Jeremiah 42:8, commentary and pictures

Jeremiah 42:8 belongs to events that follow chapters 40 and 41 in chronological order and come before chapters 43 and 44, within the group of chapters 40-45 placed after the fall of Jerusalem and the events of chapters 38-39. It belongs to the closing chapters of Jeremiah that recount the prophet's personal experiences, including his going into Egypt. It is also counted within the section covering the history of the two years before Jerusalem's fall. It is part of the account of the Jews left after Zedekiah's captivity and their flight into Egypt.

The verse describes Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest being called together before Jeremiah to hear God's answer to their request for guidance. The gathering included the whole community and not only its leaders.

Their gathering begins the account of people who ask God for guidance without sincerely meaning to follow it. That insincerity is marked by their insincere request for Jeremiah's advice and their refusal to follow it. It belongs to the account of the surviving Jews asking Jeremiah for God's direction, who later went to Egypt against that direction. They accused Jeremiah of speaking under Baruch's influence, though he professed to speak God's word.