(after that Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths, had departed from Jerusalem),
After that Jeconiah the king,.... Of Judah; the same with Jehoiachin, who was carried captive into Babylon when he had reigned but three months: and the queen; not Jeconiah's wife, for he had none; but his mother, whose name was Nehushta, and who was carried captive with him, Kg2 24:8; and the eunuchs; or "chamberlains" to the queen; the Targum calls them princes; these were...
queen--Nehushta, the queen mother, daughter of Elnathan (Kg2 24:8, Kg2 24:15). (Elnathan, her father, is perhaps the same as the one mentioned in Jer 26:22). She reigned jointly with her son. princes--All the men of authority were taken away lest they should organize a rebellion. Jeremiah wrote his letter while the calamity was still recent, to console the captives under it.
Jer 29:1-3 A Letter from Jeremiah to the Captives in Babylon, together with Threatenings against their False Prophets. - As in Jerusalem, so too in Babylon the predictions of the false prophets fostered a lively hope that the domination of Nebuchadnezzar would not last long, and that the return of the exiles to their fatherland would soon come about.
Commenting on Jeremiah 29:1-3