138 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
vermilion are referred to in Ezek 23:14. In 1930-31, Thureau-Dangin uncov-
ered an eighth-or seventh-century B.C. Assyrian provincial palace at Ti! Barsip
(Tell Ahmar) whose wall decorations, in brilliant colors, had survived almost
entirely intact. The red paint on them has since been analyzed as "an ochre
pigment, a natural compound of clay and oxide of iron" (Parrot 1961: 263, 266).
This was the ancient vermilion. The paintings celebrate the king's achieve-
ments as monarch, warrior, and big-game hunter. Along with scenes boasting
successful battles and the subjugation of enemies, are more irenic portrayals of
the king, with officials and servants performing appointed duties, entertaining
foreign dignitaries, and receiving homage and tribute from subject peoples. On
the Ti! Barsip paintings, see Parrot 1961: xvi-xvii; 100-111, pis. 109-20; 262-63,
pis. 336-37; and 266-78, pis. 342-48. One wonders then if Jehoiakim's adven-
ture in vermillion did not consist of having self-aggrandizing portrayals painted
on his newly-built palace walls.
- Are you a king because you compete in cedar? This question probes
deeply into the essence of kingship: is building with cedar what makes one a
king? Some commentators (Duhm; Cornill; Rudolph; Carroll; Holladay)
emend the verb to an unattested Hithpael in order to get a judgment on play-
acting (GKC §54e). Is Jehoiakim by his extravagant behavior simply "trying to
be king"? Such condescension is improbable. Jehoiakim is not trying to be
king; he is king, and has been so for some years! MT's hatimli5k, which is a Qal
imperfect with he> interrogative (BOB, 573), yields a more vigorous reading,
questioning whether palace-building is what kingship is all about. The verse
goes on to state that kingship is in fact about doing justice and righteousness.
The participle meta~areh ("compete") is a Tiphel form of ~rh, "to be hot," on
which see Note for 12:5. Jehoiakim is "hotly competing" in cedar acquisition
and construction. Jones says this points to the universal human weakness of
having to do more splendidly than others. Instead of "in cedar," the majority
of LXX MSS have "with Ahaz" (en Achaz), and GA reads "with Ahab" (en
Achaab), which cannot be right. The MT's "in cedar" suits the context per-
fectly and is a key word in the larger structure to which the present oracle be-
longs (see Rhetoric and Composition for 22:6-9).
Your father-Did not he eat and drink? I.e., did not Josiah enjoy life? Je-
hoiakim's "father" is neither Solomon (pace Giesebrecht), nor Ahaz (pace
Volz; cf. LXX). Yahweh shows himself here, as elsewhere, as unopposed to
eating and drinking (cf. Ecc 2:24; Matt 11:19). Kings dine well as a matter of
course. The point is that Josiah ate and drank but also practiced justice and
righteousness; therefore, it went well with him. See the fragrant memory of
Josiah in Sir 49:1-3.
and do justice and righteousness? The essence of kingship (see Notes for
21:12 and 22:3).
Then it went well for him. Hebrew >az tab [6. An unmistakable echo of Deu-
teronomy, where the fruit of covenant obedience is that it will "go well" (ytb)
with the people (Deut 4:40; 5:16, 29; 6:3, 18, 24; 10:13; 12:25, 28; 19:13; 22:7).
Jeremiah repeats this evaluation of Josiah's kingship in v 16a.
