The Lord who scattered Israel will gather, comfort, forgive, renew, and bind his people to himself through a New Covenant written on the heart.
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Jeremiah 31
Everlasting Love, Restored Joy, and the New Covenant
The Lord who scattered Israel will gather, comfort, forgive, renew, and bind his people to himself through a New Covenant written on the heart.
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Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, prophet to Judah before and during the Babylonian crisis.
Israel and Judah, including exiles, survivors of judgment, and future generations who would receive the written promise of restoration.
The chapter belongs to Jeremiah 30-33, the concentrated restoration section known as the Book of Consolation, given in the shadow of exile and national ruin.
Social Pressure
- The community has experienced grief, death, exile, barrenness, loss of joy, and the collapse of ordinary and worshiping life.
Jeremiah 31 is a central Old Testament text for New Covenant theology and is directly taken up in the New Testament to explain Christ's covenant-mediating work.
Chapter Summary
The Lord who scattered Israel will gather, comfort, forgive, renew, and bind his people to himself through a New Covenant written on the heart.
Overview
Jeremiah 31 argues that the Lord's restoration must address the full depth of Israel's ruin: scattered people, broken joy, bereaved mothers, disciplined children, weary souls, broken covenant, guilty hearts, and ruined city. The Lord answers each need by his covenant love. He gathers the scattered, comforts the grieving, receives the repentant, satisfies the weary, rebuilds what was torn down, and makes a New Covenant that reaches the heart.
The deepest problem is not merely exile from land but covenant breach and sin. Therefore the deepest restoration is not merely return from Babylon but internalized law, universal knowledge of the Lord, and forgiveness in which sins are remembered no more.
Context
Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, prophet to Judah before and during the Babylonian crisis.
Israel and Judah, including exiles, survivors of judgment, and future generations who would receive the written promise of restoration.
The chapter belongs to Jeremiah 30-33, the concentrated restoration section known as the Book of Consolation, given in the shadow of exile and national ruin.
Key Hebrew Terms
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H4940 names a kinship group and can range from a clan within Israel to the families or peoples of the earth. Genesis 10:32 uses the term while tracing the clans that spread into nations after the flood. Genesis 12:3 then places all the families of the earth within God's promise to bless through Abram. Amos 3:2 addresses Israel as one family among all the families of the earth and joins covenant privilege to searching accountability.
Psalm 22:27 looks toward all the families of the nations bowing before the Lord. The noun can therefore identify real social belonging without making ancestry morally sufficient, spiritually saving, or politically supreme. Its pastoral value lies in holding belonging and responsibility together. Scripture recognizes family and clan bonds as places of memory, provision, identity, grief, and worship, yet it also places every family under God's rule and opens Abraham's blessing toward the nations.
Teachers should honor healthy kinship, protect people harmed inside families, and resist using bloodline, ethnicity, or institutional tradition to excuse injustice or exclude those whom God receives.
Sense families, clans, kinship groups
Definition Family groups or clans within a people.
References Jeremiah 31:1
Why it matters The Lord promises to be God to all the families of Israel, indicating comprehensive restoration.
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עַם (ʿam) is a high-frequency Hebrew noun for a people, kinspeople, community, nation, congregation, or body of troops. Genesis 11:6 describes Babel's builders as one people with one language, and Genesis 17:14 speaks of a person cut off from kinspeople. The word treats persons collectively but does not define a people by biology alone. Shared ancestry, land, rule, worship, covenant, history, or circumstance can shape the group in a given passage.
Exodus turns people-language into a contested identity. Pharaoh calls Israel a numerous and powerful people in Exodus 1:9 as he prepares oppression. God calls them “my people” in Exodus 3:7, and Exodus 6:7 promises, “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” At Sinai, Israel is chosen from among all peoples for covenant vocation. This belonging is gracious and demanding: the golden-calf narrative can immediately describe the people as corrupted, and Torah commands truth, justice, holiness, and care within the community. Election is not proof of ethnic superiority or exemption from judgment.
