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

Jeremiah Buys Land in Anathoth (32:1-44) 499

deans.'^44 Fields shall be bought with silver, also writing in the deed and

sealing and the summoning of witnesses to witness, in the land of Ben-

jamin, and in the regions around Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, in

the cities of the hill country and in the cities of the Shephelah and in the

cities of the N egeb; for I will surely restore their fortunes -oracle of

Yahweh.

RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION

MT Chapter 32 = LXX Chapter 39. The original Book of Restoration (chaps.

30-31) was at some point enlarged to include chaps. 32 and 3 3, each of which

is a self-standing compilation on the same themes appearing in 30-31: 1) the

return of Israelite and Judahite exiles; 2) resettlement of exiles and restored

community life in Judah; and 3) new and ongoing covenants between Yahweh

and Israel-Judah. The present chapter marks the end of Jerome's unfinished

commentary.

Chapter 32 reports Jeremiah's purchase of a family plot at Anathoth, which

is preceded by two judgment oracles given earlier to Zedekiah, and followed by

Jeremiah's long prayer to Yahweh and Yahweh's answer in four divine oracles.

Chronologically the chapter belongs with chaps. 37-38, which narrate events

taking place during Jeremiah's confinement in the court of the guard (37:21;

38:28). The narrative here was doubtless included in the Book of Restoration

because its message of hope fit more suitably here than in chaps. 37-38. Its two

judgment oracles given to Zedekiah in vv 3b-5 largely repeat a similar oracle

in 34:2b-3. That chap. 32 is essentially one piece can be seen by the final or-

acle's returning to pick up the main theme of the narrative, i.e., that fields will

again be bought in the land (v 43; cf. v 15). The two concluding oracles paral-

lel the two concluding oracles in chap. 31:

Oracle on the New Covenant

Oracle on the Rebuilding of Jerusalem

Oracle on the Eternal Covenant

Oracle on Renewed Field Purchases in Benjamin and Judah

31:31-34

31 :38-40

32:36-41

32:42-44

A key phrase in the final verse of the chapter, "for I will surely restore their
fortunes" ( v 44) is repeated at the end of chap. 3 3 ( v 26Q). In the enlarged
Book of Restoration (chaps. 30-3 3 ), Israel and Judah's restored fortunes be-
come a key theme (see Rhetoric and Composition for 30:1-3).
The present verses are delimited at the top end by a setumah in ML and MP
and a petuf:iah in MA before v 1, which is also the chapter division. Delimita-
tion at the bottom end is by a petuf:iah in MA, ML, and MP after the "oracle of
Yahweh" formula in v 44, which is another chapter division. The messenger
formula of v 44 is omitted in the LXX.