The Meaning of Jeremiah 1:3 Explained

Jeremiah 1:3

KJV: It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

YLT: and it is in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the removal of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

Darby: it came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive, in the fifth month.

ASV: It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

It came also in the days  of Jehoiakim  the son  of Josiah  king  of Judah,  unto the end  of the eleventh  year  of Zedekiah  the son  of Josiah  king  of Judah,  unto the carrying away  of Jerusalem  captive  in the fifth  month. 

What does Jeremiah 1:3 Mean?

Study Notes

fifth month
i.e. August.

Verse Meaning

Jeremiah also received prophecies from the Lord during the reign of King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.), and until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.)-namely, 586 B.C-even until the exile of the residents of Jerusalem began in the fifth month of586 B.C. The writer evidently omitted Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin from this list of kings because their reigns each lasted only three months, in609,598-597 B.C. respectively.
"There is particular significance in the reference to the deportation (galut) of Jerusalem. This event was the climax to Jeremiah"s preaching and a demonstration of his authenticity as a genuine prophet of Yahweh, for in that event the basic thrust of his prophecy was fulfilled." [1]
We know from elsewhere in the book that Jeremiah also prophesied after the fall of Jerusalem (cf. chs40-44). So the dates in this verse fix the period of Jeremiah"s main ministry and set it in a historical context.
"We only begin to understand the power of Jeremiah"s book if we grasp something of the chaos of his world." [2]
This preface sets the stage for what follows.

Context Summary

Jeremiah 1:1-19 - Courage Promised To A Fearful Messenger
God has a distinct purpose for each life, and our one aim should be to discover and work out His plan. See Psalms 139:16; Galatians 1:15. The sanctification here referred to applies to office rather than to character, and means set apart. See John 17:19. Jeremiah was very young, and shrank from the responsibility of the great mission entrusted to him. Thus it has been with the noblest, Exodus 4:10. But that is godly fear indeed which casts us back on God. He never gives a commission without assuming the responsibility of its execution in, and with, or through, us. Powers of utterance are specially His gift, Isaiah 6:7; Acts 6:10; 1 Corinthians 1:5. The almond tree in Hebrew is the wakeful tree. It awakes from the winter sleep earlier than others, flowering in January and fruiting in March. It indicated the swiftness of God's movement. The boiling pot is the symbol of war. The promises of Jeremiah 1:18-19 are very precious to all who are called to stand in the breach and charge men with their sins. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 1

1  The time
4  And the calling of Jeremiah
11  His prophetical visions of an almond rod and a seething pot
15  His heavy message against Judah
17  God encourages him with his promise of assistance

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 1:3 mean?

And it came in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah until the end of one [and] ten the year of Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah the carrying away captive of Jerusalem in month the fifth -
וַיְהִ֗י בִּימֵ֨י יְהוֹיָקִ֤ים בֶּן־ יֹאשִׁיָּ֙הוּ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֔ה עַד־ תֹּם֙ עַשְׁתֵּ֣י עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה שָׁנָ֔ה לְצִדְקִיָּ֥הוּ בֶן־ יֹאשִׁיָּ֖הוּ יְהוּדָ֑ה גְּל֥וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִֽׁי ס

וַיְהִ֗י  And  it  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בִּימֵ֨י  in  the  days 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
יְהוֹיָקִ֤ים  of  Jehoiakim 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהֹויָקִים 
Sense: son of Josiah and the third from the last king of Judah; subject vassel of Nebuchadnezzar who reigned for years before he died a violent death either in combat or by the hands of his own subjects.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יֹאשִׁיָּ֙הוּ֙  of  Josiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄאשִׁיָּה 
Sense: son of Amon by Jedidah who succeeded his father to the throne of Judah and reigned for 3 years; his reign is noteworthy for the great revivals back to the worship of Jehovah which he led.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
יְהוּדָ֔ה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
עַד־  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
תֹּם֙  the  end 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: תָּמַם  
Sense: to be complete, be finished, be at an end.
עַשְׁתֵּ֣י  of  one 
Parse: Number, common singular construct
Root: עַשְׁתֵּי  
Sense: one, eleven, eleventh.
עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה  [and]  ten 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: עָשָׂר 
Sense: ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers).
שָׁנָ֔ה  the  year 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
לְצִדְקִיָּ֥הוּ  of  Zedekiah 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צִדְקִיָּה 
Sense: the last king of Judah renamed from ‘Mattaniah’ by Nebuchadnezzar; son of Josiah by wife Hamutal; placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar when he carried his nephew Jehoiakim in captivity.
בֶן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יֹאשִׁיָּ֖הוּ  of  Josiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄאשִׁיָּה 
Sense: son of Amon by Jedidah who succeeded his father to the throne of Judah and reigned for 3 years; his reign is noteworthy for the great revivals back to the worship of Jehovah which he led.
יְהוּדָ֑ה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
גְּל֥וֹת  the  carrying  away  captive 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: גָּלָה  
Sense: to uncover, remove.
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם  of  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁ  in  month 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
הַחֲמִישִֽׁי  the  fifth 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: חֲמִישִׁי  
Sense: ordinal number, 5th.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation