The Lord promised His people a sign to confirm that what He had said would happen-would happen. Pharaoh Hophra (Gr. Apries, ca589-570 B.C.) would experience a fate that would be the same as that of King Zedekiah. This was the Pharaoh who had promised support to Zedekiah but was turned back by Nebuchadnezzar in588 B.C. when his army advanced into Judah (cf. Jeremiah 37:5). As Zedekiah had fallen to his enemy, so would Hophra. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Hophra became the target of a coup d"tat and Amasis, one of his generals, took his place. Hophra was later assassinated when Amasis handed him over to Egyptians who strangled him. [1] Josephus, however, wrote that Nebuchadnezzar slew him and reigned in his place. [2] Possibly, Nebuchadnezzar was the influential power behind Amasis" revolt and was, therefore, ultimately responsible for Hophra"s death. [source][source][source]
"In one of the strongest examples of direct defiance against Yahweh by Israel/Judah portrayed in the Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah 44underscores the inevitable judgment that will fall upon the Judean survivors in Egypt. The concluding passage in Jeremiah 37-44seals forever the fate of the Judean community that sought safety in Egypt." [3][source]
This chapter also serves as a final, strong warning against the practice of idolatry, which the preceding chapters of this book emphasized repeatedly. [source][source][source]
Scripture gives no information about Jeremiah"s personal history after this, his last prophecy. There is ancient tradition that he died in Egypt, but other traditions about the later events in his life are fanciful and make it very dangerous to speculate further. [4] Like the Book of Acts , Jeremiah does not record the death of its main character. [source][source][source]
". . . though in a sense one"s earthly ministry comes to a close, its fruits continue in time and eternity." [5][source]