Jeremiah 52:16

Study note

Setting — The prophet Jeremiah records this account during the immediate aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction, when Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian captain of the guard, is distributing the remaining population. The narrative documents the administrative division of the city’s survivors following the initial deportation of its leaders and craftsmen.

The words — The Hebrew הִשְׁאִיר (hish.'Ir) literally means "he left behind," and לְ/כֹרְמִ֖ים (le./kho.re.Mim) denotes the specific agricultural role of vinedressers. These terms specify that the remaining poor were not granted freedom but were instead conscripted for crop cultivation.

The thread — This administrative action parallels the identical record in 2 Kings 25:12 and connects to the broader deportation sequences in Jeremiah 39:9 and Jeremiah 40:5. The repeated phrasing across these texts establishes a consistent historical account of Babylonian policy toward the Judean remnant.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to recognize that survival in the post-exilic landscape meant subordination to foreign agricultural labor. It demands acknowledgment that the remaining population’s continuity depended entirely on Babylonian administrative decree rather than autonomous civic life.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.