Jeremiah 7:32

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(32) Till there be no place.—Better, because there is no room—i.e., for want of space the dead should be buried even in the spot which the worshippers of Molech looked on as sacred, and the worshippers of Jehovah as accursed, and which both therefore would willingly avoid using as a place of sepulture.

Benson Commentary

Jeremiah 7:32-34. It shall be no more called Tophet, but The valley of Slaughter — King Josiah first of all defiled this place, as the text speaks, 2 Kings 23:10; that is, polluted it by burying dead bodies in it, by casting filth into it, and scattering there the dust and ashes of the idols which he had broken to pieces and burned. And afterward, when great numbers died in the siege of Jerusalem, and the famine that followed upon it, it became a common burying-place of the Jews: see Jeremiah 19:6. Whereby was fulfilled that prophecy of Ezekiel 6:5, I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols. They shall bury in Tophet till there be no place — Till it be entirely filled, and there be no vacant place left. The Vulgate reads this clause, “They shall be buried in Tophet, because there shall be no place,” which reading Houbigant approves. “The time shall come when there shall be so great a slaughter in Jerusalem, that, the graves being insufficient to bury the dead, they shall be forced to throw them into Tophet, and leave them without interment. This prediction received its last and perfect completion in the war of Nebuchadnezzar against the Jews, and that of the Romans against the same people. Josephus informs us, that in this latter war an infinite number of dead bodies were thrown over the walls, and left in the valleys round the city; insomuch, that Titus himself, beholding this spectacle, could not help lifting up his hands to heaven, and calling God to witness that he had no part in these inhuman practices.” In chap. 19., Jeremiah “repeats the same threatenings with more latitude and force; declaring that Tophet shall become the lay-stall of Jerusalem, and that Jerusalem herself shall be reduced to the condition of Tophet; that is to say, polluted and filled with dead bodies.” And in Jeremiah 31:40, he calls it the valley of the dead bodies. Then will I cause to cease the voice of mirth, &c. — All kinds and degrees of mirth shall cease, all places shall be filled with lamentation and wo, their singing shall be turned into sighing, and they shall lay aside all things that are for the comfort of human society. The voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride — Persons will have no encouragement to marry when they see nothing but ruin and desolation before their eyes.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:29-34 In token both of sorrow and of slavery, Jerusalem must be degraded, and separated from God, as she had been separated to him. The heart is the place in which God has chosen to put his name; but if sin has the innermost and uppermost place there, we pollute the temple of the Lord. The destruction of Jerusalem appears here very terrible. The slain shall be many; they having made it the place of their sin. Evil pursues sinners, even after death. Those who will not, by the grace of God, be cured of vain mirth, shall, by the justice of God, be deprived of all mirth. How many ruin their health and property without complaining, when engaged in Satan's service! May we learn to relish holy joys, and to sit loose to all others though lawful.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The valley of slaughter - Where they killed their helpless children, there shall they be slaughtered helplessly by their enemies.

Till there be no place - Rather, for want of room elsewhere.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

32. valley of slaughter—so named because of the great slaughter of the Jews about to take place at Jerusalem: a just retribution of their sin in slaying their children to Moloch in Tophet.

no place—no room, namely, to bury in, so many shall be those slain by the Chaldeans (Jer 19:11; Eze 6:5).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

It shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom: they were called so after this, and are known by those names to this day; but the meaning is, they shall acquire a name from another occasion, that shall suit them as well, viz. for the great slaughter that shall be made there, or rather thereabouts, in and about Jerusalem, and therefore called

the valley of slaughter, from the effect of slaughter; as Judas’s field was called Aceldama, Acts 1:19, being a place for burying of the slain, as the next words show.

They shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place; either there shall be so great a slaughter made upon that spot by the Chaldeans, that they shall bury as many as the place will contain, and the rest of the carcasses they shall throw on heaps, to rot above ground; for to lie unburied is frequently used as a curse on such, the burying of the dead being accounted as a thing sacred, and a significant symbol of the resurrection: or those that are slain in and about Jerusalem, at the siege and taking of it, shall be carried thither to be buried, either because there shall be no burying-places left about Jerusalem, or that valley shall be filled till there be no place for more, that hereby it may be so polluted, that no thoughts of holiness may remain in it; for a dead carcass under the law was unclean; and that which before was a valley of pleasure and great delight, and they had dedicated to God, shall now be a valley of slaughter.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... And they were coming on apace; a little longer, and they would be come; for it was but a few years after this ere Jerusalem was besieged and taken by the army of the Chaldeans, and the slaughter made after mentioned:

that it shall no more be called Tophet: no more be used for such barbarous and idolatrous worship; and no more have its name from such a shocking circumstance:

nor the valley of the son of Hinnom; as it had been from the times of Joshua:

but the valley of slaughter: or, "of the slain"; as the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; because of the multitude of men that should be killed there, or brought there to be buried; as follows:

for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place: till there be no more room to bury there; or, "because there was no place" (a) elsewhere; the number of the slain being so many: this was in righteous judgment, that where they had sacrificed their children, there they should be slain, at least buried.

(a) "quod, vel eo quod nullus (alius. sit) locus", Munster; "ideo quod non (erie) locus", Schmidt.

Geneva Study Bible

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

32. “Where they have butchered their children, they shall themselves be butchered, hence the name Valley of Slaughter will replace the older name.” Pe.

till there be no place to bury] mg. because there shall be no place else, is the clear meaning of the MT. (and LXX agrees). But, under the circumstances the scene of the slaughter would be the natural place for burial. Possibly the MT. does not give the original form of the clause. Du. omits it, but it recurs in Jeremiah 19:11. To be left unburied was much dreaded. Cp. Deuteronomy 28:26; Isaiah 18:6.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 32. - The valley of slaughter; with reference to the great slaughter reserved for the unbelieving Jews. The scene of their sin shall be that of their punishment. Till there be no place; rather, for want of room (elsewhere). Jeremiah 7:32

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Therefore God will make the place of their sins the scene of judgment on the sinners. There shall come days when men will call the valley of these abominations the valley of slaughter, i.e., shall make it into such a valley. Where they have sacrificed their children to Moloch, they shall themselves be slaughtered, massacred by their enemies. And in this valley, as an unclean place (Jeremiah 19:13), shall they be buried "for want of room;" since, because of the vast numbers of the slain, there will be nowhere else to put them.