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Chapter 51: Yahweh Makes War on Babylon
Jeremiah 51:1-10 ~ Babylon Drinks Yahweh's Cup of Wrath
The oracle begins with Yahweh's vow to raise a mighty wind of destruction against Babylon. Leb-Kamai in verse 1 is a cryptogram for Caldaea/Babylon. Babylon's "day of disaster" is in payment for Jerusalem's day of disaster inflicted by the Babylonians in the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC. The Babylonians were God's cup of wrath that the nations under judgment were forced to "drink" (verse 7). However, now Babylon will be forced, in payment for her evil acts, to drink the cup of Yahweh's wrath.
In verse 6, Jeremiah interrupts the oracle to list the judgments just announced. God will carry out the promised judgment, bending His bow and raising up a full coat of mail. Battle commands follow as a holy war is declared! The oracle ends with hope announced for Zion: for the remnant of the covenant people, but also with a reminder of their sin and judgment.
Jeremiah 51:11-14 ~ Yahweh's Plan for Babylon
The oracle begins with Yahweh acting as the commander of the army poised to attack Babylon.
Question: What commands are given?
Answer: Soldiers are given rapid-fire commands to sharpen arrows, fill their quivers, raise their battle flag, set the sentries, and march toward the walls of the city.
Yahweh then addresses "daughter Babylon." The "abundant waters" in verse 13 include the Euphrates River that passed through the middle of the city of Babylon and a system of irrigation canals. In verse 14, Yahweh swears by His own name to destroy the city with an army as thick as locusts gorging on a field of grain.
Jeremiah 51:15-19 ~ Yahweh's Power over the Earth and Cosmos
Babylon's destruction will be brought about by the God of all Creation. That Yahweh is the heritage of the covenant people in verse 19 is a repeat of Jeremiah 50:11 and Deuteronomy 32:9, but Yahweh's portion was his people, Jacob was to be the measure of his inheritance.
Jeremiah 51:20-26 ~ Yahweh's War-mace and Mountain
Babylon was God's instrument against the nations (verses 20-23) but no longer!
Question: What reason is given in verse 24 for the judgment against Babylon?
Answer: They will be punished for all the suffering they have caused the covenant people.
The "mountain of destruction" that destroyed the "whole world" conquered by their armies is, of course, Babylon. Yahweh has stretched out His hand of judgment, against this powerful nation (symbolized as a "mountain") that he will leave like a "burned out" mountain. Never again will Babylon threaten or demolish other nations.
Jeremiah 51:27-32 ~ Calling Nations to Rise Up Against Babylon
In verse 27, Ararat is a mountain range in northern Mesopotamia in the territory of the Assyrian kingdom of Urartu that is east of modern Turkey. Minni is a region named in Assyrian inscriptions and located somewhere in Armenia. Ashkenaz refers to what will become the territory of the Scythians in the region of the Upper Euphrates.
This oracle is not a description of the battle like the last oracles, but is instead what will accompany the battle. The Medes and Persians are God's instruments of judgment. The land will quake in its own rising against Babylon, and the warriors of Babylon will withdraw from fighting to seek shelter within the city. "The fords" in verse 32 refer to the common river crossings and perhaps bridges across the Euphrates River. Even the marshes were set on fire so not cover could be provided for those trying to escape capture.
Jeremiah 51:33-35 ~ Babylon's Judgment For Jerusalem's Suffering
In verses 34-35, Jerusalem is the speaker. The threshing-floor is an image of divine judgment where the righteous are separated from the wicked like the good grain is separated from the unusable chaff. The Temple in Jerusalem was built upon a threshing-floor (2 Sam 24:18-25; 1 Chr 21:18-28). Verses 34-35 are a lament by Lady Jerusalem. Verse 34 can also be translated "he has driven me out of my Eden," referring to the Promised Land of Israel. Jerusalem personified cries out that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon consumed her and then set her down like an empty dish. In 35b, Jerusalem ("the daughter of Zion") then pronounces a curse against Babylon for spilling the blood of Judah and Jerusalem: "On the inhabitants of Chaldaea be my blood!" It is similar to the curse the people of Jerusalem pronounce on themselves at Jesus' trial in Matthew 27:25.
