Jeremiah 52:24-30
The captain of the guard (for King Nebuchadnezzar) took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 25 He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, seven men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the principal scribe of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.
28 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons. All the persons were four thousand six hundred.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Jeremiah 52:24-30
52:24–27. All the city’s leaders were rounded up by the Babylonians. These included Seraiah the chief priest, who was a grandson of Hilkiah, the high priest in King Josiah’s time (1 Chron. 6:13–15), Zephaniah the priest next in rank (cf. Jer. 29:25–29; 37:3), and the three doorkeepers who were responsible for keeping order in the temple. Also captured were the officer in charge of the fighting men (secretary of defense), several royal advisers, and the chief officer who was in charge of conscripting the people along with 60 of his men—either lower officials or 60 conscripted soldiers. These were taken to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar had his headquarters (52:9), and executed.
The fate of the exiles
Jeremiah 52:28–30
52:28–30 This section is not included in 2 Kings 25. The author added it here to show that other groups of exiles were taken to Babylon. The dates given for the first two deportations (Jer. 52:28–29) do not correspond with the dates of the two deportations given in 2 Kings 24:12–14; 25:8–12. Two possible solutions to this difficulty have been advanced. First, some have suggested that the deportations in 2 Kings and Jeremiah refer to the same events and should be harmonized. This is usually done by assuming that the writer of 2 Kings used a nonaccession-year method in Jeremiah 52:28–30 (see John Bright, A History of Israel. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1981, p. 326, n. 45).
Second, others have suggested that the first two deportations listed in 52:28–30 were not the same as those in 2 Kings but were minor ones preceding the major deportations associated with Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of the city in 597 and 586 b.c.Two arguments are said to support this second view. First, the years given (the 7th and 18th years of Nebuchadnezzar) are each one year earlier than the years given in 2 Kings for the two major assaults on Jerusalem by Babylon (the “8th,” 2 Kings 25:8–12, years of Nebuchadnezzar). Second, the numbers of captives who were exiled in these deportations do not correspond with the numbers taken during the 597 and 586 deportations. In 597 about 10,000 people were taken (2 Kings 24:14), but Jeremiah 52:28 mentions only 3,023. In 586 Nebuchadnezzar deported “the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had gone over to the king” (2 Kings 25:11). The figure in Jeremiah 52:29 of 832 seems far too low to correspond to this final deportation. So according to this second view it seems reasonable to assume that these two deportations in verses 28–29 are secondary deportations. The author included them (along with a third minor deportation, v. 30) to show the full extent of Babylon’s destruction of Judah. (See Alberto R. Green, “The Chronology of the Last Days of Judah: Two Apparent Discrepancies.” Journal of Biblical Literature101. 1982:57–73.)
The third deportation mentioned by Jeremiah possibly corresponds with Nebuchadnezzar’s return to the land after Gedaliah’s assassination (cf. chap. 41). Certainly such a threat to Babylon’s control over Palestine did not go unnoticed. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar sent a force to restore order and to remove anyone suspected of promoting rebellion. The small number of 745 Jews would support the limited size of this action. The dates of these three deportations (based on a Tishri calendar) mentioned in 52:28–30 were then (a) Nebuchadnezzar’s 7th year (598 b.c.), (b) his 18th year (587 b.c.), and (c) his 23rd year (582 b.c.).
God in all His holiness is only your creator until you accept Him. After you accept Him, He becomes your God, your Father, your creator. He will cleanse you of your sins and accept you into the kingdom of His heaven and hear your prayers.
Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. Also, love your neighbor as you love yourself.
God is testing us every day and has given us the right to make our own choices. Do you know which ones are the right choices in God’s mind?
Fear God, love God, honor God, and trust God with all your heart, mind and soul and you will receive and experience the joy of the promises of God’s blessings in His time. And always remember to ask the Father for His help and guidance in all things.
Prayer: Father, blessed is your Holy name. We are grateful for Your Son our risen Christ and Your Spirit. We praise You for the opportunity to glorify Your Son and live with Him forever. We also praise you for the opportunity to be able to choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior and to be elect children of Yours. We praise you for the laws You have set down to teach us, to keep our lives in harmony, to learn how to treat others and how to live within your boundaries. Please bless those who have read this article for they too are seeking Your righteous truth, love, wisdom and understanding.
Father, I pray these brothers and sisters have or will come to realize that Your existence is a treasure of grace and love that You have for all Your elect children.
May God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Christianity be our guiding lights for eternity. Let it be Your will Lord not mine. Please come Lord Jesus.
I pray in Jesus sweet name and to His glory through the power of The Holy Spirit,
Amen.
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