Good Figs Gone for Export (24:1-10) 235necessary; the LXX omission is likely due to haplography (homoeoarcton:
l ... l, or homoeoteleuton: h ... h).
a reproach. Hebrew ~erpa. A very common term in Jeremiah (6:10; 15:15;
20:8; 23:40; 24:9; 29:18; 31:19; 42:18; 44:8, 12; 49:13; 51:51), appearing not
only in curse-word strings of prose but also in poetry. In 15:15 and 20:8 the
prophet laments the reproach he himself has endured. This term occurs no-
where in Deuteronomy.
a proverb, a taunt. Hebrew masal and senfnd. Both terms occur in Jeremiah
only here; "proverb" occurs eight times in Ezekiel.
a swearword. Heb qelala. Another term appearing very often in Jeremiah,
both singly and in lists of curse words (24:9; 25: 18; 26:6; 29:22; 42: 18; 44:8, 12,
22; 49: 13 ). It occurs frequently in Deuteronomy as well (Deut 11 :26, 28, 29;
21:23; 23:6[Eng 23:5]; 27:13; 28:15, 45; 29:26[Eng 29:27]; 30:1, 19), although
there, in every case except one (21:23), it is a general word for "curse" as op-
posed to "blessing" and does not appear in any list of curse words.
in all the places where I shall disperse them. This phrase, with or without the
prior curse words, is taken as more expansion by certain commentators
(Giesebrecht; Volz; Weiser; Rudolph; Holladay; McKane), but again without
any textual support. Rudolph and Weiser take it to be an addition from Deut
28:37 and say it contradicts v 10. The contradiction to v 10 is largely contrived
(some of those remaining in the land can reasonably expect to meet humilia-
tion in a later dispersion), and Deut 28:37, with its different wording, is not
likely to be the place from which the phrase has been quarried, particularly
since the phrase and others like it employing nd~ ("to disperse, scatter") are
found all through the book of Jeremiah (8:3; 16:15; 23:3, 8; 24:9; 27:10, 15;
29:14, 18; 32:37; 40:12; 43:5; 46:28). They are, in fact, a signature phrase of
the Jeremiah prose.- the sword, the famine, and the pestilence. On this triad, see Note for 5: 12.
until they are consumed from upon the soil that I gave to them and to their
fathers. An unusual formulation using ha> adama ("the soil, ground") instead of
ha> are$ ("the land"). See also 12: 14 and 27: l 0-11. The language here is likely
intentional, indicating punishment for sin. Cain laments being driven "from
(the face of) the ground" (meadama) as punishment for his sin
(Gen 4: 14 ). In the present instance Yahweh is talking about his gift of the land.
The LXX omits "and to their fathers" (wela>ab6tehem), which is another loss
due to haplography (homoeoteleuton: hm ... hm). Janzen (1973: 44) deletes
as MT expansion, but Holladay retains; "fathers" is a common embellishing
term in Jeremiah, occurring often in phrases such as the present one about
Yahweh's gift of the land (3:25; 7:7, 14; 9:15[Eng 9:16]; 16:13; 19:4; 23:39;
24:10; 25:5; 35:15; 44: 3, 10, 17, 21).
MESSAGE AND AUDIENCE
Jeremiah reports here a vision received from Yahweh, perhaps reminding
his audience of earlier visions received and reported that called him to be