Jeremiah 9:17
Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come;
English Standard Version (ESV)
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God isn't just telling Jeremiah to call for professional mourners; He's calling for the most skilled ones. This highlights how truly catastrophic the coming judgment will be—so immense that even hired experts, trained to amplify grief, are needed to properly express the sorrow this nation deserves. It’s a stark, almost ironic, way of underscoring the depth of their impending loss.
God instructs Jeremiah to summon professional mourners, skilled women hired to express grief at funerals. This vivid imagery highlights the impending national disaster and the depth of sorrow it will evoke, suggesting that even hired professionals will be needed to adequately lament the impending destruction of their land and way of life.
Why would God command the prophet to hire professional mourners for the nation of Israel? It seems a strange, almost theatrical, request.
The prophet Jeremiah is instructed to summon "mourning women" and "skillful women." These weren't just any women; they were professionals hired to lead public lamentations at funerals. They were experts at wailing, often using specific gestures like disheveled hair or beating their chests, and composing dirges that would stir deep grief in others.
God’s instruction isn't necessarily an endorsement of this practice, but rather a powerful illustration. He’s using a familiar cultural custom to communicate the immensity of the coming judgment. Since the people themselves weren't adequately moved by their sin and its consequences, God calls for professional grief-leaders to help them feel the depth of their impending national tragedy.
The verse specifically calls for 'skillful' women. What does this 'skill' represent in the context of national judgment?
The term translated as 'skillful' or 'cunning' here doesn't imply slyness, but rather expertise and wisdom in a particular craft – in this case, the art of lamentation. These women were trained to articulate and amplify grief.
Their skill was in knowing how to 'strike a tender chord,' as one commentary puts it, by recalling past sorrows or losses. In Jeremiah's day, their skill is called upon not for an individual's death, but for the 'death' of the nation as it faced God's judgment. They were to lead a wailing so profound that it would, hopefully, awaken the hearts of the people to their own spiritual deadness and the gravity of their sin.
Understand the original words
tsaba' · Hebrew Noun
The divine title 'YHWH of Armies' or 'LORD of Hosts'. It emphasizes God’s supreme authority over all heavenly and earthly powers, including angelic armies, and His role as the sovereign Ruler over history and nations.
The custom of hiring professional mourners, vividly described here, was a common practice in ancient Near Eastern funerals to heighten the display of grief. Jeremiah uses this cultural practice to underscore the immense, national tragedy that the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple represent, a loss so profound that even hired lamenters would be needed to express the scale of sorrow.
c. 626 BC
Jeremiah Begins Prophesying
Jeremiah starts his ministry during a tumultuous period in Judah, facing threats from Babylon and internal spiritual decay.
c. 609 BC
Josiah's Death
King Josiah, a reformer, is killed in battle. His death signals the end of a period of relative stability and spiritual renewal, leaving Judah vulnerable.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar, crown prince of Babylon, besieges Jerusalem and deports a group of Jewish elite, including Daniel. This marks the beginning of Judah's vassalage to Babylon.
c. 597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Another significant deportation occurs after King Jehoiachin rebels against Babylon. More exiles are taken, including the prophet Ezekiel.
This passage echoes the call for professional mourners, describing them as those 'skilful in lamentation,' highlighting the organized and practiced nature of public grief in ancient Israel.
Ecclesiastes 12:5This verse mentions mourners 'going about the streets' which paints a vivid picture of these hired professionals, a practice Jeremiah's prophecy summons for the nation's impending doom.
Mark 5:38Here, Jesus encounters hired mourners wailing loudly at Jairus's daughter's death, showing how deeply ingrained this custom was, even into Jesus' time, and providing a direct parallel to the kind of grief described in Jeremiah.
2 Chronicles 35:25This passage refers to 'singing men and singing women' who made lamentations a lasting tradition after Josiah's death, illustrating that these skillful mourners were used not just for funerals but also to commemorate significant national losses.
cambridgeJeremiah 9:17: "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:"
17 . cunning ] i.e. skilled . Cp. Genesis 25:27 ; 1 Samuel 16:18 ; 2 Chronicles 26:15 . 17, 18 . “There are in every city and community women exceedingly cunning in this business.… When a fresh company of sympathisers comes in, these women ‘make haste’ to ‘take up a wailing’ that the newly come may the more easily unite their tears with…
barnesJeremiah 9:17: "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:"
The mourning women - Hired to attend at funerals, and by their skilled wailings aid the real mourners in giving vent to their grief. Hence, they are called "cunning," literally "wise" women, wisdom being constantly used in Scripture for anything in which people are trained.
God isn't just telling Jeremiah to call for professional mourners; He's calling for the most skilled ones. This highlights how truly catastrophic the coming judgment will be—so immense that even hired experts, trained to amplify grief, are needed to properly express the sorrow this nation deserves. It’s a stark, almost ironic, way of underscoring the depth of their impending loss.
God instructs Jeremiah to summon professional mourners, skilled women hired to express grief at funerals. This vivid imagery highlights the impending national disaster and the depth of sorrow it will evoke, suggesting that even hired professionals will be needed to adequately lament the impending destruction of their land and way of life.
God instructs Jeremiah to summon professional mourners, skilled women hired to express grief at funerals. This vivid imagery highlights the impending national disaster and the depth of sorrow it will evoke, suggesting that even hired professionals will be needed to adequately lament the impending destruction of their land and way of life.
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586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem, destroys Solomon's Temple, and deports the majority of the remaining population. This is a catastrophic national disaster.
c. 586 BC onwards
Exile in Babylon
The remaining Jewish population in Judah lives under harsh Babylonian rule, with many significant events and prophecies occurring during the exile.
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come;" — God isn't just telling Jeremiah to call for professional mourners; He's calling for the most skilled ones. This highlights how truly catastrophic the coming judgment will be—so immense that even hi…
