(6) A false prophet of Gibeon, son of Azzur, who opposed Jeremiah, predicting that the yoke of Babylon would be broken in two years, and that the king, the people and the vessels of the temple would be brought back to Jerusalem. Jeremiah would be glad if it should be so, nevertheless it would not be. The question then arose, Which is right, Jeremiah or Hananiah? Jeremiah claimed that he was right because he was in accordance with all the great prophets of the past who prophesied evil and their words came true. Therefore his words are more likely to be true. The prophet of good, however, must wait to have his prophecy fulfilled before he can be accredited. Hananiah took off the yoke from Jeremiah and broke it in pieces, symbolic of the breaking of the power of Babylon. Jeremiah was seemingly beaten, retired and received a message from Yahweh that the bar of wood would become a bar of iron, and that Hananiah would die during the year because he had spoken rebellion against Yahweh (
Jer 28 passim).