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

Book of the Covenant (30:1-31:40) 391

in this and other preaching. This is the first time "my servant" occurs as an

honorific title for Jacob/Israel in the OT (S. R. Driver 1913: 261 ), a concept

that becomes fully developed in Second Isaiah (Isa 41:8; 42:1, 19; 43:10; 44: 1-

2; 44:21). The title "Jacob, my servant," occurs also in Ezek 37:25. Becking

( 1989: 70) calls attention to prior Aramaic and Akkadian texts containing the

"do not be afraid I fear not" injunction. In the eighth-century B.C. Zakkur

(Zakir) Inscription, for example, the god says to the king of Hamath:

Do not be afraid! Since I have made [you king, I will stand] beside you. I

will save you from all [these kings who] have besieged you.

(CS II 155; ANET^3 655; M. Weippert 1981: 102-3)

And in an oracle concerning Esarhaddon (680-669 B.c.), the Assyrian king

is told:

Fear not, Esarhaddon! I, the god Bel, am speaking to you. I watch over your

inner heart as would your mother who brought you forth. Sixty great gods

are standing together with me and protect you.

(ANET^3 605)

Another oracle gives Ashurbanipal (688-627 B.C.) reassurance after a tearful

supplication:

The goddess Ishtar heard my anxious sighs and said, "Fear not!" and gave

me confidence (saying), "Since you have lifted your hands in prayer and

your eyes have filled with tears, I have had mercy."

(ANET^3 606)

For other "do not be afraid I fear Not" assurances in Assyrian texts, see M.
Weippert 1981: 96-98. Weiser also points out that the reassuring "do not be
afraid" occurs earlier in biblical theophanies, spoken to individuals by either
Yahweh or his angel (Gen 15:1; 21:17; 26:24; cf. Conrad 1985).

10. and do not you be broken, Israel. On the verb ~tt, "be broken, dismayed,"
    see Note for 1: 17.
    For look I will save you from afar. I.e., from exile. The word is spoken in
    Zion.
    and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Calvin says that offspring
    are mentioned because the captivity will be long. While children sometimes
    pay for the sins of their parents, it is also true that sometimes only they receive
    the blessings promised to their parents (Gen 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17).
    And Jacob will return and be undisturbed. Hebrew wesab ya<aqob wesaqat.
    Calvin took sab as coming from the verb ysb, "to dwell," but most commenta-
    tors and Versions prefer sub, "to return," some giving that verb the meaning
    "once more" or "again" (NEB; REB; JB [but NJB has "return"]; NAB; NJV).