574 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTSJudah has not been faithful to Yahweh. For this reason, and only for this rea-
son, Jeremiah commends the Rechabites and gives them a promise for the
future. The Rechabites survived the exile, for a descendant is reported as help-
ing in the rebuilding of Jerusalem (N eh 3: 14). On the Rcchabitcs, see further
the article by Pope in IDB R-Z, 14-16.
one of the chambers. In the Temple building, surrounding the holy place
(hekal) and the holy of holies (debfr), there was an outer structure of (side)
chambers (lesak8t; ~ela'ot) built in three levels (1 Kgs 6:5-6), over which the
Levitical priests had jurisdiction (1 Chr 23:27-28). These chambers were liv-
ing and working areas for priests in charge of the Temple (Ezek 40:45), priests
in charge of the altar (Ezek 40:46), singers ( 1 Chr 9: 3 3 ), stewards (2 Kgs 23: 11 ),
and Temple doorkeepers (Jer 35:4; 1 Chr 9:26-27). One chamber was appar-
ently set aside for the princes (Jer 35:4). Some chambers were storage facilities
for Temple vessels and other treasures, for frankincense, cereal offerings, and
incoming tithes (1 Chr 28:12; 2 Chr 31:11-12), the latter consisting of fruit,
grain, wine, and oil (Neh 10:38-40[Eng 10:37-39]; 13:4-9). One might com-
pare these to the side rooms in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
or in any other house of worship. We can imagine that Jeremiah took the Rech-
abites into the chamber of the sons of Hanan because a store of wine was there.
Regarding the side chambers in a reconstructed Solomonic Temple, including
a discussion about whether the doors led to the Temple interior or to the out-
side, see Garber 1951: 17-18; 1958: 127-33. This outer Temple structure is
described also in de Vaux 1965b: 315.
3-4. So I took Jaazaniah son ofleremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his broth-
ers and all his suns, indeed the entire lww;e u{ lite Rechubilei;, u11<l I bruughl them
to the house of Yahweh. Narratives of this type commonly contain a command
from Yahweh that Jeremiah carry out a specific action, followed by a first-
person report that the action was carried out (see Note on 25: 17). If the entire
clan of Rechabites entered a single chamber there could not have been many
of them. According to Abarbanel, the whole family was taken to show that not
one of them would drink the wine.
Jaazaniah son ofleremiah. On the name "Jaazaniah," see Note for 40:8.
and all his sons. The LXX omits "all"; see again v 15 and discussion in Jan-
zen 1973: 65-67.
indeed the entire house of the Rechabites. Migsch (2001) argues that this
phrase, being general and prefixed by a waw, must be supplied with an adjec-
tive "remnant" (yeter or se'arft) after "all," giving the reading: "the whole re-
maining house of the Rechabites" (=all the other Rechabites). But there is no
textual basis for such an addition and no reason, basically, why the present
company must be the only Rechabites remaining. The phrase appears simply
to be a "catchall" following the specific mention of Jaazaniah's family. The text
is saying that all the Rechabites who had entered Jerusalem for safety were
brought. A few other individuals may also have been invited as witnesses, as we
assume happened when Jeremiah buried the loincloth in Parah, and broke the
jug in Ben-Hinnom.