Jeremiah 35:2

Jer 35:2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

Ver. 2. Go unto the house of the Rechabites.] So called of one Rechab, the father of, Jonadab, who was famous for his piety in Jehu’s days, {2Ki 10:15} three hundred years at least before this prophecy of Jeremiah. They were of the posterity of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, and lived up and down in the land upon their employments, weaned from the world, and exercising themselves in the law of God. See 1Ch 2:55, where they are called the "families of the scribes that dwelt at Jabez," as being men learned in the laws of God. Of them came the Essenes, a studious and abstemious sect among the Jews; and they might better than those Donatists have taken to themselves the title of Apotactici, so called from their renouncing the world.

And give them wine to drink.] Heb., Make them drink wine - i.e., set it before them, and then leave them to their own liberty.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jer 35:2-4. Go to the house of the Rechabites — “The Rechabites, as may be collected from Jer 35:7, were not of the children of Israel, but strangers of another race that dwelt among them. From 1Ch 2:55, they appear to have been Kenites, a people originally settled in that part of Arabia Petræa which was called the land of Midian. At what time Rechab lived, who gave his name to the family, is not certain, nor whether he was the immediate father, or remote ancestor of Jonadab; for the word son often denotes nothing more than a lineal descendant. But it is most likely that the Jonadab here spoken of, as having dictated a rule of living to the Rechabites, was the same person of whom mention is made 2Ki 10:15. For that this latter was a man of considerable eminence is manifest from the respect shown him by Jehu; and his being taken along with that prince to witness his zeal for the honour of the true God, shows him to have been a man of right and religious principles. The institutions he left with his posterity bespeak a principal concern for the purity of their morals, which he might rightly suppose would be less liable to be corrupted whilst they adhered to the simplicity of their ancient usages, than if they adopted the refinements of modern luxury. He, therefore, enjoined them not only to abstain from the use of wine, but to live as the patriarchs did of old, and as many of their countrymen, the Scenite Arabs, continue to do at this day, without any fixed habitations or possessions, far from the society of cities, in the open country, feeding their flocks, and maintaining themselves by the produce of them.” — Blaney. And bring them into the house of the Lord — Into one of the chambers adjoining to the temple. By this it appears that the Rechabites were not idolaters, for it was not lawful for such persons to come within the precincts of the temple. I brought them into the chamber of the sons of Hanan — The chambers adjoining to the temple, of which there were several, were for the use of the priests and Levites, during the time of their ministrations. They were also used as repositories for laying up the holy vestments, and vessels, and whatever stores were necessary for the daily sacrifices, and the other parts of the temple service. The son of Igdaliah, a man of God — That is, as this name usually imports, a prophet, or one who had been employed upon a divine commission. Which was by the chamber of the princes — The chamber where the princes, or the members of the sanhedrim, or great council, used to assemble. Above the chamber of Maaseiah, the keeper of the door — That is, one of the keepers; for there were several Levites appointed to that office, both to open and shut the gates of the temple in due time, and likewise to attend at them all day, for preventing any thing that might happen to the prejudice of the purity, or safety of that holy place. Some of these officers had likewise the custody of the holy vessels.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

35:2 The Recabites were descendants of Jehonadab son of Recab, a Kenite who had served under Jehu, king of Israel (2 Kgs 10:15, 23; 1 Chr 2:55). Jeremiah probably knew that the Recabites did not drink wine, but he obeyed the Lord’s command.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They came of Hobab Moses’ father-in-law, who was no Israelite, but after joined with them in the service of God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 2. The house of the Rechabites] The Rechabites were not descendants of Jacob; they were Kenites, 1Ch 2:55, a people originally settled in that part of Arabia Petraea, called the land of Midian; and most probably the descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Compare Nu 10:29-32, with Jdg 1:16; Jdg 4:11.

Those mentioned here seem to have been a tribe of Nomades or Scenite Arabs, who fed their flocks in the deserts of Judea; they preserved the simple manners of their ancestors, considering the life of the inhabitants of cities and large towns as the death of liberty; believing that they would dishonour themselves by using that sort of food that would oblige them to live a sedentary life. Jonadab, one of their ancestors, had required his children and descendants to abide faithful to the customs of their forefathers; to continue to live in tents, and to nourish themselves on the produce of their flocks; to abstain from the cultivation of the ground, and from that particularly of the vine and its produce. His descendants religiously observed this rule, till the time when the armies of the Chaldeans had entered Judea; when, to preserve their lives, they retired within the walls of Jerusalem. But even there we find, from the account in this chapter, they did not quit their frugal manner of life: but most scrupulously observed the law of Jonadab their ancestor, and probably of this family.