Poetry and prophecy keep Israel's identity in relation to the peoples. Psalm 67 calls all peoples to praise God, while Psalm 100 names the worshipers God's people and sheep. Hosea 1:9 announces “not my people” as covenant judgment, and Hosea 2:23 promises renewed “my people” language. Isaiah 40:1 speaks comfort to “my people,” and Isaiah 51:16 renews the covenant declaration. Later Jewish and Christian readers receive these texts in complex discussions of Israel and the nations; H5971 alone does not authorize replacement theology, racial nationalism, or the erasure of Israel's historical covenant identity.
Sense people, nation, covenant community
Definition A people, nation, or covenant community.
References Jeremiah 31:1, 33
Why it matters The covenant formula defines the restored relationship: they will be his people.
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חֵן denotes favor, acceptance, or gracious attractiveness. The common idiom “find favor in the eyes of” describes being regarded favorably by another person or by God. The idiom identifies a relational posture; its grammar alone does not prove why the favor was granted, whether it was unmerited, or how it relates to later doctrines of grace. Those questions must be answered from the narrative and canonical context.
Genesis 6:8 says Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord before describing him as righteous and blameless in his generation. The narrative presents divine favor and Noah’s faithful walk together without pausing to resolve their theological order. Exodus 33:12-17 shows Moses appealing to favor already acknowledged as he asks to know God’s ways and for God’s presence to accompany Israel. Ruth 2:10 uses the same idiom for Ruth’s astonishment at Boaz’s kindness to a foreigner, while Esther 2:17 describes favor in a royal court.
Proverbs also uses חֵן for graciousness, attractiveness, or favor in human relationships. This broader range prevents the noun from being treated as a technical Old Testament equivalent of the New Testament’s complete theology of saving grace. The Septuagint often renders חֵן with χάρις, creating a genuine lexical bridge, but each Greek and Hebrew passage still governs its own claim.
For teaching, חֵן helps readers attend to favor as something received in relationship rather than seized as an entitlement. When the subject is God, the passage may contribute to a theology of divine grace; when the context is human, it may describe social acceptance or gracious appeal.
Sense favor, grace, acceptance
Definition Favor or gracious acceptance.
References Jeremiah 31:2
Why it matters The survivors find favor in the wilderness, showing restoration as grace after judgment.
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H4057, midbār, is a Hebrew noun for wilderness, open country, or land used for grazing beyond settled cultivation. Moses leads Jethro's flock to the far side of the wilderness and encounters God at Horeb. Israel travels through the wilderness between slavery and the promised land. Prophets imagine roads, judgment, refuge, desolation, restoration, and renewed pasture there. The landscape is neither one uniform wasteland nor a guaranteed spiritual retreat. Its meaning comes from climate, journey, threat, provision, and God's action within the passage.
The wilderness exposes need. Deuteronomy remembers forty years of humbling, testing, hunger, manna, and dependence. Psalm 63 turns a dry and weary land into language for bodily and spiritual thirst. Elijah enters the wilderness exhausted, sits under a broom tree, and asks to die. God's response includes sleep, food, drink, presence, honest conversation, and further direction. That scene must not be reduced to a slogan that solitude cures despair. Wilderness can intensify danger, isolation, thirst, trauma, and disorientation, and people in crisis deserve immediate safety and skilled care.
The prophets also announce God's initiative in hard places. Isaiah calls for a highway for the Lord in the wilderness and promises a way and streams there. Hosea pictures God leading unfaithful Israel into the wilderness and speaking tenderly as part of a disputed marital metaphor for covenant judgment and restoration. It is not a model for a spouse, parent, pastor, or counselor to isolate someone in order to control or reconcile them. H4057 opens a theology of place where God meets shepherds, sustains travelers, hears despair, exposes hearts, and creates new paths. It never blesses manufactured deprivation, coercive isolation, or romantic claims that suffering is spiritually superior.
