ירמיהו, פרק כ״ב, פסוק כ״ח

The sudden and tragic downfall of King Jehoiachin creates a profound sense of shock. There is a jarring contrast between his once elevated royal status and the humiliating reality of his exile, prompting deep questions about the severity of his punishment. The prophecy asks whether the king can be compared to a despised idol. The primary approach among commentators is that this refers to a worshipped statue that ultimately brings sadness to its followers, as they cry out to it but remain unanswered [מצודת ציון]. The question arises whether the king is like such a worthless, despised statue that is simply shattered into pieces and scattered [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת ציון]. Alternatively, he might be compared to an unwanted vessel, like a simple clay pot that, while perhaps unbroken, holds absolutely no value or use [מצודות, מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ].

This bewilderment is magnified by the historical reality. The king was not as wicked as his father, and instead of rebelling against the King of Babylon, he surrendered immediately. It is therefore baffling why he would be treated with such disdain and discarded like a useless object [מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ]. Out of this confusion comes a painful outcry over why the king and his children were entirely cast away, representing a permanent removal from which there is no recovery [רש״י].

The prophecy uses a double expression for this violent throwing. Some explain this simply as a traditional way to emphasize the extreme harshness of the expulsion [רד״ק]. Others draw a sharp distinction between the two actions. The first describes a violent downward throw, representing the king's steep fall from his royal throne to the ground. The second describes being hurled far away into the distance [מלבי״ם]. The mention of the king's children presents a slight difficulty, as other prophecies state that he would remain childless. To resolve this, it is explained that he actually did have sons at the time of his exile, but they later died in Babylon, ultimately leaving him without any royal continuity [רד״ק]. Together, they were driven into a foreign, alien land that they had never known before [מצודת דוד].