Jeremiah 51:36-40 ~ Justice for Jerusalem and Zion
Yahweh speaks in verse 36. He has heard the charges and says He will plead Jerusalem's case (riv) as the prosecuting attorney. Then, as the divine Judge, He will avenge Jerusalem. Yahweh will do this because He is Israel's go'el: Israel's "Redeemer" and the punishment will suit the crime. Proud Babylon was like a "lion," but drunken/defeated Babylon will be like a lamb.
Jeremiah 51:41-43 ~ Dirge for Babylon
In Jeremiah 51:41, Sheshach is a cypher for Chaldaea/Chaldaeans (also see the same term in 25:26). Once again there is the imagery of a desolate land of drought and desert.
Jeremiah 51:44-46 ~ Be Prepared to Escape
Verses 45-58 call for the Jews to escape from Babylon before Yahweh condemns the city to divine judgment (also see Is 48:20-21). This may seem to be a contradiction to Jeremiah's letter urging the Judaean exiles to make a life in Babylon, but they are to watch for the signs of judgment and then prepare for their departure after the prescribed seventy years of exile (see 2 Chr 38:21; Jer 25:10-13; 29:10). Verses 44-5 are in the poetic form and verse 46 is prose.
Jeremiah 51:47-57 ~Yahweh Will Punish the False Gods of Babylon
Yahweh says that in the future He will bring judgment on Babylon's false gods. "Her entire country will be humbled" by the numbers of the dead, and all creation will rejoice over the fall of Babylon.
Question: What is the irony in verse 48 concerning Babylon? See Jer 25:9.
Answer: Babylon, the nation from the north who punished Judah (25:9), will be punished from the north.
Jeremiah 51:58 ~ The Final Oracle of Babylon's Destruction
In the final oracle, Yahweh says the great walls of the mighty city of Babylon will be razed to the ground, and her high gates will be burned down. The result is that all their accumulated wealth from other nations will come to nothing except to be fuel for the flames.
The Babylonians Capture Jerusalem by Francesco Hayes
Our lesson concerns the final chapters of the Book of Jeremiah and includes Jeremiah's instructions to Seraiah son of Neriah, to perform a prophetic ot (the tenth object lesson) when he accompanies King Zechariah to Babylon. This mission took place before the king rebelled against the Babylonians. The prophetic ot prefigures the destruction of the Babylonian Empire, ending with the words "Thus far the words of Jeremiah" that was probably the original ending of the book.
Chapter 51:59-64
Jeremiah 51:59-64 ~ Jeremiah's Instructions to Seraiah Son of Neriah: The Tenth Object Lesson
This passage shifts from the poetry of the previous verses to prose in verses 59-64. It is placed in Chapter 28 in the Septuagint, just after the oracles against Egypt and Babylon (the first two oracles against the nations in the Septuagint) and just before the oracle against the Philistines. Just as Jeremiah "commanded" Baruch to read aloud a newly written scroll in the Temple (36:5, 8), and "commanded" Baruch to keep safe the deeds for the property Jeremiah purchased (32:13), he now "commands" Seraiah to read aloud a message and to perform a prophetic act for the exiles in Babylon.
Question: Who was Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah? See Jer 32:12.
Answer: Seraiah was the brother of Baruch and a member of an important scribal family serving King Zedekiah.
Seraiah was a high-ranking official in Zedekiah's government. It is a fact confirmed by a late 7th century BC seal impression with the inscription "Belonging to Seraiah (ben) Neriah" without the title "scribe," perhaps suggesting that, although a trained scribe, he served the king in another capacity (see 51:59).
