446 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTSIs he the child of delight? The noun §a<;iSu<fm (a doubling from s« in the
Pilpel) is another intensive form meaning the object of play or delight.
Kiml_ii says the portrayal is that of a father who plays with his son. In Isa 66: 12
the Pulpal form of the verb means "rocked back and forth on the lap." The
li of the prior colon could do double duty here, which would yield "my
delight."
For more than all my speaking against him, I will assuredly remember him
still. This translation of the much-discussed first colon follows 48:27 ("For
more than all your words against him ... "), which is different only in that it
employs the noun debarfm instead of the verbal infinitive. Hebrew ba does not
mean "with him" (pace Calvin); nor does it mean "of him" or "about him," the
rendering of Duhm and a number of commentators since. Duhm thought the
mere mention of Ephraim's name made Yahweh remember him. The term b6
means "against him" (AV; RSV; NJV; NIV; REB; Giesebrecht; Rudolph;
McKane), as in 48:27. Yahweh says that in spite of all his pronouncements
against Ephraim he remembers him, and in the future will continue to re-
member him with deep affection. The LXX reads hoti anth' on hoi logoi mou
en auto ("for because my words are in him"), which differs little from the em-
bellished reading of T ("For at the time when I put the words of my Law upon
his heart to do them"). The MT should be followed, although Hayward
( l 985b: 111-12) notes that Jerome in his commentary interprets God's words as
being within Ephraim, which reflects the reading in T.
I will assuredly remember him still. Hebrew zakor^1 ezkerennfl <ad. The LXX
lacks <ad ("still"), which can be attributed to haplography (homoeoarcton:
<ayin ... <ayin). The particle appears in Aq, Symm, T, and Vg and is necessary
for the sense (Giesebrecht). Yahweh's remembrance implies providential care
(Gen 8:1).
Therefore my innards moan for him. Hebrew <al-ken hamfl me<ay la. A truly
extraordinary anthropomorphism, with Yahweh's "innards" (me<fm) said to be
in divine turmoil. The same expression is used by Yahweh with reference to
Moab, only there with biting irony ( 48:36). Jeremiah confesses a similar tur-
moil within himself in 4: 19, although for him it is an uninvited psychophysical
experience. The verb hmh means "to roar, moan, growl," suggesting rumblings
in the digestive track. Elsewhere in Jeremiah this verb denotes the "roar" of the
sea (5:22; 6:23; 31:35; 50:42; 51:55). In traditional exegesis the portrayal here is
viewed as the tender feelings of a father (Calvin; Cornill), but more recently it
has been argued that the imagery is female (Trible; Holladay; Carroll), particu-
larly since me<fm can refer to the "womb" in a woman's body (Gen 25:23; Isa
49: 1; Ps 71 :6). But such an interpretation is certainly not required, because the
term can mean "bowels" or "innards" of a woman (Num 5:22; Song 5:4) or a
man (Gen 15:4; 2 Sam 7:12; 16:11; Jer 4:19). In Gen 15:4 me<fm refers to the
male reproductive organs, where the Hebrew says, lit., "What comes out from
your innards will be your heir." The term has the same meaning in 2 Sam 7: 12
and 16: 11. One cannot conclude then with Trible ( 1977: 275; 1978: 44-45)