Jeremiah 35:4

And I brought them into the house of the Lord,.... Into the temple, as he was ordered; that is, he invited them thither, and they came along with him, having, no doubt, a respect for him as a

And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of

This term, the man of God, doth in Scripture signify a prophet sometimes; but whether it so signifieth here, and if it doth, whether it relateth to Igdaliah or Hanan, is a question. Probably by the chamber of the princes is meant some chamber where the princes were wont to meet in a court, or for counsel. Thither Jeremiah brings these Rechabites, and sets vessels of wine before them, not commanding them to drink it, but only inviting them.

Jeremiah 35:4 And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which [was] by the chamber of the princes, which [was] above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:Ver. 4. And I brought them into the house of the Lord.] That it might be made a public business, and so the better work upon all that should hear of it. The son of Igdaliah, a man of God.] A priest and prophet or teacher of the people. So in the New Testament others are called God’ s children, his servants, and his people, but ministers only are called God’ s men. Which was by the chamber of the princes.] Or, Of the prefects of the temple, that were next under the high priests.

(4) I brought them into the house of the Lord . . .—The Temple of Solomon appears from 1 Kings 6:5 to have had, like a cathedral, apartments constructed in its precincts which were assigned, by special favour, for the residence of conspicuous priests or prophets. Huldah the prophetess seems to have dwelt in some such apartments known as “the college” (see 2 Kings 22:14). In this case the chamber was occupied by the sons of Hanan. He, or Igdaliah (the Hebrew punctuation is decisive in favour of Hanan), is described as “a man of God—i.e., as a prophet—and therefore sympathising, we may believe, with Jeremiah’s work (Deuteronomy 33:1; 1 Samuel 2:27; 1 Kings 13:1; 1 Kings 20:28; 2 Kings 4:7; 2 Kings 4:9; 1 Chronicles 23:14; 2 Chronicles 11:2). It would seem, from the narrative, that Jeremiah had no chamber of his own. Here also “the sons of Hanan” are probably a company of scholars under the training of the prophet, Jeremiah introducing as it were the two religious orders to each other. The “princes,” as in Jeremiah 26:10; Jeremiah 36:12, were probably official persons who, though not priests, were entitled to residence in the precincts, as we see in the case of Gemariah in Jeremiah 36:10. The “keeper of the door,” as in Jeremiah 52:24, was probably one of the higher section of the priesthood. The stress laid on all these details was probably intended to show that the memorable dramatic scene that followed, daring as it seemed, was acted in the presence of representatives of the priestly, prophetic, and official orders. The name of Maaseiah has, however, a special interest attached to it. Shallum, the name of his father, is found in 2 Kings 22:14 as that of the husband of Huldah the prophetess of the reign of Josiah, and he is described as the “keeper of the wardrobe,” i.e., probably of the vestments of the priests, and as dwelling in the “college” (literally, the “second” part, or annexe of some other building). It is hardly possible to resist the inference that in the Maaseiah who now appears as receiving Jeremiah and the Rechabites, we have the son of the prophetess who had taken so active a part in the work of reformation in the reign of Josiah, whose influence had coloured the whole of the prophet’s life, who had brought up her son within the precincts of the Temple. We are brought as it were into the innermost circle of the prophetic company of Jerusalem, and are reminded of Simeon and Anna, and those who waited for the consolation, for the redemption of Israel (Luke 2:25; Luke 2:38). The influence of Shallum may, perhaps, be traced in the fact that the king who appears in history as Jehoahaz had probably been named by Josiah after him (2 Kings 23:30; 1 Chronicles 3:15), as David named one of his sons after Nathan (2 Samuel 5:14).

Verse 4. Igdaliah, a man of God] A prophet or holy man, having some office in the temple.

4. The particularity in description points to the narrative being contemporary with the events it describes. and I brought them into the house of the Lord] that so what was to follow might be made most prominent and be most widely known. Maaseiah] probably father of the Zephaniah (Jeremiah 21:1, Jeremiah 29:25, Jeremiah 37:3) who is mentioned as “second priest” in Jeremiah 52:24. keeper of the door] lit. threshold. There were three of these officers (Jeremiah 52:24; 2 Kings 25:18). They seem to have stood next in rank after the high-priest and his deputy (ib.), and were charged with the care of the money contributed for the restoration of the Temple (2 Kings 12:9).

The title man of God, i. e., prophet, belongs to Hanan, identified by many with Hanani 2 Chronicles 16:7. The sons of Hanan were probably his disciples.

4. The sons of Hanan were probably not his children, but his followers, and so we seem to have suggested a religious sect, though of their principles and history we know nothing.