Jeremiah 44:1

Superscription.

‘The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwelt in the land of Egypt, who dwelt at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph (Memphis), and in the country of Pathros, saying,

This is the opening superscription to this new prophecy, separating it from what has gone before. It informs us that what follows is YHWH's word to all Jews who have taken refuge in Egypt. It covers the whole of chapter 44. The opening prophecy is directed at the remnant who have escaped from Judah as previously described, who settled at Tahpanhes, whilst the concluding prophecy is directed at all Jewish refugees throughout Egypt. Whether the latter include any or all of the former we are nowhere told, but there would certainly be many Jewish refugees in Egypt who had not come with those who had arrived with Jeremiah.

With regard to the central section it is difficult to know who quite is involved in the worship described there, whether those living in Pathros, or Jews from all over Egypt gathered in Pathros for a festival, but either way they are seen as typical of most of the Judeans in Egypt. As always there would be a few exceptions, such as Jeremiah and Baruch.

It is apparent from this word here that there were at this time colonies of Jews in different parts of Lower Egypt. Migdol (‘tower or fortress') is mentioned in Exodus 14:2 and was on the Israelite route out of Egypt. It was therefore close to the borders. Noph is identical with Memphis (mentioned in Jeremiah 2:16; Isaiah 19:13; Ezekiel 30:13; Ezekiel 30:16). Tahpanhes was also a border city. The position of ‘the country of Pathros' is uncertain. That it covers a large area comes out in its use elsewhere. It may thus have included a number of communities of ‘Jews'. The name means ‘the Southland' and it may therefore indicate Upper Egypt, the long Nile valley extending north to south between Cairo and Aswan. It is attested in Assyrian inscriptions as Paturisi. In Isaiah 11:11 we find the description ‘from Mizraim (Egypt), from Pathros and from Cush', and this would appear to confirm this conclusion as it would appear to indicate Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt and North Africa (Northern Sudan). Interestingly an inscription of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, also speaks of him as ‘king of Musur, Paturisi and Cush', which parallels Isaiah's description. For further mention of Pathros/Pathrusim see also Genesis 10:14; Ezekiel 29:14; Ezekiel 30:14. ‘The country of Pathros' would therefore possibly include the Jewish military colony at Elephantine, on an island in the Nile not far from Syene (Aswan - Ezekiel 29:10; Ezekiel 30:6), that is if, as is probable, it existed at that time.