For Behold see 1.6.

Hanamel is mentioned also in verses 8, 9, and 12, but nowhere else in the Old Testament.

Shallum: One standard Bible dictionary lists fourteen persons of this name in the Old Testament. This man, Jeremiah’s uncle, is referred to only here.

Anathoth: See 1.1.

The right of redemption by purchase is yours: For whatever reason, Hanamel was forced to sell this field, and offered it to Jeremiah in the hope that it would remain within the family. In ancient Israel, land was regarded as a sacred possession (1Kgs 21.3), and laws were made to protect ownership by keeping it within the same family (see Lev 25.25-28; Ruth 4.3-4).

It may be helpful to break this verse up into more than one sentence, because otherwise there is too much information given to understand it easily. For example, translators can say something like the following:

• Look, Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you and ask you to buy his field at Anathoth. As his nearest relative, you have the right to buy it for yourself.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .