Jeremiah 49:34

Elam. This was the country occupying the highlands to the east of Babylonia, an area now in the western portion of modern Iran. Elam lost its independence to the Assyrians under Ashurbanipal (669-c. 627 B.C.), and was subsequently swallowed up in the revived Babylonian Empire of the time of Nebuchadnezzar.

Beginning of the reign. This prophecy was given soon after the deportation of Jews to Babylon in 597 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin, the royal family, and many soldiers and artisans into exile. Thereafter the Babylonian king placed Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, on the throne. A prophecy regarding Elam was particularly significant to the Jews at a time when many were exiles in Babylon and thus in closer contact with the Elamites than ever before.

This prophecy was delivered at a crucial time in Jeremiah’s personal career. It is contemporary with his message against the foreign ambassadors sent to Zedekiah (see ch. 27; see on ch. 27:3).

There is insufficient information to trace historically the fulfillment of all the details of this prediction. As with Edom (see on Obadiah 15, 17), certain features may have been related to the future glory of Israel, and hence to that extent conditional.