Jeremiah and the Yoke Bars (27:1-22) 315
chadnezzar" with an "n," see Note on 21:2. The LXX has "to serve him"
( douleuein auto) instead of "my servant," which makes for parallelism with "to
work for him" (ergazesthai auto) at the end of the verse. Holladay and McKane
go with the LXX (cf. Janzen 1973: 54-57), but most commentators read "my
servant" from the MT (so also T; cf. Tov 1979: 84). The translator(s) of the LXX
may have found the juxtaposition offensive (Rudolph; Fensham 1982: 61 ),
which would not be surprising since "my servant" as used here is an oxymoron.
Because the LXX omits "my servant" in all three contexts and because "ser-
vant" is believed to carry theological overtones of obedience and dedication to
Yahweh, Lemke ( 1966) argues that the term does not emanate from Jeremiah
but is the result of an accidental transmissional error. This view does not carry
conviction. The LXX, as we have seen, cannot be assumed to be the better or
more original text. Furthermore, Nebuchadnezzar is surely not a worshiper of
Yahweh, simply a servant doing (without his knowledge) the bidding of the
One who has created the world and controls the history of all nations (Hyatt).
Zevit (1969) has argued that "servant" simply means "vassal," which makes it
more a political than a theological term. The expression, "Nebuchadrezzar ...
my servant," is eminently worthy of Jeremiah, whose discourse teems with ro-
bust and even shocking images.
the beasts of the field. Hebrew bayyat hassadeh. These are the wild beasts
(12:9; 28:14; Gen 2:19-20; 3:1; Exod 23:11; Hos 2:14[Eng 2:12]).
I have given to him. These words at the end of the verse are omitted in the
LXX. Van der Kooij ( 1994: 64-65) thinks that the LXX has a simplified style,
which is possible.
- So all the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the
time of his land comes-even he! Then many nations and great kings shall make
him serve! The entire verse and the waw beginning v 8 are lacking in the LXX,
which may be attributed to haplography (homoeoarcton: w ... w). The waw
on wehaya (v 8) was apparently present in the LXX's Vorlage, but not haya,
which was also a victim of haplography (see below). The LXX of v 8 begins kai
to ethnos, "and the nation." Movers ( 1837), Hitzig ( 1841 ), and Kuenen ( 1863)
took v 7 as a later addition and were followed by Giesebrecht, Duhm, Peake,
Cornill, Janzen (1973: 101-3), Tov (1979: 84-85), Holladay, and Goldman
( 1992: 136-46), among others. It is argued that the verse is a vaticinium ex
eventu, said to break continuity between v 6 and v 8. Cornill thinks it is in-
appropriate to speak of Chaldean dominion being transitory, when Nebuchad-
nezzar's power ought, rather, be depicted as terribly as possible. The alleged
source for the addition is 25: l 4a. The verse, however, should be retained (Volz;
Rudolph; Weiser; Bright). Besides the argument for LXX haplography, it
should be noted that v 7 is attested in T, S, and Vg. The other argument, that
hope is incompatible with doom, is passe. The two are commonly juxtaposed
in biblical discourse (e.g., in the Psalms), and here in chap. 27, hope enters two
other oracles in vv 11 and 22 (see Rhetoric and Composition).
So all the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the
time of his land comes-even he! The expression "him and his son and his
