The Expositor's Bible: The Prophecies of Jeremiah

31

Note on vii. 25. – The word answering to "daily" in the Heb. simply means "day," and ought to be omitted, as an accidental repetition either from the previous line, or of the last two letters of the preceding word "prophets." Cf. ver. 13, where a similar phrase, "rising early and speaking," occurs in a similar context, but without "daily."

32

Wa'etten lahem can only mean "and I gave (in prophetic idiom 'and I will give') unto them," and this, of course, requires an object. "I will give them to those who shall pass over them" is the rendering proposed by several scholars. But lahem does not mean "to those," and the thought does not harmonize with what precedes, and this use of עבר is doubtful, and the verb "to give" absolutely requires an object. The Vulgate rendering is really more in accordance with Hebrew syntax, as the masc. suffix of the verb might be used in less accurate writing. Targum: "because I gave them My law from Sinai, and they transgressed against it;" Peshito: "and I gave unto them, and they transgressed them." So also the Syro-Hexaplar of Milan (participle: "were transgressing") between asterisks.

33

It seems to take the עלּי each time as עלּיהון־עלּי and to read מלעיגים איתי for מבליגיתי: thus getting "Scoffers! I will bring upon them sorrow; upon them my heart is faint."

34

The irregular Hiphil form of the verb – cf. 1 Sam. xiv. 22; Job xix. 4 – may be justified by Job xxviii. 8; we are not, therefore, bound to render the Masoretic text: and they make their tongue bend their lying bow. Probably, however, Qal is right, the Hiphil being due to a misunderstanding, like that of the Targum, "And they taught their tongue words of lying."

35

Ewald prefers the reading of the LXX., which divides the words differently. If we suppose their version correct, they must have read: "They have trained their tongue to speak falsehood, to distort. They are weary of returning. Oppression in oppression, deceit in deceit! They refuse to know Me, saith Iahvah." But I do not think this an improvement on the present Masoretic text.

36

If Jeremiah wrote Ps. lv., as Hitzig supposes, he may be alluding to the treachery of a particular friend; cf. Ps. lv. 13, 14.

37

Shahadhta lisânaka `alaina. In this case, we should follow the Heb. margin or Q'rê.

38

Speak thou, Thus saith Iahweh, is undoubtedly a spurious addition, and does not appear in the LXX. Jeremiah never says Koh ne'um Iahvah, and never uses the imperative dabber!

39

LXX. "for they are afraid before them," כי יחתו המה לפניהם.

40

This is the most natural interpretation of the passage according to the Hebrew punctuation. Another is given below.

41

It is against usage to divide the clause as Naegelsbach does, "Vain instruction! It is wood!" or to render with Ewald "Simply vain doctrine is the wood!" which would require the article (ha'eç).

42

But perhaps it is rather the prophet's love for his people, which fervently prays that the oath of blessing may be observed, and Judah maintained in the goodly land.

43

Hitzig supposed that the "vows" and "hallowed flesh" were thank-offerings for the departure of the Scythians. "It is plain that the people are really present in the temple; they bring, presumably after the retreat of the Scythians, the offerings vowed at that time." But, considering the context, the reference appears to be more general. I have partly followed the LXX. in emending an obviously corrupt verse; the only one in the chap. which presents any textual difficulty. Read: מֵעָלַיְכִי רָעָתֵכִי אָז תַּֽעֲלְֹ זִי ׃ מה לידידי בביתי עֲשׂוֹתָהּ הַֽמְזִמָּתָהּ הַנְּדָרִים ובשר קדש יַעְֽבַרוּ. The article with a noun with suffix, and the peculiar form of the 2 pers. pron. f., are found elsewhere in Jer. But I incline to correct further thus: "What avail to My beloved is her dealing (or sacrificing: עשה 2 Kings xvii. 32) in My house?" הֲמִזְבְּחוֹת הָרַבִּים ובשר קדש וגו. "Can the many altars (ver. 13) and hallowed flesh cause thine evil to pass away from thee (or pass thee by)?" This seems very apposite to what precedes. The Hebrew, as it stands, cannot possibly mean what we read both in the A. V. and R. V., nor indeed anything else.

44

Reading בְּלֵחוֹ, with Hitzig, instead of בְּלַחְמוֹ, which is meaningless. Deut. xxxiv. 7; Ezek. xxi. 3. Perhaps it would be better to keep all the letters, and point בְּלֵחָמוֹ, understanding עֵץ as collective, "the trees."

45

Not a vocative: xx. 12, xvii. 10.

46

That "the swelling" or "the pride of Jordan" should rather be read "the wilds" or "jungles of Jordan," is clear from xlix. 19; Zech. xi. 3; quoted by Hitzig. גאון means "growth," "overgrowth," among other things; and the Heb. phrase coincides with the Ἰάρδην δρυμὸς of Josephus (Bell. Jud., vii. 6, 5).

