Jeremiah 28:1-4

E. A Warning to the False prophets Jeremiah 28:1-17

Alongside of the genuine prophet in ancient Israel the counterfeit prophet arose. The appearance of such fakes had been anticipated in the law of Moses and provisions were mode in the Book of Deuteronomy (Jeremiah 18:22; Jeremiah 13:1-3) for ascertaining whether or not a man was a true prophet of the Lord. In chapter 26 false prophets were named among the fanatic adversaries who sought the life of Jeremiah. Chapter 27 relates the continued opposition of these men during the reign of Zedekiah. Chapter 28 describes dramatic confrontation between Jeremiah and Hananiah, one of the false prophets. The account can be broken down into four paragraphs: (1) The prediction of Hananiah the false prophet (Jeremiah 28:1-4); (2) The response of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 28:5-9); (3) The reaction of Hananiah (Jeremiah 28:10-11); and Jeremiah's final word to Hananiah (Jeremiah 28:12-17).

1. The prediction of Hananiah (Jeremiah 28:1-4)

TRANSLATION

(1) And it came to pass in that year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, the fifth month, that Hananiah son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from Gibeon, said unto me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, (2) Thus says the LORD of hosts the God of Israel: I have shattered the yoke of the king. of Babylon. (3) Within two years I will bring back unto this place all the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and carried to Babylon. And Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon I will bring back to this place (oracle of the LORD), for I shall shatter the yoke of the king of Babylon.

COMMENTS

Later in the same year in which Jeremiah preached his famous yoke sermon the clash between the true and false prophets occurred. This is specifically designated as the fourth year of king Zedekiah. As the present event occurred in the fifth month, the events of the preceding chapter must have occurred sometime during the first four months of that same year.
The two prophets involved in the clash are Jeremiah and Hananiah. Jeremiah has alluded several times thus far in the book to the false prophets. Here for the first time he actually names one of them. The name Hananiah means Yahweh has been gracious. Nothing is known of him except what is here recorded: he was a prophet; he was son of Azzur; and he was from the priestly city of Gibeon some eight miles northwest of Jerusalem. Because of this latter circumstance some have suggested that Hananiah may have been a priest as well as a prophet.
Hananiah chose well the place of his showdown with Jeremiah. The confrontation took place in the Temple in the presence of the priests and the people. Perhaps it was on some Sabbath or festival day when the courts of the Temple were crowded with people. Jeremiah showed up with the yoke about his neck which symbolized submission to Babylon. one cannot determine from the brief account whether Hananiah's action was preplanned or whether he simply was roused to action by the appearance of Jeremiah.

Hananiah was not secretive about what he did. He boldly approached Jeremiah and in a loud voice, no doubt, announced that he had an oracle from the Lord: Thus says the LORD of host, the God of Israel. It sounded authentic. Either this solemn introductory formula was usual with all who claimed the prophetic gift or Hananiah assumed it as implying an equal claim to inspiration with Jeremiah. The oracle is brief, but Hananiah made three distinct points. First, Hananiah announces that God had broken the yoke of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 28:2). Of course this is exactly opposite what Jeremiah had been preaching. Note that Hananiah used the so-called prophetic perfecthe described the breaking of the yoke of Babylon as an accomplished fact. This was a technique which was frequently used by true prophets in predicting the future.

Hananiah's second prediction concerned the Temple vessels (Jeremiah 28:3). Since Babylon was to shortly fall, nothing would prevent the return of the Temple vessels to Jerusalem. The return of the Temple vessels seems to have been a prominent theme in the prognostications of the false prophets. Perhaps the capture of those sacred vessels by a foreign king created real theological problems for the priests and religious leaders. Within two full years, Hananiah confidently predicted, the Temple vessels would be returned to Jerusalem. Jeremiah had been saying just the opposite, i.e., that shortly the remaining sacred vessels would be carried away to Babylon. The basis for the figure two years is not stated. Possibly it was derived from the time-table of the nations which were plotting revolt against Babylon.

Hananiah's third prediction concerned those who were in exile in Babylon. When the yoke of Babylon was broken, Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) and all the other captives from both the 605 and 597 B.C. deportations would be permitted to return. Jeremiah had been predicting an exile of long duration (see e.g. Jeremiah 25:11). Furthermore Jeremiah had explicitly predicted that Jehoiachin would never return to Judah and would never have descendants to follow him upon the throne (Jeremiah 22:24-30). Because King Zedekiah is not mentioned in the prediction of Hananiah some have concluded that there is here personal hostility toward the present king. While it is true that many seemed to regard the exiled Jehoiachin as legitimate king there is no reason to search for subtle undertones of political dissatisfaction in this forthright prediction.