Jeremiah 38:7

Bible in Basic English (1941)

Now it came to the ears of Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an unsexed servant in the king's house, that they had put Jeremiah into the water-hole; the king at that time being seated in the doorway of Benjamin:

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיִּשְׁמַ֡ע עֶֽבֶד־מֶ֨לֶךְ הַכּוּשִׁ֜י אִ֣ישׁ סָרִ֗יס וְהוּא֙ בְּבֵ֣ית הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כִּֽי־נָתְנ֥וּ אֶֽת־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ אֶל־הַבּ֑וֹר וְהַמֶּ֥לֶךְ יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּשַׁ֥עַר בִּנְיָמִֽן׃

Transliteration

And wə-yišmaʿ ʿEḇeḏ-meleḵ the-Kûšî, ʾîš sārîs, and-he in-bêt the-meleḵ, kî-nātnû ʾet-Yirməyāhû into-the-bôr; and-the-meleḵ yôšēḇ in-šaʿar Binyāmin

Grammar Details

• *wə-yišmaʿ*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - and he heard
• *ʿEḇeḏ-meleḵ*: proper noun, masculine singular - Ebed-melech (meaning 'servant of the king')
• *Kûšî*: gentilic adjective, masculine singular - Cushite/Ethiopian
• *ʾîš*: noun, masculine singular construct - man of
• *sārîs*: noun, masculine singular - eunuch/official
• *bêt*: noun, masculine singular construct - house of
• *meleḵ*: noun, masculine singular - king
• *kî*: conjunction - that
• *nātnû*: qal perfect, 3rd common plural - they had put
• *ʾet*: direct object marker
• *Yirməyāhû*: proper noun, masculine singular - Jeremiah
• *bôr*: noun, masculine singular - pit/cistern
• *yôšēḇ*: qal participle, masculine singular - sitting
• *šaʿar*: noun, masculine singular construct - gate of
• *Binyāmin*: proper noun - Benjamin

Word Meanings

• *ʿEḇeḏ-meleḵ*: name meaning 'servant of the king'
• *Kûšî*: Cushite/Ethiopian
• *sārîs*: eunuch/court official/officer
• *nātnû*: they had put/placed
• *bôr*: pit/cistern/dungeon
• *yôšēḇ*: sitting/remaining/dwelling

Referenced Verses

• Jer 29:2 : 2 (After Jeconiah the king and the queen-mother and the unsexed servants and the rulers of Judah and Jerusalem and the expert workmen and the metal-workers had gone away from Jerusalem;)
• Jer 37:13 : 13 But when he was at the Benjamin door, a captain of the watch named Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, who was stationed there, put his hand on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, You are going to give yourself up to the Chaldaeans.
• Deut 21:19 : 19 Then let his father and mother take him to the responsible men of the town, to the public place;
• Amos 5:10 : 10 They have hate for him who makes protest against evil in the public place, and he whose words are upright is disgusting to them.
• Matt 8:11-12 : 11 And I say to you that numbers will come from the east and the west, and will take their seats with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be put out into the dark, and there will be weeping and cries of pain.
• Matt 20:16 : 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.
• Luke 10:30-36 : 30 And Jesus, answering him, said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he got into the hands of thieves, who took his clothing and gave him cruel blows, and when they went away, he was half dead. 31 And by chance a certain priest was going down that way: and when he saw him, he went by on the other side. 32 And in the same way, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, went by on the other side. 33 But a certain man of Samaria, journeying that way, came where he was, and when he saw him, he was moved with pity for him, 34 And came to him and put clean linen round his wounds, with oil and wine; and he put him on his beast and took him to a house and took care of him. 35 And the day after he took two pennies and gave them to the owner of the house and said, Take care of him; and if this money is not enough, when I come again I will give you whatever more is needed. 36 Which of these three men, in your opinion, was neighbour to the man who came into the hands of thieves?
• Luke 13:29-30 : 29 And they will come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and take their places in the kingdom of God. 30 And the last will be first, and the first will be last.
• Acts 8:27-39 : 27 And he went and there was a man of Ethiopia, a servant of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, and controller of all her property, who had come up to Jerusalem for worship; 28 He was going back, seated in his carriage, and was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, Go near, and get on his carriage. 30 And Philip, running up to him, saw that he was reading Isaiah the prophet, and said to him, Is the sense of what you are reading clear to you? 31 And he said, How is that possible when I have no guide? And he made Philip get up by his side. 32 Now the place in the book where he was reading was this: He was taken, like a sheep, to be put to death; and as a lamb is quiet when its wool is being cut, so he made no sound: 33 Being of low degree, his cause was not given a hearing: who has knowledge of his family? for his life is cut off from the earth. 34 And the Ethiopian said to Philip, About whom are these words said by the prophet? about himself, or some other? 35 So Philip, starting from this writing, gave him the good news about Jesus. 36 And while they were going on their way, they came to some water, and the Ethiopian said, See, here is water; why may I not have baptism? 37 [] 38 And he gave orders for the carriage to be stopped, and the two of them went down into the water, and Philip gave him baptism. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; and the Ethiopian saw him no more, for he went on his way full of joy.
• 2 Kgs 24:15 : 15 He took Jehoiachin a prisoner to Babylon, with his mother and his wives and his unsexed servants and the great men of the land; he took them all as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylon.
• Job 29:7-9 : 7 When I went out of my door to go up to the town, and took my seat in the public place, 8 The young men saw me, and went away, and the old men got up from their seats; 9 The rulers kept quiet, and put their hands on their mouths; 10 The chiefs kept back their words, and their tongues were joined to the roofs of their mouths. 11 For when it came to their ears, men said that I was truly happy; and when their eyes saw, they gave witness to me; 12 For I was a saviour to the poor when he was crying for help, to the child with no father, and to him who had no supporter. 13 The blessing of him who was near to destruction came on me, and I put a song of joy into the widow's heart. 14 I put on righteousness as my clothing, and was full of it; right decisions were to me a robe and a head-dress. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet to him who had no power of walking. 16 I was a father to the poor, searching out the cause of him who was strange to me. 17 By me the great teeth of the evil-doer were broken, and I made him give up what he had violently taken away.
• Ps 68:31 : 31 Kings will give you offerings, they will come out of Egypt; from Pathros will come offerings of silver; Ethiopia will be stretching out her hands to God.
• Jer 13:23 : 23 Is it possible for the skin of the Ethiopian to be changed, or the markings on the leopard? Then it might be possible for you to do good, who have been trained to do evil.
• Jer 39:16-18 : 16 Go and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: See, my words will come true for this town, for evil and not for good: they will come about before your eyes on that day. 17 But I will keep you safe on that day, says the Lord: you will not be given into the hands of the men you are fearing. 18 For I will certainly let you go free, and you will not be put to the sword, but your life will be given to you out of the hands of your attackers: because you have put your faith in me, says the Lord.
• Jer 34:19 : 19 The rulers of Judah and the rulers of Jerusalem, the unsexed servants and the priests and all the people of the land who went between the parts of the ox,