Jeremiah Meets Hananiah (28:1-17) 331been issued by more recent scholars, although these typically err in the oppo-
site direction. Peake says that there is no reason to doubt Hananiah's sincerity.
Quell (1952: 43-67) claims, too, that while Hananiah may have possessed a
limited view, he was still a prophet of rank, a man of sincere belief, and an au-
thority to be reckoned with. There is no evidence that he was immoral, as were
the prophets Zedekiah and Ahab in Babylon (29:23), and he preached with the
same boldness and confidence seen earlier in Isaiah, who said Zion would not
fall. Rudolph, too, views the conflict here as one between two earnest men. See
also Kraus (1964: 89-91) and Overholt (1967: 244-45; 1970: 38-45). The point
about Hananiah's not being immoral is fair enough. There is no evidence that
he was. And Calvin clearly read more into the text than he should in suggesting
that Hananiah was conscious of his own wickedness. Even if he were a wicked
soul, which is nowhere stated other than its being said that he was preaching a
lie, how did Calvin know that he was conscious of his own mischief? People
engaged in wrongdoings of all sorts, from lying to more grievous things, are
often totally unaware of what they are doing. Liars often think they are being
truthful.
Gibeon. A Benjaminite city from the time of the Conquest, identified with
el-Jib, some five miles north of Jerusalem on the Nablus Road and only a short
distance north and west of Anathoth, the home of Jeremiah. According to Josh
21:17 Gibeon was a priestly city, like Anathoth. It was also a major cultic site,
because Solomon went there to sacrifice at a high place and received Yahweh's
gift of wisdom in a dream on that occasion (1 Kgs 3:4). Edward Robinson had
identified Gibeon with el-Jib already in 1838 (E. Robinson 1874 I: 455-56),
recognizing that Jib in Arabic is merely an abridged form of Hebrew "Gibeon."
The site was excavated by J.B. Pritchard in the 1950s and early 1960s, at which
time it was learned that the city reached its peak of prosperity in Iron IIC (700-
600 B.C. ), when it was producing and trading wine (Pritchard 1964; NEAEHL
2: 512-13). An extensive water system was also uncovered, which included a
tunnel and the pool made famous by the conflict between the men of Abner
and the men of Joab, which is recorded in 2 Sam 2:12-17 (Pritchard 1956;
1959; for a picture of the pool, see ANEP^2 367 #879). Since Pritchard's excava-
tions, the identification of Gibeon with el-Jib has not been seriously ques-
tioned (Blenkinsopp 1972: 5-6).b Another skirmish between Johanan and
Ishmael took place at Gibeon after the destruction of Jerusalem, which is re-
corded in Jer 41:11-15.
said to me. Hebrew 'amar 'elay. Although the first-person "to me" is well at-
tested in the Versions, many scholars delete or emend it because of the third
person in v 5. This change has Hananiah speaking not to Jeremiah but to the
Temple audience. Others (Rudolph; G. R. Driver 1964: 79; Bright) suggest
that 'ly abbreviates "to Je[remiah]," which, if true, must be said to introduce a
bCarroll (p. 539) mistakenly quotes Blenkinsopp in support of his claim that the site of ancient
Gibeon is disputed, but Blenkinsopp on pp. 98-100 of his book is referring to the dispute over
ancient Mizpah. Blenkinsopp fully supports the el-Jib site for Gibeon.