Jeremiah 35:6

“But they said, we will drink no wine, etc.] Or “we do not drink wine”f679; we are not used to it; we never do drink any; it is not lawful for us to do it; nor will we, let who will solicit us: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father; not their immediate father, but their progenitor; perhaps the same Jonadab is meant who lived in the times of Jehu, and rode with him in his chariot; by which it appears he was a man of note and figure, and who lived near three hundred years before this time, (<121015>2 Kings 10:15); which is more likely than that he should be a descendant of his, and the proper father of the present Rechabites, which is the opinion of Scaligerf680: commanded us, saying, ye…”

“Jonadab . . . our father--that is, forefather and director, three hundred years before (Kg2 10:15). They were called Rechabites, not Jonadabites, having received their name from Rechab the father, previously to their adopting the injunctions of Jonadab his son. This case affords no justification for slavish deference to the religious opinions of the Christian fathers: for Jonadab's injunction only affected matters of the present life; moreover, it was not binding on their consciences, for they deemed it not unlawful to go to Jerusalem in the invasion (Jer 35:11). What is praised here is not the father's injunction, but the obedience of the sons [CALVIN].”

“Wine is the symbol of a settled life, because the vine requires time for its growth and care in its cultivation, while the preparation of the wine itself requires buildings, and it then has to be stored up before it is ready for use. The drink of nomads consists of the milk of their herds. Jeremiah 35:7 Strangers - Because not of Jewish blood, though wandering in their territory. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Jonadab - Jonadab of whom we read, Kg2 10:15, was the father, that is the progenitor of the Rechabites, at three hundred years distance. Jeremiah 35:7”

“35:6-10 Jehonadab had bound his descendants to a nomadic lifestyle free of the trappings of sedentary life, and the Recabites had been obedient.”

“Jonadab: Kg2 10:15; Ch1 2:55 Ye shall: Jonadab, a man of fervent zeal for the pure worship of God, and who lived about three hundred years before this time ( Kg2 10:15, Kg2 10:16, etc.) had probably practised these rules himself; and having trained up his children to habits of abstemiousness, he enjoined them and their posterity to adhere to them. In these regulations he seems to have had no religious, but merely a prudential view, as is intimated in the reason annexed to them "that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers." And this would be the natural consequence of observing these rules; for their temperate mode of living would very much contribute to preserve health and…”