Sense wilderness, desert, uninhabited place
Definition A wilderness or desert place, often associated with testing and divine provision.
References Jeremiah 31:2
Why it matters Finding grace in the wilderness recalls exodus patterns and suggests restoration through a renewed wilderness journey.
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Sense everlasting love, enduring covenant love
Definition Love that is enduring, ancient, lasting, and covenantally steadfast.
References Jeremiah 31:3
Why it matters The Lord's restoration flows from everlasting love, not Israel's merit.
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חֶסֶד has a broad relational range that includes steadfast love, kindness, loyalty, mercy, and faithfulness. No single English gloss fits every occurrence. The word often describes action that sustains a relationship or fulfills a commitment, but the relationship may be covenantal, familial, political, or simply an appeal for kindness. Interpreters should not define it only as warm feeling, only as legal obligation, or only as unmerited grace.
Human חֶסֶד can involve loyalty between friends and households. Jonathan asks David to show covenant loyalty, and David later shows kindness to Mephibosheth for Jonathan’s sake. Those acts arise from promises and relational commitments, so describing them as “unconditional” or as action taken where there is no obligation misses an important part of the narrative. Ruth likewise uses חֶסֶד within family responsibility and generous faithfulness.
Divine חֶסֶד is central to Israel’s confession of the Lord’s character and deeds. Exodus 34:6-7 joins abundant steadfast love with mercy, graciousness, patience, faithfulness, forgiveness, and justice. Psalms repeatedly praise the Lord because his חֶסֶד endures forever. Lamentations 3:22-23 appeals to the Lord’s covenant mercies amid judgment, and Isaiah 54:10 speaks of steadfast love that will not depart within a promise of restoration. Each passage defines the relation between loyal love, covenant, judgment, and mercy.
For teaching, חֶסֶד helps congregations see love expressed as loyal, merciful action. It can ground hope in God’s revealed character and summon believers to faithful kindness, while the text must supply the specific promise and its recipients. The lexeme alone should not be used to promise that God will remove every consequence or that no professing believer can ever face covenant discipline.
Sense steadfast love, covenant kindness, loyal mercy
Definition Covenant loyalty, steadfast love, mercy, and kindness.
References Jeremiah 31:3
Why it matters The Lord draws Israel by covenant kindness, grounding restoration in his faithful character.
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בָּנָה (banah) is the Hebrew verb for building — constructing, establishing, raising up. The local Hebrew index currently counts about 377 occurrences and covers the full range from building altars and cities to building families and nations, from the construction of the tabernacle and temple to the divine rebuilding of Israel after judgment. The theological center of banah is not human ingenuity but divine sovereignty: who builds and why determines whether the building stands.
Psalm 127:1 is the foundational statement: 'Unless the Lord builds (yibne) the house (bayit), those who build (bonu) it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.' The contrast is between human building and divine building — the human builders work hard, but if the Lord is not the one building, the work is vain (shav — empty, worthless). The psalm names three areas of anxiety (the house, the city, the dawn-to-dusk labor) and declares the same principle for each: God is the one whose building succeeds; the human builder without God is the watchman waking without God — awake, working, but without the security that only God provides.
First Kings 5-8 gives banah its most extended OT narrative: Solomon builds (banah) the temple — the house (bayit) for the name of the Lord. But the Davidic covenant that precedes it (2 Sam 7) contains a banah-reversal: David wants to build a house (bayit) for God; God says he will build a house (bayit/dynasty) for David. 'The Lord will build a house for you' (7:11) — the builder-God is the one who establishes the Davidic line, not the human king who builds the physical structure. The temple Solomon builds is a gift to God; the dynasty God builds for David is the greater gift to the king.
Amos 9:11 gives banah its eschatological dimension: 'In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild (baniti) it as in the days of old.' The rebuilding of the Davidic dynasty after its apparent ruin is the OT's prophetic promise that God's own building project will not be abandoned. The NT explicitly applies this to the resurrection of Christ and the mission to the nations — Acts 15:16 quotes Amos 9:11-12 as the justification for including the Gentiles in the people of God. The rebuilt booth of David is the risen Christ and the community gathered in him.
