has a comprehensive meaning in Scripture. In the Old Testament it is the rendering of the Hebrew word sepher, which properly means a “writing,” and then a “volume” (Ex. 17:14; Deut. 28:58;…
Elijah — Whose God is Jehovah. (1.) “The Tishbite,” the “Elias” of the New Testament, is suddenly introduced to our notice in 1 Kings 17:1 as delivering a message from the Lord to Ahab. There is mention made…
Hearth — Heb. ah (Jer. 36:22, 23; R.V., “brazier”), meaning a large pot like a brazier, a portable furnace in which fire was kept in the king’s winter apartment. Heb. kiyor (Zech. 12:6; R.V., “pan”), a…
Jehoiakim — He whom Jehovah has set up, the second son of Josiah, and eighteenth king of Judah, which he ruled over for eleven years (B.C. 610-599). His original name was Eliakim (q.v.). On the death of his…
Jehudi — A Jew, son of Nethaniah. He was sent by the princes to invite Baruch to read Jeremiah’s roll to them (Jer. 36:14, 21).
Knife — (1.) Heb. hereb, “the waster,” a sharp instrument for circumcision (Josh. 5:2, 3, lit. “knives of flint;” comp. Ex. 4:25); a razor (Ezek. 5:1); a graving tool (Ex. 20:25); an axe (Ezek. 26:9). (2.)…
Leaf — Of a tree. The olive-leaf mentioned Gen. 8:11. The barren fig-tree had nothing but leaves (Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:13). The oak-leaf is mentioned Isa. 1:30; 6:13. There are numerous allusions to leaves,…
Leaf, Leaves — The word occurs in the Authorized Version either in singular or plural number in three different senses.
Roll — The common form of ancient books. The Hebrew word rendered “roll” or “volume” is meghillah, found in Ezra 6:2; Ps. 40:7; Jer. 36:2, 6, 23, 28, 29; Ezek. 2:9; 3:1-3; Zech. 5:1, 2. “Rolls” (Chald. pl.…
Jeremiah 36:22-23
22. Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.
22. Rex autem sedebat in domo hyemali, mense nono; et focus coram facie ejus accensus (vel, ardebat)
23. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
23. Et factum est, cum legisset Jehudi tres paginas et quatuor (hoc est, tres vel quatuor) scidit cultello scribae (vel, graphio) et projecit in ignem qui crat in foco, usque dum consumeret volumen totum super ignem qui erat in foco.
Here Je…
The punishment which is to come on Jehoiakim for his wicked act. - Jer 36:27. After the burning of the roll by the king, Jeremiah received from the Lord the command to get all that had been on the former roll written on another, and to announce the following to Jehoiakim the king: Jer 36:29. "Thus saith Jahveh: Thou hast burned this roll, whilst thou sayest, Why hast thou written thereon, The king of Babylon shall surely come and destroy this land, and root out man and beast from it? Jer 36:30. Therefore thus saith Jahveh regarding Jehoiakim the king of Judah: He shall not have one who sits upon the throne of David, and his corpse shall be cast forth to the heat by day and to the frost by ni…
Jehoiakim was so antagonistic and hardened that after three or four columns of the scroll were read, he cut off the section with a sharp knife and threw it into the fire. Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah, had responded very differently when the newly discovered Book of the Law was read to him (2 Kgs 22:11).
Rashi on Jeremiah 36:23
three...verses Our Rabbis (Moed Katan 26a) stated. This was the Scroll of Lamentations. They read before him, (1:1) “How...(:2) She weeps...(ibid. 3) Judah has been exiled...(ibid. 4) The roads of Zion are mournful.” Despite all this, he was not troubled. He said, “I am the king over the survivors.” As soon as he read (ibid. 5), Her adversaries have become the head,” he said, “From now on, I am [no longer] the king.” Immediately, he rent it with a scribe’s razor.
he rent Heb. יקרעה, like קְרָעָה.
— The art of writing must have been known in the time of the early Pharaohs. Moses is commanded “to write for a memorial in a book” (Ex. 17:14) a record of the attack of Amalek. Frequent mention is…
Baruch · 1. An ama — 1. An ama
Brazier · 2. A utensil used for warming houses — 2. A utensil used for warming houses
Jehudi · A Jew, an official at Jehoiakim’s court who read — A Jew, an official at Jehoiakim’s court who read
Knife · Used for sharpening pens — Used for sharpening pens
Penknife · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
