408 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS33:26; 51:46). The term melek ("king") is not used. But T has "king" and
"anointed one," with Kim):ii and Calvin interpreting the terms similarly. The
usage has to be intentional, because the term "king" has doubtless been tar-
nished by Judah's last occupiers of the throne, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. Jere-
miah speaks about a future "king" (melek) only four times, twice saying that
kings will continue to occupy David's throne, if people keep the Sabbath and
present kings do justice and righteousness ( 17:25; 22:4), neither of which hap-
pened, and twice when specifying the future king as being a "king like David"
(23:5; 30:9), the idea evolving into a later messianic hope. Things are much the
same in Ezekiel, where the "prince" (niiSf') and the "priest" are envisioned as
joining forces in the restoration (Ezekiel 44-46), and a Davidic "king" or
"prince" is promised for the future (Ezek 34:24; 37:24-25). In the case of Jere-
miah, one might even say that the ancient idea of Yahweh being Israel's only
real King dominates his thinking (Jer 8: 19; 10: 7; 1 O; 46: 18; 48: 15; 51:57). If so,
the idea likely emanates from traditions passed on about Samuel ( 1 Sam 8:4-7),
with which Jeremiah was familiar and which impacted his own prophetic self-
understanding (see §Introduction: Early Life and Call to Be a Prophet). The
emphasis here in the present verse is that the future ruler will come from
within the people and not be a foreigner (cf. Deut 17:15). The idea is well at-
tested in antiquity. The Hittite treaty just cited (v 18) gave its blessing to the
longevity of the Hurrians' own royal line.
and (he) shall be. Hebrew wehaya. 4QJd has wehayu ("and they shall be"),
presumably taking "his noble one" and "his ruler" as a compound subject. The
LXX also has a plural verb but with a plural subject: kai esontai ischuroteroi
autou ("and his mighty ones will be").
and I will bring him near, and he will approach me. Holladay notes a word-
play in miqqirb6 ("from his midst") and wehiqrabtfw ("and I will bring him
near"). The future leader will have special access to Yahweh, perhaps as Moses
did (Exod 24:2). But the usual interpretation is that he will combine royal and
priestly offices as postexilic leaders later did (Zech 3:6-10). The LXX reads:
"and I will gather them, and they shall return to me," which appears to be a
misunderstanding (Jones).
For who is he that would risk his life to approach me? The pronoun mf with
the enclitic hU'-zeh strengthens the interrogative: "Who is he ... ?" (GKC
§ 136c; BOB, 261 4b; cf. Ps 24: 10; Esth 7:5). The expression "risk his life" is lit.,
"pledge his heart" (<arab 'et-libb6). Coming near to Yahweh is a risk if one ini-
tiates the action, just as when someone comes uninvited into the presence of
the king (Esth 4: 11 ). Yahweh's unapproachableness stems basically from his
holiness (Exod 3:5; 19:9-25).
- And you will be a people to me, and I, I will be God to you. The LXX
omission of this covenant formula might be explained as another abridgment
to eliminate a repetition, since the formula occurs again in 31: 1. Many com-
mentators delete, citing also the comment of Volz that the changed address
(second person plural) identifies the formula as an addition. The formula does
not belong to the oracle; nevertheless, it connects to the oracle and fills out a