A Scroll for Future Days (36:1-32) 601later by the king to take the scroll from Elishama's chamber and then to read
it before the king (vv 21-23). Ebed-melech, the palace eunuch who saved
Jeremiah's life and received an oracle from Jeremiah promising his own deliv-
erance (38:7-13; 39:15-18), was also a Cushite. Rice thinks that an Ethiopian
presence in Judah goes back a century to when Egypt was ruled by an Ethio-
pian dynasty, and Judah had close relations with Egypt (2 Kgs 18:13-19:37).
On the Cushites, see Note for 13:23. Some eliminate a four-generation geneal-
ogy by emending the text to read "Jehudi son of Nethaniah and Shelemiah son
of Cushi" (Cornill; Rudolph; Hyatt), or by eliminating the name "Jehudi" here
but retaining it in vv 21-23 (Volz). Both changes should be rejected; the four-
generation genealogy is intentional. The names "Nethaniah" and "Shelemiah"
have turned up on various extrabiblical ostraca, seals, and inscriptions (see
Appendix I).
to Baruch. Here the LXX adds the patronym, "son of Neriah."
take it in your hand and come. Hebrew walek must either mean "and go
(with us)" or "and come" (Judg 18:19 and 1 Sam 23:27, although in both cases
the waw is pointed with a shewa, not a qame$; cf. G. R. Driver 1937-38: 122).
So Baruch son of Neriah took the roll in his hand and came in to them. The
LXX omits Baruch's patronym and "in his hand"; for the verb, it has "went
down." The T and Vg read with the MT.
- Do sit down. Hebrew seb na>. The LXX's palin translates the verb fob
("again"), which is to be rejected even though sub does have this meaning in
v 28 (Giesebrecht; Duhm; Peake; Cornill; Rudolph; Weiser; Bright; McKane;
pace Volz and Holladay, who repoint). Aquila (epistrepson de, "turn now") and
Symm (an.alahe, "t;:ike 11p ;:ig;:iin") re;:id with the LXX; T, S, and Ve re;:id with the
MT Calvin notes the courteous treatment accorded Baruch. He is with col-
leagues in familiar surroundings. Some of those present are obviously his friends.
And Baruch read it aloud in their hearing. Baruch's second reading of the
scroll is to the princes, who, except for Micaiah, were not present to hear the
public reading. The LXX omits the final "in their hearing,'' which may simply
be to eliminate a repetition. - And it happened when they heard all the words, they turned trembling one
to another and said to Baruch, 'We must surely tell the king all these words.' The
verb pbd means "to tremble, be in dread." The LXX omits "to Baruch,'' which
means that the princes are simply telling one another that they must inform
the king. According to the MT, the princes tell Baruch that informing the king
will be necessary. The MT reading is not "inappropriate," as McKane (p. 905)
alleges. It goes without saying that the princes have now decided among them-
selves that the king must know what has happened, but it is just as obvious that
Baruch too must be told of their decision. All are presently sitting in the pal-
ace, where the king is not far away, and Baruch has much to lose if the king's
wrath is kindled, which it likely will be. Baruch's own life may be in jeopardy.
The princes anticipate this, and after asking him a final question, they tell him
to go hide with Jeremiah. The text then need not to be emended with the LXX,
as many commentators do.