The Meaning of Jeremiah 7:32 Explained

Jeremiah 7:32

KJV: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.

YLT: Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more, 'The Tophet,' And 'Valley of the son of Hinnom,' But 'Valley of the slaughter,' And they have buried in Tophet -- without place.

Darby: Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, when it shall no more be said, Topheth, and Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place.

ASV: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place to bury .

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore, behold, the days  come,  saith  the LORD,  that it shall no more be called  Tophet,  nor the valley  of the son  of Hinnom,  but the valley  of slaughter:  for they shall bury  in Tophet,  till there be no  place. 

What does Jeremiah 7:32 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Because of this gross sin, the Lord promised that in the future the site would have a new name: the Valley of Slaughter. Jesus used this valley as a figure for hell, "Gehenna" being a transliterated form of the Greek name of this site ( Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:29-30; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 18:9; Matthew 23:15; Matthew 23:33; et al.). This name, the Valley of Slaughter, would be appropriate because so many of the idolatrous Israelites would die there in the coming siege. The enemy would fill this valley with Israelite bodies because it would be an easy way to dispose of their corpses. In ancient Near Eastern culture, to die and remain unburied was an insult as well as a tragedy ( Jeremiah 14:16; Deuteronomy 28:26; Psalm 79:3; Isaiah 18:6). The Law prescribed that even criminals should be buried ( Deuteronomy 21:23).
"All too appropriately, the place where parents tried to buy their own safety at their children"s terrible expense, would become an open grave for their own remains (32-33)." [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 7

1  Jeremiah is sent to call to true repentance, to prevent the Jews' captivity
8  He rejects their vain confidence,
12  by the example of Shiloh
17  He threatens them for their idolatry
21  He rejects the sacrifices of the disobedient
29  He exhorts to mourn for their abominations in Tophet;
32  and the judgments for the same

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 7:32 mean?

Therefore behold the days are coming says Yahweh and when no it will be called more Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom of the son of Hinnom for but the Valley of Slaughter for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room
לָכֵ֞ן הִנֵּֽה־ יָמִ֤ים בָּאִים֙ נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֔ה וְלֹא־ יֵאָמֵ֨ר ע֤וֹד הַתֹּ֙פֶת֙ וְגֵ֣יא בֶן־ הִנֹּ֔ם כִּ֖י אִם־ גֵּ֣יא הַהֲרֵגָ֑ה וְקָבְר֥וּ בְתֹ֖פֶת מֵאֵ֥ין מָקֽוֹם

הִנֵּֽה־  behold 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
יָמִ֤ים  the  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
בָּאִים֙  are  coming 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וְלֹא־  and  when  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יֵאָמֵ֨ר  it  will  be  called 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
ע֤וֹד  more 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
הַתֹּ֙פֶת֙  Tophet 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֹּפֶת  
Sense: a place in the southeast end of the valley of the son of Hinnom south of Jerusalem.
וְגֵ֣יא  or  the  Valley  of  the  Son  of  Hinnom 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גַּיְא  
Sense: valley, a steep valley, narrow gorge.
בֶן־  of  the  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הִנֹּ֔ם  of  Hinnom 
Parse: Noun, proper
Root: בֶּן־הִנּׄם 
Sense: a valley (deep and narrow ravine) with steep, rocky sides located southwest of Jerusalem, separating Mount Zion to the north from the hill of evil counsel’ and the sloping rocky plateau of the ‘plain of Rephaim’ to the south.
גֵּ֣יא  the  Valley 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: גַּיְא  
Sense: valley, a steep valley, narrow gorge.
הַהֲרֵגָ֑ה  of  Slaughter 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: הֲרֵגָה  
Sense: a killing, slaughter.
וְקָבְר֥וּ  for  they  will  bury 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: קָבַר  
Sense: to bury.
בְתֹ֖פֶת  in  Tophet 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֹּפֶת  
Sense: a place in the southeast end of the valley of the son of Hinnom south of Jerusalem.
מֵאֵ֥ין  until  there  is  no 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
מָקֽוֹם  room 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָקֹום  
Sense: standing place, place.