47

The form of the Heb. verbs implies the certainty of the event. Hitzig supposes that ver. 6 simply explains the expression "land of peace" in ver. 5. At Anathoth the prophet was at home; if he "ran away" (reading בורח "fleest" for בוטח "art confident") there, what would he do, when he had gone forth as a "sheep among wolves" (St. Luke x. 3)? But I think it is much better to regard ver. 6 as explaining the whole of ver. 5 in the manner suggested above.

48

Or perhaps rather the holy land itself, as Hitzig suggested: Hos. ix. 15.

49

Lit. "Is my domain vultures, hyenas, to me?" The dative expresses the interest of the speaker in the fact (dat. ethic.). The Heb. term צבוע only occurs here. It is the Arabic dhabu`, "hyena" (so Sept.). St. Jerome renders avis discolor. So the Targum: "a strewn" "sprinkled," or "spotted fowl."

50

The references to "birds of prey," "beasts of the field," and "spoilers" (ver. 12), are interpreted by the phrase "mine evil neighbours" (ver. 14); and this constitutes a link between vv. 7-14 and 14-17.

51

Such seems to be the best punctuation of the sentence. It involves the transfer of Athnach to אכלה.

52

So the LXX. This agrees better with the context than "So be ye ashamed of your fruits."

53

As Hitzig has observed, only a people, or a king, or a national god, could be spoken of as a "neighbour" to the God of Israel.

54

Also xlviii. 12; Lam. iv. 2; Isa. xxx. 14.

55

LXX. ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ὑμῶν.. Read מֵרָאשֹׁתֵיכֶם = מֵרֶאשׁיכֶם; and cf. Assyrian rešu, plur. rešêtu (= ראשות).

56

For עיניכם we might read, with LXX., Vat., עיניך (ירושל)ם. The Arabic has Israel. But Vulg. and Targ. agree with the Q'rê, and take the verbs as plur.: "Lift ye up your eyes and see who are coming from the north." The sing. fem. is to be preferred as the more difficult reading, and on account of ver. 21, where it recurs. Jerusalem is addressed (ver. 27), and "your eyes," plur. masc. pron., may be justified as indicating the collective sense of the fem. sing. The population of the capital is meant. Cf. Mic. i. 11; Jer. xxi. 13, 14. In ver. 23, the masc. plur. appears again, the figure for a moment being dropped.

57

Hitzig: (1) xiv. 1-9, 19-22: "Lament and Prayer on occasion of a Drought." (2) xiv. 10-18. "Oracle against the false Prophets and the misguided People" (Hitzig mistakes the import of the phrase כן אהבו לנוע, "Thus have they loved to wander," ver. 10; supposing that the "thus" refers to xiii. 27, and that xiv. 1-9 is misplaced). (3) xv. 1-9. "The incorrigible People will be punished mercilessly." Hitzig thinks C. B. Michaelis wrong in asserting close connexion with the end of the preceding chapter, because the intercession, vv. 2-9, does not agree with the prohibition, xiv. 11; and because xiv. 19-22, merely prays for cessation of the Drought; while the rejection of "the hypothetical intercession," xv. 1, delivers the people over to all the horrors which follow in the train of war. xv. 1-9 may originally have followed xiv. 18. But this is far from cogent reasoning. There is nothing surprising in the renewal of the prophet's intercession, except on a theory of strictly verbal inspiration; and xv. 1 sqq. in refusing deliverance from the Drought, or rather in answer to the prayer imploring it, announces further and worse evils to follow. (4) "Complaint of the Seer against Iahvah, and Soothing of his Dejection," xv. 10-21. Hitzig thinks internal evidence here points to the fourth year of Jehoiakim; and that xvii. 1-4 originally preceded this section, especially as ch. xvi. connects closely with xv. 9. (5) xvi. 1-20. "Prediction of an imminent general Judgment by Plague and Captivity." Written immediately after xv. 1-9, and falls with that in the short reign of Jehoiachin. (6) xvii. 1-4. "Judah's unforgotten Guilt will be punished by Captivity." Wanting in LXX. (as early as Jerome), but contains original of xv. 13, 14, and must therefore be genuine. Belongs 602 b. c., year of Jehoiakim's revolt. (7) xvii. 5-18. "The Vindication of Trust in God on Despisers and Believers. Prayer for its Vindication." Date immediately after death of Jehoiakim. (8) 19-27. "Warning to keep the Sabbath." Time of Jehoiachin.

58

The Heb. verb חַתָּה "is broken" may probably have this meaning. "Dismayed" is not nearly so suitable, though it is the usual meaning of the term. Cf. Isa. vii. 8.

59

Cf. viii. 9. "And no wisdom is in them."

60

So Dathe, Naegelsbach.

61

Lit. "all these things," i. e., this visible world. There is no Heb. special term for the "universe" or "world." "The all" or "heaven and earth," or the phrase in the text, are used in this sense.

