What Does Jeremiah 28:5 Mean in the King James?
Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD,
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The same title, “prophet,” belongs to both voices, but their words stand before the eyes of the whole community.
THE MEANING
Two prophetic voices meet in the open, with priests and the gathered people watching. In the LORD’s house, a title alone cannot settle whose voice is true; the words are heard before everyone present.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A sacred setting and the title “prophet” do not, by themselves, certify a voice as true.
THE ROOT
נָבִיא
nāḇîʾ
GROWS FROM
נבא
To prophesy or speak as a prophet.
Both Jeremiah and Hananiah carry a title from this root, so the repeated title alone does not distinguish their voices. The word-family joins the person called a prophet to the act of prophesying, drawing attention from status to speech.
ALSO GROWS
nibbāʾ: Prophesied.
נִבָּא
The verb names the act carried by the title both men share.
nĕvuʾāh: Prophecy; prophetic utterance.
נְבוּאָה
This branch names the spoken message itself, the thing the gathered people can hear.
לְעֵינֵי
ləʿênê
GROWS FROM
עין
Eye; sight.
“in the presence of” in this verse is ləʿênê. The Hebrew phrase literally means “before the eyes of,” twice placing Jeremiah’s words in the sight of the priests and the people. What English renders as presence carries the image of a whole community witnessing the exchange.
ALSO GROWS
ʿayin: Eye.
עַיִן
This is the singular image underneath the phrase translated “in the presence of.”
ʿênayim: Eyes.
עֵינַיִם
The plural makes the scene visibly communal: many eyes are present to witness what is said.
THE PATTERN
A spoken claim in a sacred assembly is exposed to communal hearing.
Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:THE THREAD
The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.Verse 5 gives Jeremiah and Hananiah the same title from נבא (n-b-ʾ, “to prophesy”). Verse 9 returns to that word-family and says the prophet is known when the spoken word comes to pass, making the title answerable to reality.
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