1. Jeremiah 49:34–39 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

When did the word of the Lord concerning Elam come to Jeremiah?

Jeremiah 49:34–39 (ESV)

34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

The Elamites were descendants of Noah’s son Shem (Genesis 10:22). Elam was located east of Babylon and, of the nations addressed in Jeremiah’s oracles, it is the most remote from Judah. The people of Elam had no direct dealings with Israel. The word concerning Elam came to Jeremiah in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, which was the year 597 BC. According to the Babylonian Chronicle, a collection of ancient clay tablets that record historical events in the Babylonian Empire, Elam may have clashed with Nebuchadnezzar in 596 BC.1 This may be the fulfilment of this prophecy.