The Meaning of Jeremiah 1:11 Explained

Jeremiah 1:11

KJV: Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.

YLT: And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'What art thou seeing, Jeremiah?' And I say, 'A rod of an almond tree I am seeing.'

Darby: And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree.

ASV: Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Moreover the word  of the LORD  came unto me, saying,  Jeremiah,  what seest  thou? And I said,  I see  a rod  of an almond tree. 

What does Jeremiah 1:11 Mean?

Study Notes

rod
rod of Aaron
Aaron's rod that budded: Type of Christ in resurrection, owned of God as High Priest. Aaron's priesthood had been questioned in the rebellion of Korah, so God Himself will confirm it Numbers 17:5 . Each of the tribe-heads brought a perfectly dead rod; God put life into Aaron's only. So all the authors of religions have died, Christ among them, but only Christ was raised from the dead, and exalted to be a high priest.; Hebrews 4:14 ; Hebrews 5:4-10 .

Verse Meaning

The Lord directed the prophet to observe the branch of an almond tree. The almond tree is distinctive, as it is the first tree to blossom in the spring in Israel. Many almond trees still grow in Israel, even in the area of old Anathoth, so the tree was probably common to Jeremiah.

Context Summary

Jeremiah 1:1-19 - Courage Promised To A Fearful Messenger
God has a distinct purpose for each life, and our one aim should be to discover and work out His plan. See Psalms 139:16; Galatians 1:15. The sanctification here referred to applies to office rather than to character, and means set apart. See John 17:19. Jeremiah was very young, and shrank from the responsibility of the great mission entrusted to him. Thus it has been with the noblest, Exodus 4:10. But that is godly fear indeed which casts us back on God. He never gives a commission without assuming the responsibility of its execution in, and with, or through, us. Powers of utterance are specially His gift, Isaiah 6:7; Acts 6:10; 1 Corinthians 1:5. The almond tree in Hebrew is the wakeful tree. It awakes from the winter sleep earlier than others, flowering in January and fruiting in March. It indicated the swiftness of God's movement. The boiling pot is the symbol of war. The promises of Jeremiah 1:18-19 are very precious to all who are called to stand in the breach and charge men with their sins. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 1

1  The time
4  And the calling of Jeremiah
11  His prophetical visions of an almond rod and a seething pot
15  His heavy message against Judah
17  God encourages him with his promise of assistance

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 1:11 mean?

Moreover came the word of Yahweh to me saying what you do see Jeremiah and I said a branch of an almond tree I see
וַיְהִ֤י דְבַר־ יְהוָה֙ אֵלַ֣י לֵאמֹ֔ר מָה־ ؟ אַתָּ֥ה רֹאֶ֖ה יִרְמְיָ֑הוּ וָאֹמַ֕ר מַקֵּ֥ל שָׁקֵ֖ד אֲנִ֥י רֹאֶֽה

וַיְהִ֤י  Moreover  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
דְבַר־  the  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָה֙  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֵלַ֣י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
לֵאמֹ֔ר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
רֹאֶ֖ה  do  see 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
יִרְמְיָ֑הוּ  Jeremiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִרְמְיָה 
Sense: the major prophet, son of Hilkiah of the priestly family in Anathoth; author of the prophetic book bearing his name.
וָאֹמַ֕ר  and  I  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
מַקֵּ֥ל  a  branch 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מַקֵּל  
Sense: rod, staff.
שָׁקֵ֖ד  of  an  almond  tree 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁקֵד  
Sense: almond tree, almonds.
רֹאֶֽה  see 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.