‘In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying,'
The opening heading refers to the commencement of the reign of Jehoiakim. Whilst it is common practise to suggest that the name of Jehoiakim here in Jeremiah 27:1 is a scribal error because the remainder of the chapter concerns the reign of Zedekiah, it is not necessarily so. The heading may be referring to Jeremiah 27:2 alone, with the initial word that came being that of Jeremiah having to wear on his neck as a permanent symbol the imitation bonds and yokes described, because it was at this time that Judah had come under permanent bondage, first to Egypt and then to Babylon. This would be a continual reminder to Judah of Jeremiah's message that their bondage was due to sin, and could over the years have become a recognised feature of the prophet. The remainder of the chapter can then be seen as describing how this symbol later came to be used in a special way when, in the reign of Zedekiah, these instruments, or copies of them, were sent to the kings of various nations.
This literal interpretation might be seen as supported by the fact that chapter 26 introduces the reign of Jehoiakim, whilst chapter 28 deals with well on into the reign of Zedekiah. Thus chapter 27 could be seen as intended to be a bridge between the two, uniting the reign of Jehoiakim with that of Zedekiah by means of the yokes made by Jeremiah, giving the account a splendid unity. It prevents disjointedness in the account.
Although not apparent from the English text this is the first mention of Jeremiah in the form recognised by English texts. Previously it has been Jeremyahu. In Chapter s Jeremiah 27:1 to Jeremiah 29:1 it is the shorter form Jeremyah, before reverting back in chapter Jeremiah 29:27 to Jeremyahu. As this change does not occur just in headings the reason for it is not immediately apparent. It may perhaps indicate that Jeremiah 27:1 to Jeremiah 29:23 once existed as a separate unit concerning the yoke of the King of Babylon.