At Yahweh's command, Jeremiah performed nine object lessons, but the tenth and final object lesson became the mission of Seraiah son of Neriah, Baruch's brother. The passage does not say that Jeremiah copied the oracle from the scroll of the Book of Jeremiah, but it can be assumed since this passage is part of the complete book. The "one sheet," perhaps written on the front and the back, probably contained part or all of the prophecies of destruction against Babylon in 51:31-58, but the exact content cannot be known (the prophecies against Babylon also precede this passage in the Septuagint).
Seraiah took Jeremiah's scroll with him when he accompanied King Zedekiah on a diplomatic mission to Babylon in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign in about the year 595 BC (counting as the Judaeans counted with the first year of his reign in 598 counting as year 1, or perhaps 593 BC as the Babylonians would have counted the fourth year beginning in the first full year of his reign in 597 BC). Seraiah attended the king on the mission as a royal chamberlain or literally "prince of the resting place." The title suggests that he was the royal official in charge of the caravan and responsible for providing the king and the troops with clothing, food, and transportation. The visit was probably the payment of Judah's annual tribute and for Zedekiah to reaffirm his loyalty to his Babylonian overlord, Nebuchadnezzar. This would have been Zedekiah's last tribute payment since it was after this visit to Babylon in 595 BC, according to the Babylonian Chronicles, that Zedekiah decided to rebel against the Babylonians. He committed himself to a rebellion when he invited his neighbor nations to a conference in Jerusalem to discuss forming an alliance against the Babylonians and seeking the protection of the Egyptians.
Seraiah obediently took the copy of Jeremiah's oracle to Babylon. Upon his arrival in Babylon, Jeremiah commanded him to perform a prophetic act in four parts:
- He must read the scroll aloud.
- He must also address Yahweh, confirming that it is Israel's God who will punish Babylon.
- After reading the scroll, he must perform a prophetic act by tying a stone around the scroll and casting it into the Euphrates River.
- Finally, he is to speak a curse on Babylon, using the divine "I," meaning the curse is in Yahweh's name.
Thus far the words of Jeremiah. With the words "Thus far the words of Jeremiah," Seraiah ties the end of the Book of Jeremiah to the beginning in a repeat of Jeremiah 1:1a. Many Biblical scholars suggest that the book should end with Seraiah's summary statement in 51:54.
A Daily Defense
DAY 256 Peter the Rock
CHALLENGE: “Peter is not the rock Jesus is referring to in Matthew 16:18.”
DEFENSE: The structure of the passage clearly indicates that he is.
In Matthew 16:15–16, Jesus asks the disciples who they say he is, and Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In answer, Jesus gives a threefold response (Matt. 16:17 19), which may be diagrammed as follows:
1. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona!
1a. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
1b. But my Father who is in heaven.
2. And I tell you, you are Peter,
2a. And on this rock I will build my Church,
2b. And the gates of hades shall not prevail against it.
3. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
3a. And whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
3b. And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The parallelism among these statements indicates that Peter is the rock that Jesus is discussing. First, there are the root statements: (1) “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona!” (2) “And I tell you, you are Peter,” (3) “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Each of these is a blessing pronounced on Peter. They would make no sense if the middle statement was read as a way of diminishing Peter as an insignificant stone (see Day 282) in contrast to the much greater rock on which Jesus would build his Church. In that case, the passage would scan as, “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona! You are very insignificant. Here are the keys to the kingdom of heaven!”
Second, each of the root statements is explained by a pair of follow-up statements (labeled a and b).
Thus statement (1) is explained by statements (1a) and (1b), and statement (3) is explained by statements (3a) and (3b). Similarly, statement (2) is explained by statements (2a) and (2b).
Thus, the meaning of “You are Peter” is explained by “On this rock I will build my Church” and “the gates of hades shall not prevail against it.” This means that Peter is the rock on which Jesus will build his Church, and it is indicated by the parallelism displayed even in the English translation.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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