Jeremiah 26:20-23

3. A counter-precedent (Jeremiah 26:20-23)

TRANSLATION

(20) But there was also a man who was prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land just as Jeremiah had done. (21) When king Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the princes heard his words, the king sought to kill him. When Uriah heard of it he feared and fled and went to Egypt. (22) But king Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him to Egypt. (23) And they brought Uriah out of Egypt and brought him unto king Jehoiakim, who smote him with the sword and threw his corpse unto the graves of the common people.

COMMENTS

It is impossible to determine precisely what the original relationship was between this paragraph and the trial of Jeremiah. Some hold that the account of the death of Uriah the prophet is a completely separate episode coming from later in the reign of Jehoakim and inserted here to emphasize the extremely precarious position which Jeremiah had just escaped. However the present writer is inclined to accept the old Jewish interpretation of the passage (found in the Siphre) that this episode was cited by Jeremiah's accusers as a counter-precedent during the trial. Whichever view is adoptedand there are good arguments for boththe incident of Uriah the prophet certainly demonstrates the grave danger that outspoken men of God faced during the reign of the ruthless Jehoiakim.

Nothing is known of Uriah apart from that which is recorded here. The text relates that (1) he was the son of Shemaiah; (2) that he was from the city of Kiriathjearim seven miles north-west of Jerusalem; (3) that he prophesied against Judah and Jerusalem in the same manner as did Jeremiah; (4) that he fled to Egypt when his life was threatened by Jehoiakim; (5) that he was extradited from Egypt through the instrumentality of an Elnathan;[235] (6) that Jehoiakim slew him or had him slain with a sword; (7) that he was buried in the graveyard of the common people (Jeremiah 26:23).[236]

[235] This Elnathan is again mentioned in Jeremiah 36:12; Jeremiah 36:25. If identical with the Elnathan of 2 Kings 24:8, he was Jehoiakim's father-in-law.

[236] Some form of degradation is obviously intended by the expression graves of the children of the people. Perhaps the idea is a common graveyard as over against a family sepulcher.

Why did Uriah flee from Jehoiakim? Was this not sinful cowardice on his part? It should be remembered that Elijah fled from the wrath of wicked Jezebel (I Kings 191-8). Jeremiah and Baruch hid on another occasion from this same Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36:19; Jeremiah 36:26). Joseph and Mary took the infant Jesus and fled to Egypt to escape the slaughter ordered by Herod (Matthew 2:13-23). John relates that Jesus hid himself from those who would have stoned him on one occasion (John 8:59). Paul secretly escaped from the city of Damascus to avoid those who were waiting to slay him (Acts 9:23 ff.) One is reminded of the advice which Jesus gave to his disciples: When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another (Matthew 10:23). From all of these references the principle emerges that a man of God should not knowingly place his life in jeopardy while he still has a mission to perform.

One other question with regard to the Uriah incident needs to be answered. Why was it that Jehoiakim was so easily able to secure the extradition of Uriah from the land of Egypt? Why could not or did not the king of Egypt grant asylum for the Judean fugitive? The answer probably lies in the fact that Jehoiakim of Judah was the vassal of Pharaoh Necho and a treaty must have existed between the two kings. Such treaties usually included a provision for reciprocity with regard to fugitives. The Uriah episode must have taken place during the first three years of Jehoiakim's reign when he was an Egyptian vassal. In his fourth year Jehoiakim became a vassal to Nebuchadnezzar.