This chapter focuses on Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe. He is mentioned multiple times throughout the book. Chronologically, it is attached to the events of Jeremiah 36, when King Jehoiakim burned the scroll Jeremiah dictated to Baruch. The name Baruch means “blessed” and is a shortened form of Berechiah (“blessed by the Lord”). His father’s name, Neriah, means “Lamp of the Lord”. His grandfather’s name, Mahseiah (Jeremiah 32:12) means “refuge of the Lord”. A seal impression from this period was found saying “Belonging to Berechiah son of Neriah the scribe”. We don’t have any original copies of Jeremiah but this little clay […]
Yearly Archives: 2020
Video Series: Communal Culture Episode 5: Marriage and Family
Did Jesus promise us a mansion in heaven? Learn about ancient Israelite marriage and family customs to interpret imagery used in the New Testament.
Jeremiah 44
Around Egypt In the previous chapter, we left the remnant of Judah in Egypt, specifically in the city of Tahpanhes. As this chapter opens, it addresses Judeans who are spread out over a wider area: “Migdol, and Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the land of Pathros” (Jeremiah 44:1). “Migdol” (meaning “watchtower”) was located nearby. Memphis (Hebrew Noph) was the ancient northern capital of Egypt, not far from modern Cairo. Pathros, on the other hand, was a region, not a city. Egypt had two major regions: the north and south (literally “Lower” and “Upper”, referring to the elevation with Lower being […]
Video Series: Communal Culture Episode 4: The Father’s House
What is the basic building block of ancient society? How does the Bible use imagery of “the father’s house” to us teach about our relationship with God?
Jeremiah 43
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 […]
Video Series: Communal Culture Episode 3: Names and Naming
What is a name? Why do you have the name you have? Is there any significance to it? In the Bible, names were more than just a label. What does it mean to be renamed or to lose a name? What does it mean to carry God’s name well or in vain?
Jeremiah 42
Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.” Jeremiah 42:5-6 The people come to Jeremiah with a question to bring before the Lord: should we flee to Egypt or stay in Israel? It’s a reasonable question. The Babylonian-installed governor […]
Video Series: Communal Culture Episode 2: Honor and Shame
What determines how you act? Are you more driven by a sense of whether the action is right or by what people will think? In this episode we look at a key difference between Eastern and Western cultures and how it influences how people in the Bible acted. This is a huge cultural contrast that is easy for Westerners to miss.
Jeremiah 41
Getting No Where Fast In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. Jeremiah 41:1-2 Just two months after the Temple fell, Gedaliah is […]
Video Series: Communal Culture Episode 1: Eastern vs Western Thinking
There are a lot of differences between the Eastern, Hebraic mindset and our modern Western ways of thinking. In this episode, we get an overview of some of these contrasting perspectives, focusing on differences related to community.