338 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS- Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah. Hebrew wayehf debar-yhwh
)el-yirmeya. This third-person superscription, sometimes expanded, occurs
eleven times in the book (28:12; 29:30; 32:26; 33:1, 19, 23; 34:12; 35:12; 36:27;
42:7; and 43:8). For the first-person form, see Note for 1:4. The AV adds "the
prophet" after "Jeremiah," which occurs later in the verse, but not here. It hap-
pens again following the fall of Jerusalem ( 42:7) that Jeremiah is forced to en-
dure an extremely difficult situation, where he is expected to speak directly to
the people, yet must wait patiently and obediently for the word of Yahweh to
come to him (Zimmerli 1982: 95).
from upon the neck of Jeremiah the prophet. The LXX has "from his neck,"
but Aq, S, T, and Vg all have "neck of Jeremiah," supporting MT. - Go and you shall say to Hananiah. Hebrew halok we)amarta. This con-
struction, the infinitive absolute halok paired with a perfect verb used to com-
mand, appears frequently in the Jeremianic prose (2:2a; 3:12; 13:1; 17:19; 19:1;
28:13; 34:2; 35:2, 13; 39:16). How soon after Jeremiah's first encounter with
Hananiah this directive came is not known. Was there still a Temple audience
on hand to hear the prediction of Hananiah's death?
Yoke bars of wood you have broken, but you have made in their place yoke-bars
of iron. The line is a syntactic chiasmus. The LXX has "I will make," which
may be influenced by what follows (v 14): "A yoke of iron I have put upon the
neck." The T and Vg (facies) support MT, although with future verbs. The MT,
which is the lectio difficilior, is generally read (Cheyne; Volz; Weiser; Rudolph;
Bright; Holladay; McKane; cf. NRSV changing from RSV, and NJB changing
from JB). It goes without saying that Hananiah will not himself make a yoke;
the point is that by prophesying as he has Hananiah is shaping the future in a
way that he does not know. It was said earlier regarding prophets and various
seers of other nations that they too, by preaching a lie, were unwittingly bring-
ing about the very thing they wanted most to avoid (27: 10). False preaching is
not a trifle; it aids in bringing about precisely what one wants not to happen.
yoke bars of iron. Hebrew motot barzel. The Hebrew term for "iron," barzel,
is of foreign origin (cf. 15:12), having also pejorative associations in the OT
(Sawyer 1983: 131-32). Regarding Ezek 27:19, where Tyre appears to be trad-
ing in polished iron from Uzal in the Anatolian mountains(= ancient Hittite
Empire; modern-day Turkey), see Elat 1983. - A yoke of iron I have put upon the neck of all these nations to serve Nebu-
chadnezzar. Here "yoke of iron" ('ol barzel) is used, the term appearing in the
curse of Deut 28:48. This is another indication that two "yoke bars" make up a
"yoke." "I have put" is a prophetic perfect.
all these nations. The LXX lacks "these" but has the "all." The Vg (gentium
istarum) has "these" but not "all." Aquila, Theod, and Tread with MT. The
inclusion of "these" bears on the interpretation, for it suggests that the foreign
envoys are still in Jerusalem (Rudolph).
and they shall serve him; even the beasts of the field I have given to him. The
LXX omits, which could be due to haplography (homoeoarcton: w ... w). The
T and Vg have the words. On "beasts of the field," see 27:6.