captain of the guard

February 15, 2017

The Babylonians took all the valuable precious vessels (Jer 52:18-52:19)

“The captain of the guard

Took away

The pots,

The shovels,

The snuffers,

The basins,

The ladles.

They took away

All the vessels of bronze

Used in the temple service.

The captain of the guard

Took away

The small bowls,

The fire pans,

The basins,

The pots,

The lamp stands,

The ladles,

The bowls for libation.

He took both

Those of gold

With those of silver.”

This is slightly more detailed than the listing found in 2 Kings, chapter 25. The captain of the guard took these Temple vessels that were used in the worship services, although it is not clear whether he did this before he burned the Temple or after the burning. Nevertheless he took pots, shovels, snuffers, basins, ladles, and all the bronze vessels used in the Temple service. He also took away the small bowls, the fire pans, the pots, the lamp stands, and the bowls for libation, whether they were gold or silver.

January 7, 2017

Oracle after the defeat (Jer 40:1-40:1)

“The word

That came

To Jeremiah

From Yahweh

After Nebuzaradan,

The captain of the guard,

Had let him go

From Ramah.

He had taken him

Bound in fetters

Along with all the captives

Of Jerusalem and Judah.

They were being exiled

To Babylon.”

According to this account, Jeremiah was sent in chains along with all the other captives of Jerusalem and Judah that were about to be exiled to Babylon. While there, Jeremiah had this oracle of Yahweh about leaving Ramah, which was about 6 miles north of Jerusalem in the Benjamin territory. Apparently this Ramah camp was where they made the final disposition of the various prisoners. Perhaps it was here that the captain of the guard, Nebuzaradan, made his final decision about Jeremiah. Like the preceding chapter, this is a different numbered chapter in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, chapters 47 and 48, not chapter 40 as here.