The Meaning of Jeremiah 2:16 Explained

Jeremiah 2:16

KJV: Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.

YLT: Also sons of Noph and Tahapanes Consume thee -- the crown of the head!

Darby: Even the children of Noph and Tahapanes have fed on the crown of thy head.

ASV: The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of thy head.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Also the children  of Noph  and Tahapanes  have broken  the crown of thy head. 

What does Jeremiah 2:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Egyptians had cropped Israel"s glory. Jeremiah personified Israel as a woman (fem. suffix). In the ancient world long hair was a glorious thing (cf. 2 Samuel 14:26). Perhaps Pharaoh Shishak"s invasion of Judah in925 B.C. is in view here ( 1 Kings 14:25-26). A more likely possibility is the slaying of King Josiah at Megiddo, when Pharaoh Neco took the crown (king) from the nation"s head in609 B.C. ( 2 Kings 23:29). In both instances Egypt had shorn Israel.
Memphis (Heb. Noph) was the ancient capital of Lower (Northern) Egypt, about13miles south of modern Cairo. Tahpanhes (Gr. Daphne) stood near Lake Manzaleh in northeastern Egypt. It was the first significant Egyptian town that travelers came to on a land journey from Judah to Egypt. It was about150 miles across the desert from Gaza. Later, Jeremiah and other Hebrew refugees settled there ( Jeremiah 43:7-9).

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 2

1  God having shown his former kindness,
5  expostulates with the people on their causeless and unexampled revolt
14  They are the causes of their own calamities
18  The sins and idolatries of Judah
35  Her confidence is rejected

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 2:16 mean?

Also the people of Noph - and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head
גַּם־ בְּנֵי־ נֹ֖ף [ותחפנס] (וְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֑ס) יִרְע֖וּךְ קָדְקֹֽד

גַּם־  Also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
בְּנֵי־  the  people  of 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
נֹ֖ף  Noph 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: נׄף  
Sense: another name for ‘Memphis’ the capital city of Egypt.
[ותחפנס]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
(וְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֑ס)  and  Tahpanhes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תַּחְפַּנְחֵס  
Sense: a city in Egypt; modern ‘Tel Defenneh’ or ‘Tel Defneh’ located approx 8 miles (29 km) east southeast from Tanis.
יִרְע֖וּךְ  have  broken 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, second person feminine singular
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
קָדְקֹֽד  the  crown  of  your  head 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָדְקֹד  
Sense: head, crown of head, top of head, hairy crown, scalp.