Jeremiah 32:9

“And I bought the field of Hanameel mine uncle’s son; that [was] in Anathoth, etc.] The prophet agreed with his cousin to take his field of him, at a certain price hereafter mentioned; which may seem strange in one that was a poor prophet, now a prisoner, and the land just going to be subject to the Chaldeans: but the design of this was to show that there would be a return from captivity, when houses and fields should be bought and sold again, of which this was a pledge: and weighed him the money; agreed upon, which was reckoned not by tale, but by weight: [even] seventeen shekels of silver; which, reckoning a shekel at half a crown, were no more than two pounds, two shillings, and sixpence;…”

“seventeen shekels of silver--As the shekel was only 2s. 4d.., the whole would be under £2, a rather small sum, even taking into account the fact of the Chaldean occupation of the land, and the uncertainty of the time when it might come to Jeremiah or his heirs. Perhaps the "seven shekels," which in the Hebrew (see Margin) are distinguished from the "ten pieces of silver," were shekels of gold [MAURER].”

“Seventeen shekels of silver - literally, as in the margin, probably a legal formula. Jeremiah bought Hanameel’s life-interest up to the year of Jubilee, and no man’s life was worth much in a siege like that of Jerusalem. As Jeremiah had no children, at his death the land would devolve to the person who would have inherited it had Jeremiah not bought it. He therefore bought what never was and never could have been of the slightest use to him, and gave for it what in the growing urgency of the siege might have been very serviceable to himself. Still, as the next heir. it was Jeremiah’s duty to buy the estate, independently of the importance of the act as a sign to the people; and evidently he…”

“The money - The price of land was strangely fallen at this time, when the enemy was besieging the chief city of the country. Jeremiah 32:11”

“32:9-12 Many people might have thought that Jeremiah did a foolish thing when he agreed to buy the land. After the fall of Jerusalem and the exile of many people, the value of the land would drop to almost nothing. Still, Jeremiah immediately bought the field. • Matthew 27:9-10 refers to the “prophecy of Jeremiah,” which might be an allusion to this event.”

“weighed: Gen 23:15, Gen 23:16; Kg1 20:39; Est 3:9; Isa 55:2 \*marg. seventeen shekels of silver: or, seven shekels, and ten pieces of silver, Gen 37:28; Hos 3:2; Zac 11:12, Zac 11:13 Jeremiah 32:10”