114 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
covet field and vineyard, and any wealth and house, and any thing of delight in
Israel, nor rob" (Yadin 1983: 258-59).
from the oppressor's hand. Hebrew miyyad <oseq. The infinitive <as6q in 22:3
also means "oppressor." On the occasional interchange of participle and infin-
itive in the OT, see Wernberg-M0ller 1959: 58. The oppressor here is a robber
who robs others (Rashi). The LXX, S, and T have "his oppressor" both here
and in 22:3, which gives the same meaning.
lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so none can quench it, on account of
their evil doings. The same tricolon (except with "your evil doings") occurs in
4:4b. For other variations of this phrase, see Note on 7:20. This outpouring of
the divine wrath is what the Covenant Code promises to anyone who oppresses
the sojourner, orphan, or widow (Exod 22:20-23[Eng 22:21-24]). While the
application here is probably broader, society's poor and disenfranchised are of
pnmary concern.
on account of their evil doings. A stereotyped expression appearing variously
in Jeremianic poetry and prose (4:4b; 21:12; 23:2, 22; 25:5; 26:3; and 44:22; cf.
Isa 1:16; Hos 8: 15; Deut 28:20), which has turned up also in the Qumran
Temple Scroll (1 IQT 59:7; cf. Yadin 1983: 267; Brooke 1997: 202). Lacking in
the LXX, this phrase has been taken by many (Stade 1892: 278; Cornill; Ru-
dolph; Weiser; Holladay; McKane) as an addition from 4:4b. But since the
entire tricolon here matches the entire tricolon in 4:4b, this argument is less
than persuasive. The phrase appears in CL, Theod, T, S, and Vg, and should
therefore be retained (Giesebrecht). Also, "their doings" (Kt) balances "your
doings" in v 14; both terms, along with a repetition of "fire," serve to link Ora-
cles I and III (see Rhetoric and Composition).
- Look I am against you. Hebrew hinenf >elayik. A stereotyped judgment
phrase, here with >e[ but sometimes with <a[, is called by Humbert ( 193 3) a
"challenge formula." Humbert claims it is the summons to a duel, but this re-
mains unproved. Zimmerli ( 1979: 26, 17 5) takes it simply as an introduction to
a divine threat (once in Ezek 36:9, a promise also), noting in addition that the
phrase occurs six times in Jeremiah (21:13; 23:30, 31, 32; 50:31; 51:25), four-
teen times in Ezekiel (Ezek 5:8; 13:8, 20; 21:8[Eng 21:3]; 26:3; 28:22; 29:3, IO;
30:22; 34:10; 35:3; 36:9; 38:3; 39:1), and twice in Nahum (Nah 2:14[Eng 2:13];
3:5). Here a feminine singular suffix points to Lady Jerusalem as the addressee.
sitting one of the valley. Hebrew yosebet ha<emeq. Weiser translates "en-
throned over the valley," citing for comparison Yahweh's enthronement over
the cherubim atop the ark (I Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2 = 1 Chr 13:6; Pss 80:2; 99: I).
The LXX goes its own way with ton katoikounta ten koilada sor, "who dwells in
the valley of Sor (Tyre)," including in its translation the next word $Ur, which it
reads as $Or (cf. Ezek 27:3). Aquila similarly has Tyros ("Tyre"), but Symm petra
("rock"). The "sitting one" image occurs often in Jeremiah (see Note for
46:19). Reference here is to Jerusalem (Jerome; Rashi; Kim}:ii; yosebet is femi-
nine), although questions have been raised about the city's being situated in a
valley. Topography, however, is not at issue. Jerusalem is surrounded on three
sides by deep valleys (cf. ha<emeq in 31:40; <amaqayik in Isa 22:7), and its ele-
