Jeremiah 21-36 A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by (Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)

240 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS

The upper limit of the present unit is marked by a superscription and intro-

duction in vv 1-2, before which there is a petu~ah in M\ ML, and MP prior to

25:1. The lower limit is marked by a petu~ah in MA and a setumah in ML and

MP after v 14. There are no sections in v 13, notably after v l 3a, where the LXX

makes its celebrated divergence from MT. The M\ MP, and 4QJerc have a

petu~ah and ML a setumah after v 7, which are doubtless guided by the messen-

ger formula in v 8 and serve to separate Oracle I from Oracle II.

The present unit consists of l) a dated narrative reporting an address by Jere-

miah to his people, in which he recalls 23 years of having received Yahweh's

word and having preached a message of reform, to which the people said a

resolute 'No' (vv 1-5); 2) a divine oracle stating Yahweh's call for reform and

an indictment for the people's same stubborn disregard (vv 6-7); 3) a second

divine oracle promising judgment on Judah and the nations (vv 8-11); and

4) a third divine oracle promising specific judgment on Babylon once 70 years

have elapsed (vv 12-14). Oracle I (vv 6-7) is demarcated by an unannounced

shift to Yahweh as speaker in v 6 ("Do not provoke me to anger ... and I will do

you no harm") and an "oracle of Yahweh" formula in v 7. The speaker of vv 3-5

is Jeremiah (MT).

Oracle I has this nice balance:

... and I will do you no hurt

... to your own hurt

welo' 'ara' lakem

/era' lakem

v6

v7

Oracle II has a chiastic structure made from the following key words and

phrases:

II king of Babylon

this land ... all these nations

all this land ... and these nations

the king of Babylon

melek-babel v9

ha' are~ hazzo't ... kol haggoyim ha'elleh

kol-ha'are~ hazzo't ... haggoyim ha'elleh v 11

'et-melek-babel

Oracles I and II are linked by these catchwords (cf. Cassuto l 973c: 225):

I But you have not listened to me

II Because you have not listened to my words

welo'-sema'tem 'elay v 7

... lo'-sema'tem 'et-debaray v 8

Yahweh continues to be the speaking voice in Oracles II and III, even surpris-
ingly in v 13, where Jeremiah's prophecies written in a book are cited. These
two oracles are also linked together by catchwords (cf. Cassuto l 973c: 225;
Keown et al.):

II seventy years

III seventy years

sib'fm sana

sib'fm sana

v 11

v 12

Oracle III in the LXX, as has been mentioned, introduces the Foreign Nation
Oracles, preeminently those against Babylon, which follow after v l 3a. In the