Hanamel was the son of Shallum and cousin of the prophet Jeremiah. He is known for selling a field in Anathoth to Jeremiah, a purchase that served as a prophetic sign that property would once again be bought and sold in Judah after the exile. This event took place while Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians.
God revealed to Jeremiah that his cousin Hanamel would come and offer him the chance to buy his field in Anathoth, in accordance with the right of redemption.
As the Lord had said, Hanamel came to Jeremiah in the guard court at the king's palace and asked him to buy the field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
8Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, "Buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you have the right of inheritance and the right of redemption. Buy it for yourself." Then I knew this was the word of the LORD.
Jeremiah bought the field from Hanamel for seventeen shekels of silver, wrote a deed, sealed it, and had witnesses confirm it, as a sign of hope for the future.
12and I gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, of the witnesses who had signed the deed, and of all the Judeans sitting in the courtyard of the guard.
In the presence of Hanamel and the witnesses, Jeremiah gave both the sealed and the open deeds to Baruch son of Neriah, instructing him to place them in an earthenware jar for safekeeping.
12and I gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, of the witnesses who had signed the deed, and of all the Judeans sitting in the courtyard of the guard.
14"This is what the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents—both the sealed deed of purchase and the open copy—and put them in a clay jar so that they will last a long time.
The purchase from Hanamel became a prophetic sign: the Lord promised that houses, fields, and vineyards would once again be bought in the land, despite the impending destruction and exile.
44Fields will be bought with silver, deeds will be written, sealed, and witnessed—in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills, and of the Negev—for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.