430 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
said about redemption, making Israel's repentance a condition for the divine
favor no more than an inference. On Yahweh as Israel's go>e[ ("Redeemer"),
see also the Note for 50:34.
a hand stronger than his own. Hebrew mfyyad bazaq mimmennu. The As-
syrians, like the Egyptians earlier, refused to let their captives go (50:33). But
happily for Israel-and later for Judah-"their Redeemer is strong," go> a lam
bazaq (v 34). The psalmist knew this same truth (Ps 35:10). By the time Jere-
miah began preaching in 622 B.C, or shortly after, Assyrian troops had with-
drawn from Philistia, Tyre, and Judah, and Nabopolassar was now king in
Babylon (626 B.c.). By 616 B.C., Nabopolassar was fighting Assyria in the Up-
per Euphrates, and in 614 B.C., the Med es took Asshur (Bright 1981: 315-16).
Nineveh fell in 612 B.C. In the years, then, between 622 and 612, hopes were
high in Judah that Israelite exiles from Assyrian and Median cities would be
returning home.
- And they shall come and cry for fay on the height of Zion. The goal of
these returnees will be Zion, as in 31:6. On the "height of Zion" (mer8m-
$fyy8n) sits the Jerusalem Temple (Calvin; cf. Ezek 20:40), where Yahweh
will be worshiped. The LXX's "on the mountain of Zion" does not require
emending bimrom to beharfm (pace Rudolph) or deleting "Zion" (pace Volz;
Rudolph).
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of Yahweh. Yahweh's "goodness"
(tub) consists of bumper crops along with enlarged flocks and herds, resulting
in an abundant food supply. For this same meaning of tub, see v 14; also 2:7
and Hos 3:5. The verb nhr can mean "flow, stream" (51:44), which is what the
AV chose to translate the present verse (cf. Rashi; Kimi).i), but it is now gener-
ally agreed that the verb here is another root meaning "to shine, be radiant"
(KB^3 nhr II; Ps 34:6[Eng 34:5]; Isa 60:5). The LXX has kai hexousin ("and they
shall abound"). 4QJerc again has <a[ for MT's >e[ (see above v 9), which makes
for consistency with the rest of the verse.
Over the grain and over the wine and over the oil. The principal crops of Pal-
estine (cf. Deut 8:8), cited commonly in Deuteronomy in this triadic formula
(Deut 7:13; 11:14; 12:17; 14:23; 18:4; 28:51). The formula appears only here
in Jeremiah, for which reason Volz and Holladay delete v 12b as a gloss on
the "goodness" of v l 2a. But the line is better retained. The triad appears also
in Hosea (Hos 2:10, 24[Eng 2:8, 22]), who has a great deal to say about Yah-
weh-not Baal-being the provider of Israel's crops. Also, embellishment in
the center of the Jeremianic oracle is a phenomenon with parallels elsewhere
(see Rhetoric and Composition). Hebrew dagan ("grain") is a generic term
for cereal grains, either wheat (bittd, or bar after winnowing) or barley (P. J.
King 1993: 145); tfros is new (unfermented) wine (KB^3 tfros); and yi$har is
fresh (olive) oil (BDB, 844). The LXX has "in a land of grain and wine and
fruits."
and over the young of the fiocks and the herds. I.e., the lambs and calves. He-
brew we<a[-bene-$>6n ubaqar. "Flocks" and "herds" are another common pair-
ing (3:24; 5: 17), and the mention here of young animals suggests that both will