Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_600_p.lzh/5_607.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-15 | 7KB | 128 lines

sented to it, and indeed are represented in the text as
the proclaimera; for so th.e word their is explained in
the following clause, which should be rendered, not
to all the people, but even all the people in Jerusalem {p},
and all the people that came from the cities of Juda, h unto
Jerusalem: these proclaimed the fast; they appl.ie.a to
the government for one, or however obeyed the king's
orders, and published and proclaimed a fast; not only
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but those who came
from other cities on business, or for safety, or for
worship.
Ver. 10. Then read Baruch in the book the words of
Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, &c.] The prophecies
of Jeremiah he had taken from him in writing on a roll
of parchment; these he read in the temple, in a part of
it, after described: in the chamber of Gemsfish the son
of Shaphan the scribe; not a scribe of the law, or an
officer of the temple, but the king's chancellor or se-
cretary of state; for this is the title, not of Gemariah,
who had a chamber in the temple here mentioned, in
which Baruch read his roll, and was an officer there,
but of Shophun, as the accents shew, and as his title
runs elsewhere, 2 Kings xxii. 9, 10. which chamber
was in the higher court; it looked into it, which some
say was the court of the priests; but into that Baruch,
not being a priest, could not enter: rather, according
to Dr. Lightfoot, it was the court of Israel, on the
same ground with it, though parted from it, and di-
vided from the court of the women by a wall, to which
they went by an ascent of fifteen steps; so that it
might with great propriety be called the higher court:
at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house; the
eastern gate, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, in-
terpret it: here Baruch read his roll, in the ears of. all
thepeople; that were in the court; so that being m a
chamber, he must read out of the chamber-window,
or in a balcony before it.
Vet. 11. When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son
of Shophun, &c.] Who was present when Baruch
read in the roll to the people in his father's chamber;
but Iris father was absent, and was with the princes in
the secretary's office at the same time, as the follow-
ing verse shews: the son seems to be a more religious
man than the father, unless he was placed as a spy,
to hear and see what he could: however, when he
had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord:
which were spoken by the Lord to Jeremiah, and
which Baruch read out of the book he had written in
his hearing; for it is a vain conceit of Abarbinel, that
Micalab did not hear these words from the mouth of
Baruch reading, but out of the book which he looked
into; for then it would have been said, which he had
seen or read out of the book, and not heard.
Vet. 12 Then he went down into the king's house,
&c.] The royal palace, which was not upon the moun-
tain on which the temple stood, but lay lower, and
therefore Micaiah is said to go down to it; with what
design he went thither is not certain, whether out of
ill will to Jeremiah and Baruch, or out of good will,
being affected with what he had heard, and desirous
that some steps might be taken by the governre. eat to
prevent the calamities coming upon them, according to
these prophecies; which latter seems most probable,
since no charge or accusation is brought by him; and
since his father, with others, to whom he gave the ac-
count afterwards, interceded with the king that the roll
might not be burnt, ver. 25. however, immediately
after he had heard the roll read, he went to the king's
house: into the scribe's chamber; the secretary's office;
formerly his grandfather Shaphau's, now Elishams's:
and, 1o, all the princes sat there; some of them are men-
tioned by name: Elishams the scribe; or secretary; the
prime-minister, the principal secretary of state, and
therefore named first, in whose chamber or office they
were: and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah , who this per-
son was, or his office, is not known; he is nowhere else
made mention of; and who his father was is not cer-
tain: and Elnathan the son of Achbor ; the same that
Jehoiakim sent to Egypt to fetch Uriah from thence,
oh. xxvi. 22: and Gemariah the son of Shaphan : who
was Micaiah's father, and in whose chamber Baruch
read the roll: and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah ;
of this prince also no account is given elsewhere: and
all the princes; the rest of them, who were either mem-
bers of the great sanhedrim, or courtiers; it appears.
from hence that this court was very profane and ir-
religious; for though they had proclaimed a fast, to
make a shew of religion, or at the importunity of the
people; yet they did not attend temple worship
and service themselves, but were all together in
the secretary's office, very probably about political
affairs.
Ver. 13. Then Micalab declared all the words that
he had heard, &c.] The sum and substance of them;
for it can't be thought that he should retain in his
memory every word that he had heard; though, as it
is very probable he was much struck and affected with
what he had heard, he might remember and declare a
great deal of it: when Baruch read the book in the ears
of the people; and this he also declared, no doubt, that
what he had heard, and then related, were read by
Baruch out of a book; as is clear from the princes
sending for Baruch, and ordering him to briug the
roll along with him, as in the following verse.
Ver. 14. Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi, &c.]
Who, according to Junius, was the king's apparitor:
he is described by his descent, the son of Nethaniah,
the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi ; him the princes
sent, being not one of their body, but a servant at
court: to Baruch; who was very probably still in the
temple, where Micaiah left him: saying, take in thine
hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the
people, and come; that is, to the king's palace, to the
secretary's office, where they were, and bring the roll
along with him he had been reading to the people, and
of which Micaiah had given them some account; and
which had such an effect upon them, as to make them
desirous of hearing it themselves. So .Baruch the son
of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them;
which shewed greatboldness and intrepidity in him, to
go at once, without any hesitation, to court, and appear
before the princes with his roll, which contained
things so very disagreeable to the king and his ministry;
but as he had not been afraid to read it publicly before

{p} \^Mlvwryb Meh lk\^ omnis populus Hierosolyma, Cocceius; omnis
populus in Hierosolyma, Schmidt.