The narrative in Jeremiah 37:1–10 has set the scene for what is about to follow in Jeremiah 37:11–21. Jeremiah is still freely moving about Jerusalem carrying out his prophetic ministry; the Babylonians have withdrawn from Jerusalem to deal with the Egyptian army, but despite Zedekiah’s hope that the Babylonian threat is now over, Jeremiah has assured him that the Lord will bring them back and the city will be destroyed.
It is under these circumstances that Jeremiah makes the decision to leave Jerusalem, while the siege is lifted, and go to the land of Benjamin so that he can receive his portion there among the people.
Benjamin is the land of Jeremiah’s birth, and it seems he wants to return there while he can to finalize some family property matters. The Hebrew term halaq, which means to divide
or to share,
is used to refer to the apportioning of land (see further Joshua 19:51; Micah 2:4; Joel 3:2; Daniel 11:39)1. It is possible that this relates to the field he buys from his cousin in Jeremiah 32:1–44. When he bought the field, he was already under arrest (see Jeremiah 32:1–2), so his cousin may have been able to get into Jerusalem before the siege was continued, but after Jeremiah had been arrested for his attempt to leave the city2. However, this is speculation at best because the text gives no further details regarding Jeremiah’s reasons for going to his hometown.
12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people.