Jeremiah 32:9

And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. I BOUGHT ... AND WEIGHED HIM THE MONEY ... SEVENTEEN SHEKELS OF SILVER. As the shekel was only 2 shillings 4d., the total would be under 2 pounds sterling-a rather small sum, even taking into account the fact of the Chaldean occupation of the land, and the uncertainty of the time when it might come to Jeremiah or his heirs. Perhaps the 'seven shekels,' which in the Hebrew (see margin) are distinguished from the 'ten pieces of silver,' were shekels of gold (Maurer). I SUBSCRIBED - I wrote in the deed, "the book of the purchase" (). WEIGHED. Coined money was not in early use; hence, money was weighed ()....

He afterwards adds, that he _bought the field of Hanameel his uncle’s son, which was in Anathoth, _in _the land of Benjamin _There is nothing superfluous in these words, for though the Prophet speaks of places well known, yet he had a regard to the time of the purchase, for the land of Benjamin was then in the power of enemies: the Jews had been reduced to such straits that they were not safe at Jerusalem. Anathoth was a village, as it was well known, exposed to the ravages of enemies, and was seized on as a prey at their first coming. And he adds, _in the land of Benjamin, _for it was nigh the borders of Judah, but it had been forsaken by its inhabitants, and all had fled to Jerusalem. As then the land of Benjamin had no inhabitant, it was by no means reasonable for the Prophet to pay even the smallest sum for a field there....

1-15 Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, when houses, and fields, and vineyards, should be again possessed. It concerns ministers to make it appear that they believe what they preach to others. And it is good to manage even our worldly affairs in faith; to do common business with reference to the providence and promise of God....

Verse Jeremiah 32:9. _WEIGHED HIM THE MONEY_] It does not appear that there was any _coined_ or _stamped_ money among the Jews before the captivity; the Scripture, therefore, never speaks of _counting_ money, but of _weighing_ it. _SEVENTEEN SHEKELS OF SILVER._] The shekel at this time must have been a _nominal_ coin; it was a thing of a certain _weight_, or a certain _worth_. _Seventeen_ shekels was the _weight_ of the silver paid: but it might have been in _one_ ingot, or piece. The shekel has been valued at from _two shillings and threepence_ to _two_ _shillings and sixpence_, and even at _three shillings_; taking the purchase-money at a _medium_ of the value of the shekel, it would amount only to about _two pounds two shillings and sixpence_. But as estates bore value only

SEVENTEEN SHEKELS OF SILVER - literally, as in the margin, probably a legal formula. Jeremiah bought Hanameel’s life-interest up to the year of Jubilee, and no man’s life was worth much in a siege like that of Jerusalem. As Jeremiah had no children, at his death the land would devolve to the person who would have inherited it had Jeremiah not bought it. He therefore bought what never was and never could have been of the slightest use to him, and gave for it what in the growing urgency of the siege might have been very serviceable to himself. Still, as the next heir. it was Jeremiah’s duty to buy the estate, independently of the importance of the act as a sign to the people; and evidently he gave the full value....

EXPOSITION Jeremiah was far from wishing to depress his fellow countrymen to the point of disbelieving in the inalienable promises of God to Israel, He fully recognized an element of truth in the preaching of the "false prophets," viz. that Jehovah was still the God of his people Israel, though for wise purposes he chose to hide his face for a time. His own faith was intense, to the pitch of an even Roman heroism (see Livy, Jeremiah 26:11). The opportunity (or rather—see below—the fight) of purchasing a piece of ground at Anathoth was the occasion which called forth the most striking proof of his sublime confidence in God. Not that he understood how it could be God's will that he, in the besieged city, should constitute himself a landed proprietor. He had his difficulties; but instead of brooding over them, he laid them Before Jehovah in prayer. And the Divine revelation

AND I BOUGHT THE FIELD OF HANAMEEL MINE UNCLE'S SON; THAT [WAS] IN ANATHOTH,.... The prophet agreed with his cousin to take his field of him, at a certain price hereafter mentioned; which may seem strange in one that was a poor prophet, now a prisoner, and the land just going to be subject to the Chaldeans: but the design of this was to show that there would be a return from captivity, when houses and fields should be bought and sold again, of which this was a pledge: AND WEIGHED HIM THE MONEY; agreed upon, which was reckoned not by tale, but by weight: [EVEN] SEVENTEEN SHEKELS OF SILVER; which, reckoning a shekel at half a crown, were no more than two pounds, two shillings, and sixpence; a small sum of money to make a purchase of a field with; though this may be accounted for by the scarcity of money, the field in the hand of the enemy, there being only his kinsman's life in it, the p...

Jeremiah 32:1. _The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem : and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying. Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shalt surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper._...

BOUGHT (1) A sign of Jeremiah's faith in his own predictions of the restoration of Judah (Jeremiah 32:15) for the field was then occupied by the Babylonian army; and (2) a sign to Judah of that coming restoration....

CHAPTER 32 Jeremiah in Prison _ 1. Shut up in the court of the prison (Jeremiah 32:1) _ 2. The revelation of the Lord concerning Hanameel (Jeremiah 32:6) 3. The prophet's prayer (Jeremiah 32:16) 4. Jehovah's answer (Jeremiah 32:26) Jeremiah 32:1. The siege of Jerusalem began in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign. It was in the tenth year, a year later (Jeremiah 39:1) that we find Jeremiah in prison.