Jeremiah 20:1

Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest,.... Not the immediate son of Immer, but one that descended from him after many generations; for Immer was a priest in David's time, to whom the sixteenth

Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. Son - descendant.

CHAPTER 20 Pashur, smiting Jeremiah.for this prophecy, receiveth a new name, and a fearful doom, . Jeremiah’ s impatience under their treachery and contempt, . He rejoiceth in hope of vengeance, . Curseth his birth, . The course of Immer was the sixteenth course of the priests, as we read in . Pashur was his son, that is, descended from him through many generations. It is neither much material for us to know, nor very easy to determine, in what sense he is called the chief governor of the temple, whether he was deputy to the high priest, or the head of his course, which at that time waited in the temple, or had some place as captain of the temple, to take notice of any disorders should be committed there, contrary to the law. Certain it is he was no high priest, for then he could not have been one of the course of Immer. Heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things; either he heard Jeremiah himself, (which is most probable,) or somebody told him what Jeremiah had prophesied in the temple, which was within his charge and jurisdiction.

Jeremiah 20:1 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who [was] also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.Ver. 1. Now Pashur the son of Immer,] i.e., One of the posterity of Immer, after many generations. See 1 Chronicles 24:14. Who was also chief governor.] Not high priest, as some have said, but a principal priest, haply the head of the sixteenth course; or, as Junius and others think, the high priest’ s vicar, or second. Such as was Eleazar to Aaron his father. Heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.] Or, Heard Jeremiah prophesying; and having gall in his ears, as they say some creatures have, he was galled at the hearing of so smart a truth.

XX. (1) Pashur the son of Immer.—The description must be remembered as distinguishing him from the son of Melchiah of the same name in Jeremiah 21:1. We may probably identify him with the father of the Gedaliah named in Jeremiah 38:1 as among the “princes” that at a later date opposed the prophet’s work, and with the section of the priesthood, the sixteenth, named in 1 Chronicles 24:14, as headed in the time of David by Immer. The name here (like that of “the sons of Korah”) may indicate simply the fact that he belonged to this section; or, possibly, the name of the patriarch (so to speak) who gave its name to it may have re-appeared from time to time in the line of his descendants. The name of Pashur appears again, after the Captivity, in Ezra 2:37-38. Chief governor.—Better, deputy-governor. The word for governor is Nâgid, and this office was assigned to the high priest as the “ruler of the house of God” (1 Chronicles 9:11; 2 Chronicles 31:13). In the case of Zephaniah, who appears as Nâgid in Jeremiah 29:26, it was given to him as the “second priest” (2 Kings 25:18; Jeremiah 52:14). Next in order to him was the Pakid, the deputy, or, perhaps, better, superintendent. Here Pashur is described by the combination of the two titles, possibly as implying that he was invested, though a “deputy,” with the full powers of the “governor.” By some commentators, however, the relation of the two words is inverted, the Nâgid being added to the Pakid, to imply that Pashur was the chief warden or overseer. As such, on either view, the act and the words of Jeremiah came under his official notice. That such words should be spoken in the court of the Temple to the multitude assembled there was, we must believe, something new, and Pashur was resolved at any cost to prevent its repetition.

CHAPTER XX Jeremiah, on account of his prophesying evil concerning Judah and Jerusalem, is beaten and imprisoned by Pashur, chief governor of the temple, 1, 2. On the following day the prophet is released, who denounces the awful judgments of God which should fall upon the governor and all his house, as well as upon the whole land of Judah, in the approaching Babylonish captivity, 3-6. Jeremiah then bitterly complains of the reproaches continually heaped upon him by his enemies; and, in his haste, resolves to speak no more in the name of Jehovah; but the word of the Lord is in his heart as a burning flame, so that he is not able to forbear, 7-10. The prophet professes his trust in God, whom he praises for his late deliverance, 11-13. The remaining verses, which appear to be out of their place, contain Jeremiah's regret that he was ever born to a life of so much sorrow and trouble, 14-18. This complaint resembles that of Job; only it is milder and more dolorous. This excites our pity, that our horror. Both are highly poetical, and embellished with every circumstance that can heighten the colouring. But such circumstances are not always to be too literally understood or explained. We must often make allowances for the strong figures of eastern poetry. NOTES ON CHAP. XX Verse 1. Pashur - chief governor] Pashur was probably one of the chief priests of the twenty-four classes.

Jeremiah 20:1. Now Pashhur the son of Immer the priest] The name seems to have been a common one. In Jeremiah 21:1 and Jeremiah 38:1 a P. “son of Malchiah” is mentioned, and in the latter v. we find a third (possibly, however, identical with the present one), who was father of Gedaliah. Doubt has been thrown on the authentic character of this passage, inasmuch as in later times Immer (Ezra 2:37; Ezra 10:20; Nehemiah 7:40; Nehemiah 11:13) and apparently Pashhur (see on Ezra 2:38 in C.B.) were the names of priestly families, while in Jeremiah they are personal names. Moreover, since in b.c. 537 the priestly house of Immer was 1052 strong (Ezra 2:37 and so Nehemiah 7:40), it cannot have been named after the father of this P. But “son of Immer,” as Co. points out, may only mean a member of the family named after him as ancestor. Du. maintains that there is no room for the P. of the text here, as Jeremiah 29:26 shews that the predecessor of the Zephaniah, there mentioned as holding the same office, was not P. but Jehoiada. Erbt, on the other hand, points out that the office need not be the same, for in Jeremiah 52:24 we find that Zephaniah is but one of several officers of the Temple, and so, at the time to which Jeremiah 29:26 belongs, may have been the chief of the three “keepers of the door,” and not successor to the office here held by Pashhur. chief officer] lit. overseer, ruler, but the latter word in MT. “is probably a gloss, identifying Jeremiah’s ‘overseer’ (see Jeremiah 29:26) with the ‘ruler’ often mentioned in later times in connexion with the Temple, 1 Chronicles 9:11 (= Nehemiah 11:11); 2 Chronicles 31:13; 2 Chronicles 35:8.” Dr.

Pashur, the father probably of the Gedaliah mentioned in Jeremiah 38:1, was the head of the 16th course (shift) of priests (marginal reference); the other Pashur Jeremiah 21:1 belonged to the fifth course, the sons of Melchiah.

THE AND THE OF PASHUR, Jeremiah 20:1-6.1. Pashur — Many individuals of this name are mentioned, but none can be certainly identified with this one.