NOTES for Jer 39:1-18

The prophecy came true: Jerusalem fell, the king was taken captive, and with him a considerable part of the people was sent into exile. Those who remained were given the opportunity to arrange everyday life under the rule of the occupiers, and some measures of the new authorities may appear not only humane, but also consistent with norms of social justice, since the poor were given lands and vineyards taken from their former owners. But somehow one does not want to thank the invaders for this, because a piece taken from a neighbor will sooner or later stick in the throat.

Now Nebuchadnezzar himself takes care of Jeremiah's safety. It would seem that the prophet now has every opportunity to rise above his compatriots, and if he had really been the traitor people thought he was, he would certainly have known how to use them. Yet we see no attempts on his part to use the situation for selfish ends or to take revenge on those who wronged him - more than that, we do not hear his words immediately after the defeat. An anxious pause hangs over the land of Judah between old troubles and new ones; it has come also in Jeremiah's prophetic ministry - but great is the depth of his silence.