62

The reference to an eclipse of the sun in the words

"Her sun went down, while it yet was day;He blushed and paled."

appears fairly certain. Such an event is said to have occurred in that part of the world, Sept. 30, b. c. 610.

63

13. Read במתיך "Thine high places" for לא במחיר "without price"; and transpose בחטאת (xvii. 3).

64

14. Read והעברתיך "and I will make thee serve" (xvii. 4) for והעברתי "and I will make to pass through…"

The third member is a quotation from Deut. xxxii. 22. In the fourth, read על־עולם "for ever" (xvii. 4) instead of עליכם "upon you."

65

The tone of all this indicates that the prophet was no novice in his office. It does not suit the time of Josiah; but agrees very well with the time of confusion and popular dismay which followed his death. That event must have brought great discredit upon Jeremiah and upon all who had been instrumental in the religious changes of his reign.

66

Practices forbidden, Lev. xxi. 5; Deut. xiv. 1. Jeremiah mentions them as ordinary signs of mourning, and doubtless they were general in his time. An ancient usage, having its root in natural feeling, is not easily extirpated.

67

Naegelsbach.

68

The figure recalls the Persian custom of sweeping off the whole population of an island, by forming a line and marching over it, a process of extermination called by the Greek writers σαγηνεύειν, "fishing with a seine or drag-net" (Herod. iii. 149, iv. 9, vi. 31).

69

For the construction, cf. Gen. i. 22; Jer. li. 11. Or "With their abominations they filled, etc.," a double accusative.

70

i. e., Loose thine hold of … let go … release. Read ידך for ובך. The uses of שִמט "to throw down," "let fall," resemble those of the Greek ἵημι and its compounds. I corrected the passage thus, to find afterwards that I had been anticipated by J. D. Michaelis, Graf, and others.

71

There is something strange about the phrase "by (upon, `al) the evergreen tree." Twenty-five Heb. MSS., the Targ., and the Syriac, read "every" (kol) for "upon" (`al). We still feel the want of a preposition, and may confidently restore "under" (taḫath), from the nine other passages in which "evergreen tree" (`ec̰ ra`anan) occurs in connexion with idolatrous worship. In all these instances the expression is "under every evergreen tree" (taḫath kol `ec̰ ra`anan); from the Book of the Law (Deut. xii. 2), whence Jeremiah probably drew the phrase, to 2 Chron. xxviii. 4. Jeremiah has already used the phrase thrice (ii. 20, iii. 6, 13), in exactly the same form. The other passages are Ezek. vi. 13; Isa. lvii. 5; 2 Kings xvi. 4, xvii. 10. The corruption of kol into `al is found elsewhere. Probably taḫath had dropt out of the text, before the change took place here.

72

A popular opinion of the time.

73

Isa. xxii. 23.

74

The Heb. term is probably written with omission of the final mem, a common abbreviation; and the right reading may be וסורים "and apostates."

75

מלא for מרעה.

76

מִרְעֵה for מֵרֹעִה.

77

I have left this paragraph as I wrote it, although I feel great doubts upon the subject. What I have remarked elsewhere on similar passages, should be considered along with the present suggestions. We have especially to remember, (i) the peculiar status of the speaker as a true prophet; and (ii) the terrible invectives of Christ Himself on certain occasions (St. Matt. xxiii. 33-35; St. Luke x. 15; St. John viii. 44).

78

Encycl. Britann., s. v. Sabbath, p. 125.

79

Instead of מצור שדי "from the rock of the field," I have ventured to read מצוף שדי (Lam. iii. 54; Deut. xi. 4; 2 Kings vi. 6). For ינתשו "plucked up" "uprooted," which is inappropriate in connexion with water, Schnurrer's ינתשו "dried up" (Isa. xix. 5; Jer. li. 30), is probably right. In the second couplet, I read זבים for זרים, which is meaningless, and transpose קרים with נוזלים.

80

LXX. ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκαθαρσιῶν αὐτῶν makes it possible that they read מטמאים which would represent מְטֻמֶּאִים "defiled."

81

The name is probably a quadriliteral from פשח, Ethiopic ተፋሥሐ "to be glad," Assyrian pashâchu "to be at ease," "to rest," (which comes nearest to the Hebrew root). The Arabic verb means "The place was roomy, wide, ample"; whence "free from distress or narrowness of mind." Thus Pashchur = "case," "tranquillity," and is formed like Achbor, kaphtor, "a capital," (LXX. Pashchor). But the name might remind a Hebrew of the root פוש "to leap," "prance," Jer. l. 11, and חר "free" (plur. only), as if it were a compound of pāsh and chōr. "Glad and free: " cf. the LXX. vocalisation Πασχώρ. I think this popular etymology pash + chor is probably what Jeremiah thought of.

82

Ex. xii. 33; Isa. viii. 11; Ezek. iii. 14; Jer. xv. 17.

83

vi. 11 (or, of enduring, Mal. iii. 2).

84

'Denounce ye, and we will denounce him!'