Bible Study Jeremiah 43
‹ Jeremiah

Jeremiah 43 · WEB

The Flight to Egypt

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

Tap a verse to copy it, open the Hebrew, or write a note.

When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of Yahweh their God, with which Yahweh their God had sent him to them, even all these words,
2then Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, "You speak falsely! Yahweh our God has not sent you to say, 'You shall not go into Egypt to live there;'
3but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon."
4So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people didn't obey Yahweh's voice, to dwell in the land of Judah.
5But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations where they had been driven, to live in the land of Judah —
6the men, the women, the children, the king's daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.
7They came into the land of Egypt, for they didn't obey Yahweh's voice, and came to Tahpanhes.
8Then Yahweh's word came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9"Take great stones in your hand, and hide them in mortar in the brick work which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah.
10Tell them, 'Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne on these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his royal pavilion over them.
11He will come, and will strike the land of Egypt: such as are for death will be put to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword.
12I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt. He will burn them, and carry them away captive. He will array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment; and he will go out from there in peace.
13He will also break the pillars of Beth-shemesh that is in the land of Egypt; and he will burn the houses of the gods of Egypt with fire."'"
✶

Summary

Jeremiah 43 records the final act of the remnant's rebellion. Despite swearing to obey God's word, the people immediately accuse Jeremiah of lying and blame Baruch for manipulating him — a conspiracy theory to justify their disobedience. Johanan and the military leaders force the entire remnant — including Jeremiah and Baruch against their will — to march to Egypt, settling at Tahpanhes in the northeastern Nile Delta. Once there, God commands Jeremiah to perform one final sign-act: bury large stones in the pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace and declare that Nebuchadnezzar will set his throne on that very spot. The Egypt they fled to for safety will itself be conquered by the same Babylon they tried to escape. The very stones become a throne — judgment follows them into exile.

Themes

  • Rejecting God's word by attacking the messenger — accusing Jeremiah of lying
  • Conspiracy theories as spiritual avoidance — blaming Baruch instead of facing truth
  • The futility of fleeing God's judgment — Egypt provides no escape from Babylon
  • The reversed exodus — Israel voluntarily returning to the land God delivered them from

Key verses

  • Jer 43:10 — “I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne on these stones.”
  • Jer 43:2 — “You speak falsely! Yahweh our God has not sent you.”
  • Jer 43:7 — “They came into the land of Egypt, for they didn't obey Yahweh's voice, and came to Tahpanhes.”

Context & background

Tahpanhes (v. 7, modern Tell Defenneh in the northeastern Nile Delta, Egypt) was a frontier fortress city where a significant Jewish community settled. Archaeologists have found a large brick platform at the site that may correspond to the pavement where Jeremiah hid the stones. The accusation against Baruch (v. 3) — that he manipulated Jeremiah to hand them over to Babylon — was baseless but politically useful; it allowed the people to reject the message without directly calling God a liar. Jeremiah and Baruch were taken to Egypt involuntarily (v. 6), making Jeremiah a refugee prophet preaching in a land he had told everyone not to enter. Nebuchadnezzar did invade Egypt in 568-567 BC, fulfilling this prophecy — a fragmentary Babylonian text records the campaign. "Beth-shemesh" (v. 13) is the Hebrew name for Heliopolis (modern ruins in the suburb of Ain Shams, Cairo, Egypt), the great Egyptian temple of the sun god Ra, whose obelisks were famous throughout the ancient world. The "pillars" of Beth-shemesh are these obelisks. The entire flight to Egypt reverses the exodus — God brought Israel out of Egypt; now they voluntarily return.

Cross-references

  • Deuteronomy 28:68 — "Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again" — the covenant curse of reversed exodus
  • Ezekiel 29:17-20 — God giving Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as payment for his service against Tyre
  • Isaiah 19:1 — "Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt" — God's judgment on Egypt
  • Jeremiah 42:19-22 — God's explicit command not to go to Egypt, immediately disobeyed
  • Jeremiah 44:1 — Jeremiah continues prophesying in Egypt at multiple Jewish settlements

Check your reading

Log in to take the quiz and save your progress.

  1. Observe

    What accusation did the proud men make against Jeremiah and Baruch?

  2. Observe

    What sign-act did God command Jeremiah to perform at Tahpanhes?

  3. Interpret

    Why is it easier to attack the messenger than to accept an unwanted truth?

  4. Interpret

    What theological principle does God's word "I will set Nebuchadnezzar's throne in Egypt" reveal?

  5. Apply

    How should one respond when pulled into consequences created by others' disobedience?

  6. Apply

    How can one recognize the pattern of seeking guidance, then rationalizing ignoring it?

Your journal

Write your own answers — they save automatically, and only you can see them.

Log in to write and save journal answers.

Apply (How does it apply to me?)

Personal notes (anything else about this chapter)