Jeremiah 26-52, Volume 27

Dr. Gerald Keown, Pamela Scalise, Thomas G. Smothers, David Allen Hubbard, Glenn W. Barker, John D. W. Watts, Ralph P. Martin

• Publisher: Zondervan Academic
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780310588696
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.

Overview of Commentary Organization

• Introduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology.
• Each section of the commentary includes:
• Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope.
• Translation—the author's own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English.
• Notes—the author's notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation.
• Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here.
• Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research.
• Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues.
  • General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

XV. Three Prophets, One Message (26:1–24 [LXX 33:1–24])

Bibliography

Boecker, H. J. Redeformen des Rechtslebens im Alten Testament. WMANT 14. 2nd ed. Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 1970. Broshi, M. “The Expansion of Jerusalem in the Reigns of Hezekiah and Manasseh.” IEJ 24 (1974) 21–23. Busink, T. Der Tempel von Jerusalem von Salomo bis Herodes: 1. Der Tempel Salamos. Leiden: Brill, 1970. Carroll, R. “Prophecy, Dissonance, and Jeremiah xxvi.” TGUOS 25 (1976) 12–23. Repr in A Prophet to the Nations:Essays in Jeremiah Studies, ed. L. Perdue and B. Kovacs. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1984. 38191. Clark, W. M. “Law.” In Old Testament Form Criticism, ed. J.H. Hayes. San Antonio: Trinity UP, 1974. Driver, G. R. “Abbreviations in the Massoretic Text.” Textus I (1960) 112–31. ———. “Hebrew Notes.” VT 1 (1951) 241–50. Fishbane, M. “Varia Deuteronomica.” ZAW 84 (1972) 349–52. Geva, H. “The Western Boundary of Jerusalem at the End of the Monarchy.” IEJ 29 (1979) 84–91. Hadey, J. “Jérémie 7 et 26.” ETR 54 (1979) 438–43. Haran, M. Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel: An Inquiry into the Character of Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School. Oxford: Clarendon, 1978. Holt, E. K. “Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon and the Deuteronomists: An Investigation of the Redactional Relationship between Jer 7 and 26.” JSOT 36 (1986) 73–87. Hossfeld, F. L., and Meyer, I. “Der Prophet vor dem Tribunal: Neuer Auslegungsversuch von Jeremiah 26.” ZAW 86 (1974) 30–50. Janzen, W. “Withholding the Word.” In Traditions in Transformation: Turning Points in Biblical Faith, ed. B. Halpern and J. D. Levenson. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1981. Koch, K. “Der Spruch ‘Sein Blut bleibe auf seinem Haupt’ und die israelitische Auffassung vom vergossenen Blut.” VT 12 (1962) 396–416. North, F. S. “Textual Variants in the Hebrew Bible Significant for Critical Analysis.” JQR 47 (1956/57) 77–80. O’Connor, K. M. “Do Not Trim a Word’: The Contributions of Chapter 26 to the Book of Jeremiah.” CBQ 51 (1989) 617–30. Ollenburger, B.C. Zion, the City of the Great King. JSOTSup 41. Sheffield: JSOT, 1987. Ramsey, G. W. “Speech-Forms in Hebrew Law and Prophetic Oracles.” JBL 96 (1977) 45–58. Reventlow, H. G. “Gattung und Uberlieferung in der ‘Tempelrede Jeremias’: Jer. 7 und 26.” ZAW 81 (1969) 315-52. Schottroff, W. Der altisraelitische Fluchspruch. WMANT 30. Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 1969. Schulz, H. Das Todesrecht im Alten Testament: Studien zur Rechtsform der Mot-Jumat-Sätze. BZAW 114. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1969. Seidl, T. “Datierung und Wortereignis: Beobachten zum Horizont von 27:1.” BZ 21 (1977) 23–44, 184–99. Steck, O. H. lsrael und das Gewaltsame Geschick der Propheten. WMANT 22. Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 1967. Thomas, W. “Again ‘The Prophet’ in the Lachish Ostraca.” In Von Ugarit nach Qumran, ed. J. Hempel and L. Rost. BZAW 77. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1958. 244–49.

Translation

1ln the accession yeara of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, there was this wordb fromc the Lord:

2“Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house and speak againsta all the cities of Judah who are coming to worship atb the Lord’s house all the words which I command you to speak to them. Do not hold back a word. 3Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each one from his [or her]a evilb way, so that I will repent ofc the evilb which I am planning to do to them because of the evilb of their doings. 4So say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you do not listen to me by walking in my Law, which I have set before you, 5by listening to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you—sendinga persistently, but you did not listen—6then I will make this house like Shiloh while I make thisa city a curseb for all the nations of the earth.’”

7The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

8As soon asa Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded (him)b to speak toc all the people, the priests, the prophets, and dall the peopledd seized him, saying, “You must die! 9Why do you prophesya in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘Like Shiloh will be this house, and this city will be desolate, without an inhabitant’?” Then all the people assembled aroundb Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10The royal officials of Judah heard these words and went up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down at the entrance of the new gate of the Lord(’s house).a

11Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “The death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied againsta this city as you have heard with your own ears.”

12Jeremiah said to alla the royal officials and to all the people, “The Lord sent me to prophesy to this house and to this city all the words which you have heard. 13So now make your ways and your works good and obey the Lord your God so that the Lord will repent ofa the evil which he has spoken against you. 14As for me, I am in your power, so do to me what you consider good and fair. 15Only you must know that if you put me to death you are certainly going to put innocent blood on yourselves and onto this city and its inhabitants, because the Lord truly has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

16Then the royal officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “No death sentence for this man t For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

17Men of the elders of the land rose and said to the whole assembly of the people: 18“When Micaha the Moreshetite was prophesyingb in the time of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, he said to the whole people of Judah, ‘Thus says the Lord cof Hosts:c

‘Zion as a fieldd shall be ploughed,

and Jerusalem shall be ruins,e

and the mountain of the house, wooded heights.’f

19Did Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and all Judah puta him to death? Didn’t he fearb the Lord andc pray for the favor ofc the Lord? Didn’t the Lord repent of the evil which he had spoken against them? We are about to do a great evil against our very lives!”

20A man was also prophesying in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriat Jearim.a He prophesied bagainst this city andb against this land in accordance with all the words of Jeremiah. 21The king, Jehoiakim, aall his mighty men,a and all the royal officials heard his words, and the kingb soughtc his execution. Uriah heard; dso he was afraid and fledd and went to Egypt. 22Then the king, Jehoiakim, sent amen to Egypt,a bElnathan the son of Achbor and other men with him.b 23They brought Uriah out of Egypt, took him to the king; Jehoiakim, and he killed him with the sword. Hea sent his corpse to the gravesb of the sons of the people.c

24But the hand of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, was with Jeremiah so as not to give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

Notes

1.a. The abstract noun

in the sense of “reign” is unique in Jeremiah. There is no evidence, however, to support emendation to the more common spelling

, “reign” (27:1; 28:1), or

, “reign.” The equivalent Akk. phrase, reš šarruti, “accession year,” uses a noncognate word. The inconsistent Heb. usage probably results from the newness of the expression. A standardized form had not yet been achiev...