The Meaning of Jeremiah 46:2 Explained

Jeremiah 46:2

KJV: Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.

YLT: For Egypt, concerning the force of Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt, that hath been by the river Phrat, in Carchemish, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath smitten, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

Darby: Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah.

ASV: Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh-neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Against Egypt,  against the army  of Pharaohnecho  king  of Egypt,  which was by the river  Euphrates  in Carchemish,  which Nebuchadrezzar  king  of Babylon  smote  in the fourth  year  of Jehoiakim  the son  of Josiah  king  of Judah. 

What does Jeremiah 46:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This is a title verse for the subsection dealing with Nebuchadnezzar"s defeat of Pharaoh Neco at Carchemish (lit. fort of Chemosh, the god of the Moabites), in northern Syria, in605 B.C. ( Jeremiah 46:1-12). The title describes the defeat as past, but undoubtedly Jeremiah gave his prediction before the battle.
Egypt controlled Canaan and Aram (Syria) during most of the second millennium B.C, until about1200 , when internal weakness resulted in her losing her grip. Assyria, then Babylonia, then Persia took over control of this region in turn. But Egypt was still a force to be reckoned with, even after she lost the upper hand. One particularly strong Egyptian Pharaoh was Shishak (945-924 B.C.), who invaded Canaan (cf. 1 Kings 14:25-26). In609 B.C, Pharaoh Neco II (ca610-594 B.C.) marched to Carchemish on the Euphrates River in northern Syria (modern Turkey). On the way, King Josiah opposed him, and Neco slew the Judean king (609 B.C, 2 Kings 23:29). Neco wanted to assist the Assyrians in defeating the young and threatening Neo-Babylonian Empire, but the Babylonians, led by Prince Nebuchadnezzar, won the battle in605 B.C. This is the victory that gave Babylonia sovereignty in the ancient Near East.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 46

1  Jeremiah prophesies the overthrow of Pharaoh's army at Euphrates
13  and the conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar
27  He comforts Jacob in his chastisement

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 46:2 mean?

Against Egypt Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish and which defeated Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in year the fourth of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah of Judah
לְמִצְרַ֗יִם עַל־ חֵ֨יל פַּרְעֹ֤ה נְכוֹ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁר־ הָיָ֥ה עַל־ נְהַר־ פְּרָ֖ת בְּכַרְכְּמִ֑שׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִכָּ֗ה נְבֽוּכַדְרֶאצַּר֙ בָּבֶ֔ל בִּשְׁנַת֙ הָֽרְבִיעִ֔ית לִיהוֹיָקִ֥ים בֶּן־ יֹאשִׁיָּ֖הוּ יְהוּדָֽה

לְמִצְרַ֗יִם  Against  Egypt 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
עַל־  Concerning 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
חֵ֨יל  the  army 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חַיִל 
Sense: strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army.
פַּרְעֹ֤ה  of  Pharaoh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
נְכוֹ֙  Necho 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּרְעֹה 
Sense: the Pharaoh of Egypt who fought king Josiah of Judah at Megiddo and killed him.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
מִצְרַ֔יִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
נְהַר־  the  River 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
פְּרָ֖ת  Euphrates 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פְּרָת  
Sense: the largest and longest river of western Asia; rises from two chief sources in the Armenian mountains and flows into the Persian Gulf.
בְּכַרְכְּמִ֑שׁ  in  Carchemish 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: כַּרְכְּמִישׁ  
Sense: a Hittite capital northeast of Israel on the Euphrates river captured by Pharaoh Necho and then from him by Nebuchadnezzar.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  and  which 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הִכָּ֗ה  defeated 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
נְבֽוּכַדְרֶאצַּר֙  Nebuchadnezzar 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר 
Sense: the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive.
בָּבֶ֔ל  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
בִּשְׁנַת֙  in  year 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
הָֽרְבִיעִ֔ית  the  fourth 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal feminine singular
Root: רְבִיעִי 
Sense: fourth.
לִיהוֹיָקִ֥ים  of  Jehoiakim 
Parse: Preposition-l, 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־  the  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.
יְהוּדָֽה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.