Editor’s Note: This ATJFTP Series was first written and published beginning in late 2017. Most recent update and revision 2025.

Welcome to “What’s In A Name?” Part 4 of the ATJFTP series. (If you haven’t read posts 1, 2 and 3 please do so before proceeding here.) In this post we are going to start with a look at the book of Jeremiah chapter 44.

When I first read Jeremiah 44 I discovered just how vulnerable I had been to random mutated public assertions bouncing around my head, voices of ‘sensible’ adults which, just get on with it and toe the line: “The Jews are Gods’ chosen people!” I had to dismiss imaginary shrill accusations: “You see! Of course they are you fool! Don’t be absurd! Come on. Have a drink! Just accept it!“

So, let me just offer you a frank admission right now. This is my second crack at this post and thanks must be given to Messenger Charles for pointing out what should have been obvious but for some reason was not: God only sent His prophets to Israelites. Was this inability to see the obvious the result of so much propaganda and erroneous rumour over the years? Was this the result of the kind of incantation we noted in “Who Is The Antichrist”?

At any rate, let’s have a look at the opening verse of this chapter:

“The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,” Jeremiah 44:1 KJV

So, straight away we are given direction that what is to come concerns all the ‘Jews’ which dwell in the land of Egypt: Migdol, Tahphanes, Noph and the country of Pathros. OK, seems straight forward enough.

Who are these ‘Jews’? Well, we saw them in “The Thorn In The Side“, and they are the remainders that fled from Jerusalem down to Egypt after the fall of Zedekiah. However, we were not able to determine if we were dealing with an hostile group of strangers or an internal rebellion within Judah itself; is the word ‘Jew’ an accurate term for a foreign Canaanite group in Judah or a typo that should simply read ‘Judean’?

Leaving that ongoing question aside, who is  Jeremiah?

“Jeremiah^[a] (probably after 650 – c. 570 BC),^[2] also called the “weeping prophet”,^[3] was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible (source of the Old Testament of Christian Bibles). According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, the Books of Kings and the Book of Lamentations,^[4] with the assistance and under the editorship of Baruch ben Neriah, his scribe and disciple.

Johanan succeeded Gedaliah, who had been assassinated by an Israelite prince in the pay of Ammon “for working with the Babylonians.” Refusing to listen to Jeremiah’s counsel, Johanan fled to Egypt, taking with him Jeremiah and Baruch, Jeremiah’s faithful scribe and servant, and the king’s daughters.^{[Jeremiah 43:1–13]} There, the prophet probably spent the remainder of his life, still seeking in vain to turn the people back to God.^{[Jeremiah 43:1–13]} There is no authentic record of his death.”

Jeremiah was also the son of Hilkiah a Hebrew priest.

Hilkiah (Hebrew:חִלְקִיָּה‎ Ḥilqîyāhū, “my portion is Yah“) was a Hebrew priest (“Kohen”) at the time of King Josiah (reigned c. 641-609 BCE). 

Jeremiah is no slouch having authored the book of his own name and the books of ‘Kings’ and ‘Lamentations’. (Personally, I have found his book to be very appropriate for the times we are living in right now.)

Ok, getting back to it, given the end of the Kingdom of Judah circa 586BC, Jeremiah 44 occurs shortly thereafter following the killing of Gedeliah and the capture of the ‘remnant of Judah‘ to Egypt by Johanan (Let’s recall that the House of Israel was already more than a century captured to Assyria and never to return to their former lands Samaria). Before we get to figuring out who the ‘Jews’ are, we should determine what people are left in the rubble of the land of Judah in the wake of the Babylonian captivity that are referred to as the ‘remnant of Judah‘? Let’s back up and have a look at who this ‘remnant of Judah‘ actually is:

“But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.” Jeremiah 43:5-7 KJV

So, in the above verse we can see the ‘remnant of Judah‘ is comprised of men, women, children, the king’s daughters and every person left with Gedaliah. We should note that other than the kings’ daughters these were the poorest sorts of people in the land that had been left behind after the main captivity of Judah to Babylon:

“And he (Nebuchadnezzar) carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.” 2Kings 24:14 KJV (underline mine)

So, which among this ‘remnant of Judah‘ is legitimate Israel other than the kings’ daughters? Logically probably all of them, but let’s go a little further back to get a few more details:

“Now while he (Nebuzaradan), was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.” Jeremiah 40:6 KJV (Brackets mine)

“Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan; Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.” Jeremiah 40:11,12

“Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?” Jeremiah 40:15

First off the scriptures state that after the fall of Jerusalem Jeremiah goes by his own choice to be with Gedeliah the governor of Judah and the people remaining in the land. Second, when the ‘Jews’ in all countries hear of Gedeliah being in charge they return back to the land of Judah; they had obviously been driven out. Last, Johanan offers to deal with Ishmael but Gedeliah declines misjudging the situation. And what happens next?

“Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.” Jeremiah 41:2,3

Ishmael kills Gedeliah and “all the Jews that were with him”; all the Jews were killed and the Chaldeans too. Now, for some reason those, which are captured by Ishmael, are glad to see Johanan when he chases after him:

“Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.” Jeremiah 41:13,14 KJV

Why exactly they were glad we are not told, but after some haggling about whether or not to obey Gods’ command not to go to Egypt the ‘remnant of Judah‘ makes their way with Johanan there:

“But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.” Jeremiah 43:6 KJV

Now, before we go further, who is this Johanan the son of Kareah fellow?

Here is the Wiki take:

“Johanan, son of Kareah, mentioned as a leader of the army who led the remnant of the population of the Kingdom of Judah to Egypt for safety^[3] after the Babylonian dismantling of the kingdom in 586 BC and the subsequent assassination of Gedaliah, the Babylon-appointed Jewish governor.”

Notice Gedaliah is specifically mentioned as being Jewish, but Johanan is not. There may be other sources, which would suggest Johanan was a Jew. However, why would Jeremiah be going to ‘Jews’? He wouldn’t. As pointed out by Messenger Charles he would be going to Israelites. God did not send his prophets to anyone but Israelites. So, indeed why is Jeremiah addressing ‘Jews’ and why is Chapter 44:1 “concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt?” Folks, we are obviously looking at a typo.

If we have a look at the troubled time of Zedekiah we find some pretty basic direction on this reality of prophets of God and to whom they are sent:

 “Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. ¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem. The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.” (Underline mine) 2 Chronicles 36:11-16 ESV 

So there we are, told in no uncertain terms that God sent His messengers to His people, and we know that his people were Israelites.

Given that Jeremiah is sent to Johanan and all those with him we should logically conclude Johanan is of Judah (Israelite). Furthermore, as we have been told that Johanan took “all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah” to dwell in the land of Egypt, that Johanan therefore took Israelites to Egypt.

So, what is with the usage of the term ‘Jews’ here in the opening verse of Jeremiah 44? Good question. Has someone been fiddling with scripture? Well, yes. However, the tampering appears to be genuine translation error particularly as things come into English with the corruption of words going full steam ahead in the modern vernacular and the effective invention of the very term ‘Jews’ which should translated here as ‘Judeans’ or ‘Judahites’.

If we conclude that Johanan was an Israelite we can look again at Jeremiah for confirmation of that:

“Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)” Jeremiah 42:1,2 KJV

    “Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.” Jeremiah 42:4 KJV (Underlines mine)

This lot are told in no uncertain terms they are God’s people.

“And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah. Then called he 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, And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.” Jeremiah 42:7-10 KJV

Ok. So where does that leave us? If this lot are legitimate Israel, which, is certainly indicated by everything we have looked at then what’s going on here? Why on earth is this word ‘Jews’ used here in the KJV – in this chapter???

Well, what to do but cast about for perspective on the matter and here it is:

“This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in southern Egypt as well:” Jeremiah 44:1 New Living Translation

“The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros,” Jeremiah 44:1 English Standard Version

“This is the message that came to Jeremiah for all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, saying,” Jeremiah 44:1 International Standard Version

“The LORD spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt.” Jeremiah 44:1 NET Bible

“The LORD spoke to me concerning all the Israelites living in Egypt, in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the southern part of the country.” Jeremiah 44:1 Good News Translation

So, there we have it folks. Yes, most of the Bible translations on Biblehub use the word ‘Jews’, and perhaps this is due primarily to the ‘authority‘ of the KJV that they defer in this instance to this word? However, the usage of this word is not unanimous. As for ye old KJV, the name just lost a bit o’ lustre!

KJV questions aside, I’d like to share my personal fave translation of those options listed above:

“The LORD spoke to me concerning all the Israelites living in Egypt, in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the southern part of the country.” Jeremiah 44:1 Good News Translation (underline mine)

Phew!

I was beginning to think that months of due diligence was down the gurgler. That’s some good news indeed!