504 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
Janzen 1973: 104; Holladay; McKane) or an LXX loss due to abridgment
(Giesebrecht; Rudolph). If the LXX omission is looked at in its entirety, we
have another arguable case for LXX loss through haplography (homoeoteleu-
ton: h ... h). The omitted words are translated in Theod, S, T, and Vg and
should therefore be retained.
for though you fight the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed. These direct words
at the end of the oracle are addressed to all the people of Jerusalem (plural
forms), not just to the king.
- And Jeremiah said, the word of Yahweh came to me. The narrative picks up
here from v 1 after the parenthetical words of vv 2-5. This lengthy digression
makes necessary "and Jeremiah said," which should not be deleted with the
LXX and S (pace Holladay). Its omission in the LXX, as we just noted, is due to
haplography. Jeremiah, then, is not answering Zedekiah's question (Rashi; Ru-
dolph; Weiser), which was posed earlier and here serves only as introductory
background, but is addressing an assembly of people in the court of the guard
(KimQ.i). The LXX has "and the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah," which is
the same introductory formula as in v 26. But MT's "the word of Yahweh came
to me" makes a better introduction to the first-person language in vv 8-25.
- Look, Hanamel son of Shallum, your uncle, is coming to you to say: 'Buy for
yourself my field that is in Anathoth.' Lindblom ( 1965: 200) and others speak
here about presentiment, the sort that everyone experiences at one time or an-
other. But the text says that Jeremiah learns of Hanamel's coming through a
word from Yahweh, which is confirmed when the cousin comes (v 8).
for the right of redemption to buy is yours. The term mispat here means
"right" or "due" (as established by custom), a meaning it has also in Dcut 18:3
(Snaith 1983: 76). The LXX omits the term here and in v 8, but Giesebrecht
notes that it is nevertheless translated in CL, S, T, and Vg.
son ofShallum. "Shall um" was the preaccession name of King Jehoahaz (see
Note on 22:1 la).
- And Hanamel, son of my uncle, came to me-according to the word of Yah-
weh. This confirmation of an earlier word from Yahweh (vv 6-7), according to
Rabinowitz (1966: 319-20; 1972-73: 123), is the essence of prophecy. The LXX
omits "according to the word of Yahweh," but the words are translated in other
Yrs (CL, S, T, Vg) and should be retained (Giesebrecht). The loss here could
be due to an inner-Greek haplography (homoeoteleuton: patros mou kata ton
logon kuriou). The LXX adds "Shallum" after "son (of)," which may be a later
addition; cf. vv 9 and 12.
to the comt of the guard. In this place of confinement Jeremiah is able to re-
ceive visitors, preach, and now to carry on a business transaction in the com-
pany of witnesses. Calvin remarks that although Jeremiah was confined to the
court of the guard, the Word of God was not bound (cf. Acts 28: 16-31; 2 Tim
2:9). From an old Assyrian text we learn that prisoners were not always com-
pletely isolated and could carry on business while in prison (Riemschneider
1977: 116). But one wonders how Hanamel got into a city under siege. He
could have entered before the siege began; otherwise one must assume that he
