north of Jerusalem

August 14, 2018

John was arrested (Mk 1:14-1:14)

“After John was arrested,

Jesus came

Into Galilee,

Preaching

The gospel of God.”

 

Καὶ μετὰ τὸ παραδοθῆναι τὸν Ἰωάνην ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν κηρύσσων τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Θεοῦ

 

The beginning of the ministry of Jesus in Galilee can be found in all 4 gospel stories, Matthew, chapter 4:12, which is very close to Mark here.  Luke, chapter 4:14, has no mention of the arrest of John the Baptist’s arrest, while John 4:1-3 said that there was a comparison between Jesus and John the Baptist.  In all cases, it took place after the temptations of Jesus, except for John who had no mention of any temptations for Jesus.  Mark said that now that John had been arrested or handed over (Καὶ μετὰ τὸ παραδοθῆναι τὸν Ἰωάνην), Jesus went into Galilee (ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν), preaching the gospel or good news about God. (κηρύσσων τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Θεοῦ).  Jesus knew that that John the Baptist had been arrested, without any clear indication why.  Although this text does not mention him by name, Herod Antipas, the son of King Herod, was in charge of Galilee from 4 BCE-39 CE.  He was the one who arrested John.   This might have been a warning sign to Jesus to get away from the Jordan River area.  However, Jesus went back to Galilee, about 80 miles north of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea area.  This area was originally part of the Israelite tribal territories of Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Asher.  Matthew, chapter 4:14-16 used a citation from Isaiah, chapter 9:1-5, to explain why Jesus was in Galilee.  Jesus was preaching about the good news or gospel of God, not as Matthew portrayed Jesus as teaching about the kingdom of heaven.

March 11, 2018

The arrest of John the Baptist (Mt 4:12-4:12)

“Now when Jesus heard

That John had been arrested,

He withdrew

To Galilee.”

 

Ἀκούσας δὲ ὅτι Ἰωάνης παρεδόθη ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν.

 

This is the same as Mark, chapter 1:14 and similar to Luke, chapter 4:14. Jesus heard (Ἀκούσας δὲ) that John the Baptist had been arrested (Ἰωάνης παρεδόθη), without any clear indication why. However, in chapter 14:1-12, Matthew took up this question in greater detail. Herod Antipas, the son of King Herod, was in charge of Galilee from 4 BCE-39 CE. Although this text does not mention him by name, Herod Antipas was the one who arrested John. This might have been a warning sign to get away from the Jordan River area. However, Jesus went back to Galilee, just like Joseph had done years earlier. Galilee was about 80 miles north of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea area.

January 7, 2017

Jeremiah stays in Judah (Jer 40:5-40:6)

“‘If you remain,

Then return to Gedaliah,

The son of Ahikam,

The son of Shaphan.

The king of Babylon

Has appointed him governor

Of the towns of Judah.

Stay with him

Among the people!

Or go wherever

You think it right to go.’

So the captain of the guard

Gave him an allowance

Of food

With a present.

He let him go.

Then Jeremiah went

To Gedaliah,

The son of Ahikam,

At Mizpah.

He stayed with him

Among the people

Who were left in the land.”

Nebuzaradan, the captain of the troops, told Jeremiah that if he stayed in Judah that he would be better off with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. The King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the governor for the towns of Judah, since there was no longer a king. As mentioned in the previous chapter, Gedaliah’s father and grandfather, Ahikam and Shaphan had been loyal to the various prophets. Shaphan went back to the days of King Josiah (640-609 BCE) and his religious reform. Ahikam had protected Jeremiah during the reign of King Jehoiakim (609-598 BCE) as in chapter 26 of this book. His brother Gemariah had helped Jeremiah in chapter 36. Thus Ahikam’s son Gedaliah seemed like the right person to protect Jeremiah. Still Jeremiah was free to go wherever he wanted. The captain of the troops gave Jeremiah some food and a present, maybe some money. Jeremiah then went to Gedaliah, who was at Mizpah, about 6 miles north of Jerusalem, in the Benjamin territory. Thus Jeremiah stayed with all these people who were left in Israel. These were either the so-called poor people or collaborators with the Babylon king and his emissaries.

December 12, 2016

Jeremiah meets the prophet Hananiah (Jer 28:1-28:1)

“In that same year,

At the beginning

Of the reign

Of King Zedekiah

Of Judah,

In the fifth month

Of the fourth year,

Hananiah,

The son of Azzur,

From Gibeon,

Spoke to me

In the house of Yahweh,

In the presence

Of the priests

With all the people.”

Once again we have an exact time frame for this confrontation with Hananiah. This meeting of Jeremiah and Hananiah took place at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah or King Mattaniah (598-587 BCE), the son of King Josiah (640-609 BCE) who was installed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (605-562 BCE) at the age of 21. Hananiah was a prophet from Gibeon, north of Jerusalem in the Benjamin territory, whose father was Azzur. Thus this meeting between Jeremiah and Hananiah in the Temple of Yahweh took place around 594 BCE, during the 4th year of the reign of King Zedekiah in the presence of the priests and all the people, as much as that was possible. Like the preceding chapter, this is a different numbered chapter in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, chapter 35, not 28 as here.