The Meaning of Jeremiah 52:24 Explained

Jeremiah 52:24

KJV: And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:

YLT: And the chief of the executioners taketh Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold,

Darby: And the captain of the body-guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.

ASV: And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the captain  of the guard  took  Seraiah  the chief  priest,  and Zephaniah  the second  priest,  and the three  keepers  of the door: 

What does Jeremiah 52:24 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Nebuzaradan took captive Seraiah, the chief priest, Zephaniah ( Jeremiah 29:24-32; Jeremiah 37:3), the priest who was second in authority, and three other temple officials. Seraiah"s grandfather, Hilkiah, had been King Josiah"s chief priest ( 1 Chronicles 6:13-15). Seraiah"s son was Ezra the reformer ( Ezra 7:1). Seraiah"s grandson, Joshua (Jeshua), by another Song of Solomon , Jehozadak, was the chief priest after the Exile when the returned Israelites rebuilt the temple ( Ezra 5:2; Haggai 1:1).
"The other priest named here, Zephaniah , seems by his high position to have been the one who had passed on a threat of "the stocks and collar" to Jeremiah over this very question of the temple vessels a few years earlier [1]. On two subsequent occasions he had been part of a deputation from the king to consult the prophet over the siege of Jerusalem [2]. But Jeremiah"s call to surrender had seemed too radical, and now the city"s leaders had to pay the price that Babylon put on their refusal." [3]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 52

1  Zedekiah rebels
4  Jerusalem is besieged and taken
8  Zedekiah's sons killed, and his own eyes put out,
12  Nebuzaradan burns and spoils the city
24  He carries away the captives
28  The number of Jews carried captive
31  Evil-Merodach advances Jehoiachin

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 52:24 mean?

And took the captain of the guard - Seraiah priest the chief and Zephaniah the second three keepers the doorkeepers
וַיִּקַּ֣ח רַב־ טַבָּחִ֗ים אֶת־ שְׂרָיָה֙ כֹּהֵ֣ן הָרֹ֔אשׁ וְאֶת־ צְפַנְיָ֖ה הַמִּשְׁנֶ֑ה שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת שֹׁמְרֵ֥י הַסַּֽף

וַיִּקַּ֣ח  And  took 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
רַב־  the  captain 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.
טַבָּחִ֗ים  of  the  guard 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: טַבָּח  
Sense: executioner, cook, bodyguard, guardsman.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שְׂרָיָה֙  Seraiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׂרָיָה 
Sense: the scribe or secretary of David.
כֹּהֵ֣ן  priest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּהֵן  
Sense: priest, principal officer or chief ruler.
הָרֹ֔אשׁ  the  chief 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
צְפַנְיָ֖ה  Zephaniah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צְפַנְיָה 
Sense: the 9th in order of the 2 minor prophets; descendant of king Hezekiah of Judah and prophet in the time of king Josiah of Judah.
הַמִּשְׁנֶ֑ה  the  second 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁנֶה  
Sense: double, copy, second, repetition.
שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת  three 
Parse: Number, masculine singular construct
Root: מִשְׁלֹשׁ 
Sense: three, triad.
שֹׁמְרֵ֥י  keepers 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
הַסַּֽף  the  doorkeepers 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: סַף 
Sense: a spreading out, basin, goblet, bowl.