600 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
different people in the Bible, has shown up on numerous Judahite bullae, also
bullae of Ammonite origin (see Note for 41:1). One of the former reads "(be-
longing) to Elishama, servant of the king," but Avigad ( l 986b: 23-24 #4) says
he is probably not the same individual as here because his title is different. Ish-
mael, a Judahite royal family member who later plotted against Gedaliah and
murdered him, is the grandson of an Elishama ( 41:1; 2 Kgs 25:25). We do not
know if this Elishama is the same Elishama as here, but it is possible. Another
excavated bulla, found over a century ago, could support a royal connection. It
contains the inscription: "belonging to Elishama, the king's son" (Torrey 1923:
I 08; Avigad 1997: 5 3 # 11 ). See discussion in Note for 41:1.
Delaiah son of Shernaiah. Delaiah is later present at the reading before the
king and is one of those urging the king not to burn the scroll (v 25). He is thus
a partisan of Jeremiah and Baruch. The name "Delaiah" has turned up on an
ostracon from the Lachish "Solar Shrine" and on a Judahite seal and seal im-
pression. On the name "Shemaiah," see Note for 26:20 and "Uriah ben She-
maiah" in Appendix I. The LXX here reads "Shelemiah."
Elnathan son of Achbor. This individual, who is a son of one of the reformers
(2 Kgs 22: 12), belongs to the group urging the king not to burn the scroll. Yet he
was the one sent by Jehoiakim to extradite Uriah from Egypt (26:22-23). If the
"Elnathan of Jerusalem" mentioned in 2 Kgs 24:8 is the same Elnathan as here,
then a daughter of this individual was married to Jehoiakim. The LXX has
"Jonathan" for "Elnathan." It is difficult to make a judgment on this man's sym-
pathies; he could be one of those individuals, found in every age, who some-
how m;inages to be on both sides of a conflict. The names "Elnathan" and
"Achbor" have turned up on numerous ostraca, jar handles, seal imp1essions,
and inscriptions of the period (see "Elnathan ben Achbor" in Appendix I).
Gernariah son of Shaphan. On Gemariah, see above, v 10.
Zedekiah son of Hananiah. Nothing more is known about this individual.
"Zedekiah" was a common name of the period, given as a throne name to Mat-
taniah, who later succeeded Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 24: 17). On the name "Hana-
niah," see Note for 28: I and "Hananiah ben Azzur" in Appendix I.
yes, all the princes. The phrase repeats from the beginning of the verse and,
because its function here is to emphasize, the waw on wekol should be trans-
lated as an asseverative: "yes" or "indeed." The phrase also denotes other
princes in the room not mentioned by name.
- And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read
aloud the scroll in the hearing of the people. I.e., he summarized the scroll for
them. The LXX omits "(aloud) the scroll" (basseper), which can be attributed
to haplography (homoeoarcton: b ... b ).
- Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelerniah, son of Gushi. It is highly un-
usual when someone in a narrative has his ancestry traced back three genera-
tions, but here there appears to be a reason. The present individual, who is a
Judahite, had a Cushite (=Ethiopian) great-grandfather (Hitzig; Rice 1975:
104-9). But his father and grandfather's names are compounded with Yah-
weh. Jehudi is a trusted palace functionary, sent now to fetch Baruch and sent