When the children of Hobab, or Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, were invited by him to accompany them in their journeying to the Promised Land, it is very likely that they continued their ancient usages, and lived a patriarchal life. Their property, consisting in nothing but their cattle and tents, was easily removable from place to place; and their manner of living was not likely to excite the envy or jealousy of those who had learnt to relish the luxuries of life; and therefore we may naturally conclude that as they were enemies to none, so they had no enemies themselves. Nature has few wants. Most of those which we feel are factitious; and howsoever what we call civilization may furnish us with the conveniences and comforts of life, let us not deceive ourselves by supposing that these very things do not create the very wants which they are called in to supply; and most certainly do not contribute to the comfort of life, when the term of life is considerably abridged by their use. But it is time to return to the case of the Rechabites before us.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Go, said he, to the house of Rechab, (we have said that they dwelt then at Jerusalem, and this will appear hereafter) and bring them unto the house of Jehovah But we must inquire why the Prophet was ordered to lay wine before them in the Temple rather than in a private house. The reason, indeed, is evident; for God’s purpose was to shew how wicked and perverse the Jews were, for not even the priests abstained from wine except when they were performing their duties. The Law commanded them to abstain then from wine; but the Levites, who took care of the Temple, and also the priests, when not engaged in the discharge of their office, were fully allowed to drink wine. As, then, the priests were permitted to drink wine even in the Temple, that is, in the chambers adjoining the priests’ court, what excuse could have been made when the Rechabites, who were yet of the common people, and even aliens among the Jews, refused wine according to the command of their father Jenadab? Had God forbidden the whole people the use of wine, the Law might have appeared too rigid; but God not only permitted the people to drink wine, but also the priests; nay, no religious reverence prevented them from drinking wine close to the Temple when they were not engaged in their duties. We now, then, perceive why the place has been mentioned, that is, that the Prophet relates that he brought the Rechabites into the Temple.

Go, then, and bring them into the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and offer them wine to drink We have said that the chambers were nigh the priests’ court; for many of the Levites were always keeping watch, guarding the Temple, and also some of the priests. The priests, while serving their turn, alone abstained from wine; but a permission was given by the Law to the Levites to drink wine, and in those very chambers, which were on both sides a sort of appendages to the Temple.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) Go unto the house of the Rechabites . . .—The word “house” is used throughout the chapter in the sense of “family.” Among those who had thus taken refuge were the tribe, or sect, or even fraternity known by this name. Their founder was the Jonadab, or Jehonadab, who appears as the ally of Jehu in the overthrow of the house of Ahab (2Ki_10:15). It is clear from that history that he exercised an influence over the people which Jehu was glad to secure, and that he welcomed “the zeal for the Lord” which led Jehu to the massacre of the worshippers of Baal. He is described as the “son of Rechab,” but seeing that that name, which means “chariot,” was applied to the great Tishbite prophet, as in “the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof” (2Ki_2:12), it has been thought, with some probability, that the name “son of Rechab” means “Son of the chariot” (so in later Jewish history we have Bar-cochba = son of the star), i.e., “disciple of the great prophet.” Anyhow, the life which Jonadab enforced on his followers presented all the characteristic features of that of Elijah. It was a protest against the Baal-worship that had flowed into Israel from Phoenicia, against the corruption of the life of cities, against the intemperance which was tainting the life of Israel (Amo_6:4-6). It reminds us in this respect of the more ascetic sects, such as the Wahabees of Arabia in the eighteenth century (see Burckhardt’s Bedouins and Wahabys, p. 283; Palgrave’s Arabia), that have at times arisen among the followers of Mahomet. It has some points of resemblance to the Mendicant Orders of mediaeval Christendom. From 1Ch_2:55 it appears that “the house of Rechab” belonged to the Kenites who had joined the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt, and had settled in their lands, retaining their old habits (Jdg_1:16; Jdg_4:11; Num_10:29-32; 1Sa_15:6; 1Sa_27:10). Such a people naturally retained many of the habits of patriarchal life, and it is not improbable that Elijah himself issued from their tents.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Go unto the house] The family (so in 3, 5, 18; Gen_7:1, etc.) are meant, not the dwelling-houses. See Jer_35:7. It was some years after the burning of the Roll (in Jehoiakim’s fourth year), and it appears that the prophet could again appear in public without risk (see Jer_36:19; Jer_36:26).

of the Rechabites] They were a wandering tribe of Kenite descent (1Ch_2:55) and thus connected with Moses’ brother-in-law (Jdg_1:16). Some of that family had settled in the south of Judah (ib.), others near Kedesh in Naphtali (Jdg_4:11). This branch however were nomad.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Go unto the house of the Rechabites,.... Or "family" (c); these are the same with the Kenites, who descended from Hobab or Jethro, Moses's father in law, Jdg 1:16; these, as their ancestors, became proselytes to Israel, and always continued with them, though a distinct people from them; these here had their name from Rechab, a famous man in his time among those people:

and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord; into the temple; for they were worshippers of the true God, though foreigners and uncircumcised persons; and so might be admitted into places belonging to the temple:

into one of the chambers; of the temple, where there were many; some for the sanhedrim to sit in; others for the priests to lay up their garments and the vessels of the sanctuary in; and others for the prophets and their disciples to converse in together about religious matters:

and give them wine to drink; set it before them, and invite them to drink of it, and thereby try their steady obedience to their father's commands. Now this family was brought to the temple either in vision, as it seemed to the prophet; or really, which latter is most probable; and that for this reason, that this affair might be transacted publicly, and many might he witnesses of it, and take the rebuke given by it; and, as some think, to reproach the priests for their intemperance.

