Jeremiah 32:1-15

Why buy a field while Jerusalem is under siege?

Berean Standard Bible

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying like this? You claim that the LORD says, ‘Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will stay until I attend to him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.’” 6 Jeremiah replied, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying: 7 Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ 8 Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy— 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 13 In their sight I instructed Baruch, 14 “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these deeds—both the sealed copy and the open copy of the deed of purchase—and put them in a clay jar to preserve them for a long time. 15 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

What is the context?

Jeremiah is confined in the royal courtyard because his message predicts Babylon’s capture of the city and king. The land purchase takes place within that apparently hopeless situation.

His cousin Hanamel arrives with the request the Lord had announced. Jeremiah buys the Anathoth field, weighs the silver, signs and seals the agreement, and calls witnesses.

Baruch receives the sealed and open deeds with instructions to preserve them in a clay jar. These public legal details give the enacted promise a future beyond the siege.

The explanation is explicit: houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land. The action witnesses to promised restoration rather than teaching that every risky investment will succeed.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley emphasizes the ordinary formalities of the purchase and the preservation of its evidence. His suggestion that the siege had sharply lowered land prices is an inference; the chapter supplies the price but no comparison with earlier market values.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

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