Egypt or Bust
In the previous chapter, the people promised they would follow God’s instructions regarding staying in Israel or going to Egypt. Jeremiah passed on his revelation from the Lord, which unambiguously stated to stay. In this chapter, the people respond by going to Egypt. Why?
Their excuse is that Jeremiah wasn’t delivering God’s message. Rather, he’d been pressured to give the answer by his scribe. They hadn’t believed Jeremiah when he said Jerusalem would be destroyed. He was proved to be right. Therefore, they come up with a new excuse to not obey.
“My Servant”
They settle in Tahpanhes, a city on the eastern Nile delta (basically the least distance to travel). Jeremiah receives another word from the Lord there. God calls Nebuchadnezzar “my servant” (Jeremiah 43:10, see also 25:9). How can a pagan be God’s servant? With an election almost upon us in America, I think of the bitter rivalry between the sides. However, if someone like Nebuchadnezzar can be God’s servant, certainly he can use anyone. I don’t mean that it doesn’t matter who is elected. Leaders can make or break a nation, and we need to pray for them. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that the Lord cannot use them, even if they’re opposed to him!
Wrestling with Ambiguity
Verse 12 has some ambiguity in the Hebrew. Here are three translations of part of the verse to demonstrate (the “he” refers to Nebuchadnezzar):
- “As a shepherd picks his garment clean of lice, so he will pick Egypt clean” (NIV)
- “And he shall clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin” (ESV)
- “So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment” (NASB)
The first two are similar and the more common way that it is translated. However, the third is quite different! Why is that? The verb that’s used twice (עָטָה, ʿāṭâ) is a homonym (spelled the same but with different meaning). One meaning is “wrap”, which is what the NASB uses (See also 1 Samuel 28:14, Psalm 109:19, or Isaiah 59:17). The other definition is “delouse” (to pick lice or small bugs from a garment) or “grasp/seize”, which is how many translations interpret it (including the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Bible) It’s only used this way here and in Isaiah 22:17. It is ambiguous, and that may be on purpose! What is Nebuchadnezzar going to do when he gets to Egypt?
To Ponder…
- Do you ever make excuses to disobey the Lord?
- Do you believe God can use anyone and any situation to further his purposes?
- Read the Bible in multiple translations and see how it illuminates the text.