(c) "ad familiam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The house - The family.

The Rechabites - The Rechabites were a nomadic tribe not of Jewish but of Kenite race, and connected with the Amalekites Num 24:21; 1Sa 15:6, from whom however they had separated themselves, and made a close alliance with the tribe of Judah Jdg 1:16, on whose southern borders they took up their dwelling 1Sa 27:10. While, however, the main body of the Kenites gradually adopted settled habits, and dwelt in cities 1Sa 30:29, the Rechabites persisted in leading the free desert life, and in this determination they were finally confirmed by the influence and authority of Jonadab, who lived in Jehu’s reign. He was a zealous adherent of Yahweh 2Ki 10:15-17, and possibly a religious reformer; and as the names of the men mentioned in the present narrative are all compounded with Yah, it is plain that the tribe continued their allegiance to Him.

The object of Jonadab in endeavoring to preserve the nomad habits of his race was probably twofold. He wished first to maintain among them the purer morality and higher feeling of the desert contrasted with the laxity and effeminacy of the city life; and secondly he was anxious for the preservation of their freedom. Their punctilious obedience Jer 35:14 to Jonadab’s precepts is employed by Jeremiah to point a useful lesson for his own people.

The date of the prophecy is the interval between the battle of Carchemish and the appearance of Nebuchadnezzar at Jerusalem, Jer 35:11 at the end of the same year. It is consequently 17 years earlier than the narrative in Jer 34:8 ff

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Rechabites. These were of the race of Jethro, father-in-law to Moses. (Challoner) --- All the Hebrew and Latin doctors agree that the Rechabites were strangers, ver. 7, 19. (Worthington) --- Treasures of corn, wine, &c. Jeremias, as a priest, had free access.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

These

Rechabites had their name from Rechab their father, who, as appears from 1Ch 2:55, descended from Hemath, who was a Kenite, who is also called Hobab, Jdg 4:11 (unless it may be Hameth who was the son of Hobab). This Hobab was Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, as appears from Jdg 4:11. We read, Jdg 1:16, that his children went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad, and they went and dwelt among the people. The Rechabites here mentioned descended from this stock. Jehonadab, mentioned 2Ki 10:15, was of this family, a man of some note, as appeareth by Jehu’s taking him there into his chariot. God commandeth the prophet to bring some of this family into the temple, into some of the chambers; for in and about the temple were several chambers for the priests, and where they disposed of the holy garments and several oblations, 1Ki 6:5,6,10; 1Ch 28:11,12. God commands Jeremiah to bring these Rechabites into some of these chambers, and to set wine before them. This was either for the more publicness of the thing, or, it may be, for the reproof of the priests who drank too much wine.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. House of the Rechabites — Their family. By the example of their obedience Jeremiah condemned the disobedience of the Jews. Bring them into the house of the Lord, etc. — First that the test might be a public one, and so the result known: and second, possibly because there may have been in this an implied censure of the loose ways of the priests, who made the chambers of the temple scenes of conviviality.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The house of the Rechabites ("house" equivalent to "family"). From a notice in 1Ch_2:55 it appears that the Rechabites were a subdivision of the Kenites, the nomad tribe so closely connected with the Israelites, (Jud_1:16 4:18-22; comp. Num_10:29) especially with the tribe of Judah. (1Sa_27:10 1Sa_30:29) The names of Jonadab and of Jaazaniah and his progenitors (which include the sacred Name), together with the zeal of Jonadab for the worship of Jehovah, (2Ki_10:15, 2Ki_10:23) seem to indicate that the religion of the Rechabites approximated closely to that of the Israelites. There seem, in fact, to have been two branches of the Kenites one having Edomitish, the other Israelitish, affinities. Records of the former still exist in the Sinaitic inscriptions, and in the Arabian histories; indeed, there is still a tribe called Benu-l-Qain (often contracted into Belqein) in the Belqa (the ancient land of Ammon); and it would seem that there is an Arab tribe in Arabia Petraea, eastward of Kerak, which traces itself to Heber the Kenite. and goes by the name of Yehud Chebr, though it now denies any connection with Jews. There were also Jews of Khaibar, near Mecca, who played an important part in the early history of Islam (see further "Zeitschr. der deutschen morgenland. Gesellschaft," 8:706; 14:438; 28:568, 571). Into one of the chambers. There were many "chambers" of different sizes attached to the temple, and employed partly for stores, partly for councils and assemblies, partly for guard chambers, and other official purposes. (1Ch_28:12 Eze_40:17) In Jer_36:10we even find a private person occupying one of the "chambers." That into which Jeremiah conducted the Rechabites was, no doubt, one of the largest size; it was appropriated to the use of a single priestly family the "sons of Hanan" (ver. 4).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rechabites - These Rechabites had their name from Rechab their father, descended from Hemath, a Kenite, who is also called Hobab, Judg. iv, 11, or Jethro the father in law of Moses.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

to the house of the Rechabites The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab, and they were of the sons of Jethro.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.