Book of the Covenant (30:1-31:40) 431
be expanding. The LXX's kai ktenon kai probaton ("and of flocks and of cattle")
does not preserve this nuance.
And their soul shall become like a saturated garden. The adjective raweh
means "saturated, well watered"; the verb rwh occurs with similar meaning in
vv 14 and 25. See also Isa 58: 11. The LXX has asper xulon egkarpon, "like a
fruitful tree;' which appears to extend the "grain, wine, and oil" bounty of the
prior line (Becking 1994a: 162). Read the MT (Snaith 1945: 26). The "soul"
(nepe8) of the people is their whole being (cf. v 14).
and they shall no longer languish any more. Hebrew welo>-yosfpu leda>aba
<od. The H-stem of ysp ("to add") followed by an infinitive means "continue."
Here with a negative, the meaning is "do no longer." The verb d>b means "to be-
come faint, languish." The Hebrew expression with <od is strong: since the weak
and thirsty will be filled to overflowing, they will no longer languish any more.
- Then shall the maiden be glad in the dance, yes, young men and old men
together. The maidens will dance in a circle (31 :4), and their own gladness will
make the young men and old men glad. Their dancing will be accompanied
by singing (v 12; Pss 149:3; 150:4). The T has everyone dancing, although the
men and women will not be dancing together (Peake; Rosenberg). The LXX
says nothing about dancing, but everyone is happy. It translates: "Then the
maidens shall be happy in the assembly (charesontai ... en synagoge) of
young men, and the old men shall be happy (charesontai)." This appears to
read biqhal ("in the assembly") for bemab6l ("in the dance"), and yibdu ("shall
rejoice") for yabdaw ("together"). Support is unanimous for MT's "in the
dance," but some commentators (Duhm; Peake; Cornill; Streane; Weiser; Ru-
dolph; Holladay; McKane) and some modern Versions (RSV; NEB; JB [but not
NJB]; NRSV; REB) prefer LXX's repeated "be happy" over MT's "together."
However, the entire colon in the MT is preferable (Ehrlich 1912: 321; Volz;
Condamin; Bright) and has support in 4QJd, Aq, and Vg. The LXX's repeated
verb is suspicious, with "together" precisely the word we would expect in the
context. Jeremiah typically joins representative persons with "together" (6:11,
12, 21; 13:14; 31:8, 13; 46:12, 21; 48:7; 49:3).
maiden. Hebrew betUlf1 is, lit., "virgin," a young woman having had no sex-
ual experience. Jeremiah uses the term elsewhere to mean "(young) maiden"
(2:32; 51:22), also metaphorically and ironically to disparage Israel ( = Judah)
and other nations (14:17; 18:13; 31:4, 21; 46:11).
young men. Hebrew baburfm. 4QJerc spells with a full J:iolem vowel:
[b]bwrym.
And I will turn their mourning into joy. Yahweh is now the speaker. 4QJerc
has "your mourning," which goes ill with remaining third-person references in
the line, and which continue in v 14. This promised joy (sason) and the glad-
ness (simbQ) in the next colon are precisely what was lost in Judah (see Note for
7:34). When the nation fell, dancing was turned into mourning (Lam 5:15).
But here for returning Israel the reverse is promised; cf. Ps 30:12[Eng 30:11].
Second Isaiah also speaks of a ransomed host singing with "joy and gladness"
on their return to Zion (Isa 35:1 O; 51: 11 ).
