486 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
name" is said by some to be a later addition (Levin 1985: 199). The verb rg'
here and in Isa 51:15 means "stir up, disturb" (Rashi; cf. LXX in Isa 51: 5: ho
tarasson ten thalassan, "the one who stirs up the sea"; here in Jer 31:35: kai
kraugen en thalasse, "and a roaring in the sea"), a meaning it may also have in
Job 26:12 (but there the RSV translates another root meaning "to still, bring to
rest"; BOB rg' II). In the present verse this latter meaning is found in T ("re-
buking the sea") and Aq (katastellei ten thalassan, "he keeps down the sea").
The verb hmh ("to roar, moan") occurs often in Jeremiah, referring to a low-
pitched moan (4:19; 31:20; 48:36) or the roar of the sea (5:22; 6:23; 31:35;
50:42; 51:55). The imperfect verb with waw consecutive after a participle yields
a frequentative (iterative) present-i.e., a calm sea being periodically dis-
turbed by roaring waves (GKC S 111 u; cf. Ps 107:25). Kim}:ii and other Jewish
interpreters see an allusion here to Yahweh's deliverance at the Sea of Reeds
(Job 26:12), but this was probably not in the prophet's mind (Calvin).
the sea. Hebrew hayyam. There may be a wordplay here with yomam ("by
day") in v 3 5a.
Yahweh of hosts is his name. The LXX translates $eba'ot ("of hosts") with pan-
tokrator, as it does occasionally (see Appendix VI). On this climactic doxology,
see Note for 10:16.
- If these statutes depart from before me ... Then the seed of Israel shall cease
from being a nation before me-all the days. A protasis-apodosis argument, on
which see Note for 4: 1-2. The hymnic introduction has announced Yahweh as
the God of Creation, whose fixed statutes control movements of the sun, moon,
and stars in the heavens. See Psalm 93. Yahweh now says that if these fixed stat-
ues depart (yam usu) from before him, then the seed of Israel shall cease (yiS
betU) from being a nation before him. Since the former will not happen,
neither will the latter. The mention of Israel's "seed" (zera') in connection
with the stars calls to mind Yahweh's covenant with Abraham (Gen 15:5;
22: 17; 26:4), which is doubtless being reaffirmed here (Jones; Huffmon 1999:
175). Huffmon points out that the protasis-apodosis arguments in these verses
have only three close biblical parallels: Gen 13: 16 (the promise to Abraham
and his seed); Jer 33:20-21; and 33:25-26 (mention again of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob's seed). The Abrahamic covenant is eternal and cannot be broken
(Gen 17:13-14; Judg 2:1; Lev 26:44-45) as could the Mosaic covenant (v 32).
It therefore preserves Israel until the new covenant takes effect. One may see
also in this oracle an allusion to God's covenant with Noah in Gen 9:8-17
(Weiser), which follows a promise that "day and night shall not cease (lo' yis-
botU)" (8:22). See also 33:20 and 25. But the Noachian covenant is more inclu-
sive, seeing that it is made with the "seed" of every living creature on earth. On
Jeremiah and natural law, see 5:22; 8:7; and 18:14.
all the days. Hebrew kol-hayyamfm. For this expression, see also 32:39; 33:18;
and 35:19.
- Thus said Yahweh. The LXX omits, but the formula is present in Aq,
Symm, T, and Vg.
If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth ex-
plored to the depths, then I, I will reject all the seed of Israel. Another protasis-
