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Prophecy

Pharaoh Hophra handed over to his enemies (Jeremiah 44:30)

Sphinx bearing the name of Pharaoh Apries (Hophra), Louvre. It attests this king of the 26th dynasty, not the circumstances of his fall.
Archaeological object Sphinx bearing the name of Pharaoh Apries (Hophra), Louvre. It attests this king of the 26th dynasty, not the circumstances of his fall. — Mbzt, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

◐ Written shortly before or at the time: it cannot be decided

Written 585–580 BC according to tradition; 585–550 BC according to historians. Event: 570–567 BC.

See the full entry: sources, objections, answers

In short

The announcement. The prophet Jeremiah, in the book of Jeremiah, after 586 BC, among the Judeans who had taken refuge in Egypt, announces that Pharaoh Hophra will be handed over to his enemies, to those who seek his life.

What happened. In 570 BC, the Egyptian army revolts and proclaims Amasis king. According to the historian Herodotus, the deposed pharaoh is first kept in the palace, then handed over to the Egyptians, who strangle him. A stela of Amasis places his death in 567 BC.

What is still debated. this passage may have been written after 570 BC, when the pharaoh's fall was known, and the sources do not agree on how he died.

What would be striking if the text came first

Around 580 BC, Hophra is powerful; the refugees from Judah are counting on him. Two sources, Greek and Egyptian, confirm his fall in 570 and his death in 567. If the oracle dates from before, which remains debated, it announced this ten to fifteen years earlier.

Main objection (in French for now)

Le « signe » de Jr 44:29-30 appartient à la prose du livre, éditée après l’exil en deux éditions (texte massorétique et Septante) : il a pu être formulé après 570, quand la chute d’Apriès était connue.

The text (World English Bible)

“‘This will be the sign to you,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for evil.’ The LORD says, ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.’”

Jer 44:29-30

Sources