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:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) I brought them into the house of the Lord . . .—The Temple of Solomon appears from 1Kings 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 2Kings 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; 1Samuel 2:27; 1Kings 13:1; 1Kings 20:28; 2Kings 4:7; 2Kings 4:9; 1Chronicles 23:14; 2Chronicles 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 2Kings 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 (2Kings 23:30; 1Chronicles 3:15), as David named one of his sons after Nathan (2Samuel 5:14). It is, perhaps, from this point of view, characteristic of Jeremiah that he adheres in Jeremiah 22:1 to the old name given on his birth, and not to that which he had apparently adopted upon his accession to the throne. The name Shallum, it may be noted, means “retribution,” whether for good or for evil.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

35:1-11 Jonadab was famous for wisdom and piety. He lived nearly 300 years before, 2Ki 10:15. Jonadab charged his posterity not to drink wine. He also appointed them to dwell in tents, or movable dwelling: this would teach them not to think of settling any where in this world. To keep low, would be the way to continue long in the land where they were strangers. Humility and contentment are always the best policy, and men's surest protection. Also, that they might not run into unlawful pleasures, they were to deny themselves even lawful delights. The consideration that we are strangers and pilgrims should oblige us to abstain from all fleshly lusts. Let them have little to lose, and then losing times would be the less dreadful: let them sit loose to what they had, and then they might with less pain be stript of it. Those are in the best frame to meet sufferings who live a life of self-denial, and who despise the vanities of the world. Jonadab's posterity observed these rules strictly, only using proper means for their safety in a time of general suffering.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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. If so, we find a religious school or sect, regularly established in the precincts of the temple, of whose views and modes of interpretation we know nothing. Plainly however, the Hananites were friendly to Jeremiah, and lent him their hall for his purpose.

The chamber of the princes - Probably the council-chamber in which the great officers of state met for the despatch of business.

The keeper of the door - There were three of these keepers, answering to the outer and inner courts of the temple, and the entrance to the temple itself. They were officers of high rank, having precedence next to the high priest and his deputy.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. man of God—a prophet (De 33:1; 1Sa 2:27; 1Ki 12:22; 2Ki 4:7), also "a servant of God" in general (1Ti 6:11), one not his own, but God's; one who has parted with all right in himself to give himself wholly to God (2Ti 3:17). He was so reverenced that none would call in question what was transacted in his chamber.

keeper of the door—Hebrew, "of the vessel." Probably the office meant is that of the priest who kept in charge the capitation money paid for the use of the temple and the votive offerings, such as silver vessels, &c. There were seven such keepers [Grotius]. Compare 2Ki 12:9; 25:18; 1Ch 9:18, 19, which support English Version.

I said … Drink—Jeremiah does not say, The Lord saith, Drink: for then they would have been bound to obey. Contrast the case in 1Ki 13:7-26.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

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.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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 prophet; and the rather, as it is highly probable he came in the name of the Lord to them:

into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God; a prophet, as the Targum and Syriac version; and so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it. This must be understood of Hanan, and not Igdaliah, as the accents show: he is thought by some to be the same with Hanani the seer, in the times of Asa, 2 Chronicles 16:7;

which was by the chamber of the princes; these were not the princes of the blood, the sons of Jehoiachim; their chambers or apartments were not in the temple, but in the royal palace; but these were the princes or rulers of the people, as they are called, Acts 4:8; the sanhedrim, whose this chamber was, as Dr. Lightfoot (d) has observed:

which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: a porter, whose chamber or lodge was under that in which the sanhedrim sat. The Targum calls him a treasurer; one of the seven "amarcalim", who had the keys of several chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary and other things were put; and Kimchi observes, the word we render door comprehends the vessels of the sanctuary, and the vessels of wine, and other things.

(d) Temple-Service, c. 9. p. 1063.

Geneva Study Bible

And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man {c} of God, who was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:

(c) That is, a prophet.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

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).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - A man of God. The title, according to Hebrew usage, belongs to Hanan, not to his father, and means "prophet" (see e.g. 1 Kings 12:22); comp. Plumptre -

"There the chamber stands
Where Hanan's followers gather up the words
Their master speaks." The chamber of the princes; i.e. the room "where the princes," i.e. the most distinguished laymen, especially the "elders of the people," assembled before the temple services. Maaseiah the son of Shallum. Probably the father of Zephaniah, "the second [or, 'deputy'] priest" (Jeremiah 52:24), himself a functionary of high rank, as he is called a keeper of the door (or rather, threshold). There were three of these "keepers," corresponding to the number of the gates of the temple, and they ranked immediately after the high priest and his deputy (Jeremiah 52:24); comp." I had rather be a doorkeeper," etc., in one of the Korahite psalms (Psalm 84:10). Jeremiah 35:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In executing the command of the Lord, Jeremiah took (went for) Jaazaniah, son of Jeremiah, son of Habaziniah, and all his brethren, and sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, and brought them into the temple-chamber of the sons of Hanan. Jaazaniah was probably the then chief of the Rechabites. The chamber of the sons of Hanan was situated next the princes' chamber, which stood over that of Maaseiah the door-keeper. Nothing further is known about Hanan the son of Jigdaliah; here he is called "the man of God," an honourable title of the prophets - see e.g., 1 Kings 12:22 - for, according to the usual mode of construction, אישׁ האלהים does not belong to Jigdaliah, but to Hanan, cf. Jeremiah 28:1; Zechariah 1:1. "The chamber of the princes" is the chamber where the princes, the chiefs of the people, used to assemble in the temple. Its position is more exactly described by ממּעל לל, "over the chamber of Maaseiah," but not very clearly for us, since the buildings of the temple fore-courts are nowhere else more exactly described; however, see on Jeremiah 36:10. Maaseiah was שׁמר הסּף, "keeper of the threshold," i.e., overseer of the watchmen of the temple gates, of which, according to Jeremiah 52:24 and 2 Kings 25:18, there were three, who are there mentioned along with the high priest and his substitute Maaseiah is probably the same whose son Zephaniah was כּהן המּשׁנה , cf. Jeremiah 52:24 with Jeremiah 37:3; Jeremiah 29:25, and Jeremiah 21:1.