228 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS8: 1 ). The expression "Yahweh showed me" occurs one other time in Jere-
miah, in 38:21, and is found also in 2 Kgs 8: 10, 13; and Ezek 11:25. The vision
here and its accompanying divine word is said by Lindblom ( 196 5: 140-41) to
be a "symbolic perception," which is an observation of a real object in the real
world. This vision then is no different from the "almond branch" and "boiling
pot" visions of 1:11-14, and possibly Amos's vision of the basket of summer
fruit (Amos 8: 1-2). Two real baskets of figs are seen sitting in front of the
Temple, but for the prophet they bring a sudden revelation from Yahweh. Yet
since the good figs in one of the baskets are said in v 2 to be only "like early
figs" (kit>ene habbakkurot), it could be that Jeremiah is reporting a vision oc-
curring solely in his mind, where things are not exactly as they are in the real
world (Volz; Rudolph; Holladay). Otherwise we have to imagine a real basket
of figs that were not early figs but figs that simply looked like early figs. Lind-
blom's "symbolic perception," it should be noted, precluded the figs' being a
firstfruits offering, which they likely are.
two baskets of figs. On the >aleph in duda>e ("baskets"), which appears to
express the dual number, see GKC §93x. Hebrew dud means "(cooking) pot"
(1 Sam 2:14; 2 Chr 35:13) or "basket." Rashi's rendering is "pots"; Kim}:ii fol-
lows T, with "baskets." The LXX (kalathous) and Vg (calathi) both have
"(wicker hand)baskets." Dalman (1933: 204), Honeyman (1939: 80-81), and
Kelso ( 1948: 18 #39) support the translation "baskets," Dalman saying that
these were heavy baskets used to carry fruit. Kelso says the dud is otherwise a
deep, round-bottomed, two-handled cooking pot, varying in size from four
inches to fourteen inches in diameter. Honeyman thinks it was single-
handed. The basket, in any case, presumably had the same general shape as
the cooking pot.
situated in front of the temple of Yahweh. Hebrew mu<adfm means "situ-
ated" (M. Greenberg 1997: 426) or "arranged" (Bright; Holladay), i.e., set in
their appointed place, which precludes the need that some scholars feel to
emend. The T has "placed," which corresponds to LXX's keimenous ("set
down") and Vg's positi ("set, placed"). The Hophal participle occurs one
other time in Ezek 21:21 [Eng 21: 16], where Greenberg translates "wherever
your blade (panayik) has been assigned (mu<adot)." The figs in front of the
Temple are presumably there as an offering of the firstfruits (Deut 26: 1-11;
cf. Exod 34:22; Deut 16:9-12), to be presented at the yearly Feast of Weeks
(=Pentecost), seven weeks after Passover (Cheyne; Zimmerli 1982: 110). This
is late May or early June when the first figs have just ripened (v 2). These figs
awaited examination by the priest, who would judge on their worthiness as an
offering. Some have wondered how the one basket of bad figs could show up
as a Temple offering, for which reason they either delete the Temple refer-
ence (Cornill) or detach the incident from reality (Rudolph; Holladay). Nei-
ther remedy is necessary. A bad offering of figs is no strain on the imagination.
Unworthy offerings were always a problem (Gen 4:3-4; Mal 1:6-9), and if the
priests are inspecting, it stands to reason that some offerings will be rejected as
unacceptable.