For the preacher, בָּנָה (banah) is the word that insists that only the building God builds lasts, and that the greatest building project in history is not any human construction but God's own — the house of David, the temple not made with hands, the community of the Spirit.
Sense to build, rebuild, establish
Definition To build, rebuild, or establish.
References Jeremiah 31:4, 28
Why it matters The Lord reverses tearing down by rebuilding virgin Israel.
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H7611 names a remainder or surviving portion, often people left after judgment, war, exile, or another severe reduction, and sometimes the group through whom hope continues. The noun carries the history that produced the remainder, so a remnant may be endangered, chastened, preserved, repentant, or still accountable rather than automatically pure. In 2Kgs. 19.
31, Isaiah promises that a remnant will go out from Jerusalem and that the zeal of the Lord will accomplish the deliverance. In 2Chr. 36. 20, those who survive the sword are carried to Babylon and serve there until Persian rule, so survival includes exile and loss. H7611 opens teaching on hope after devastation without minimizing the losses that make a remnant small, wounded, displaced, or dependent on mercy.
It corrects remnant pride that treats minority status as proof of purity and disaster teaching that speaks of preservation without grief, justice, or repentance. H7611 joins grief and hope: a remnant escapes from Jerusalem and takes root, survivors of Babylonian conquest live under exile, and Amos calls a morally compromised people to seek good because the Lord may show grace to Josephs remnant.
For H7611, responsible teaching keeps lexical meaning, passage context, canonical synthesis, and present application distinguishable. The noun does not guarantee that every small group is faithful, erase the dead and displaced, or authorize survivors to claim unaccountable spiritual status.
Sense remnant, survivors, remainder
Definition Those who remain after judgment and are preserved for God's purposes.
References Jeremiah 31:7
Why it matters The Lord gathers the remnant of Israel from the ends of the earth.
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H6908, qāḇaṣ, is a Hebrew verb for bringing people or things together, collecting what is dispersed, assembling a group, or describing people who come together. Biblical uses include active, passive, and reflexive forms across ordinary administration, public assembly, war, worship, exile, restoration, shepherd care, and judgment. The verb names movement or collection; it does not by itself say that the gathering is holy, safe, voluntary, or permanent.
In Genesis 41, the word concerns food collected and stored against famine. Samuel orders Israel to gather at Mizpah so he may pray for them, while Deuteronomy promises that the Lord will gather His people from the nations to which He scattered them. Isaiah's shepherd image brings lambs into the Lord's arms. These passages show that the object, gatherer, destination, and stated purpose establish whether the scene concerns material stewardship, communal response, covenant restoration, or tender protection.
The lexeme can participate in these themes, but it does not carry all of them into every occurrence. The same word can describe armies rallying, nations being assembled, or people gathered like metals into a furnace under divine judgment. A gathered crowd is therefore not automatically God's congregation, and a leader's ability to assemble people is not proof of divine approval.
H6908 differs from nouns naming an assembly and from H622, which also ranges into receiving, removal, sheltering, and being gathered in death. Pastoral teaching should test who gathers, what or whom is gathered, by what means, toward what place, and for whose good. God's restorative gathering gives hope to the scattered, but the word must never sanctify coercive recruitment, forced return to unsafe relationships, ethnic boasting, or control disguised as community.
Sense to gather, collect, assemble
Definition To gather or assemble scattered people.
References Jeremiah 31:8, 10
Why it matters The Lord who scattered Israel will gather him, central to restoration theology.
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אָב (ʾāb) is one of the most basic and theologically loaded words in the Hebrew Bible: father. In its most immediate sense it refers to a biological father, but the word extends in two critical directions: upward through the ancestral line to the great patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob — the ʾābôt, fathers of the nation), and upward again to the metaphorical use of YHWH as the Father of Israel.
The plural ʾābôt (fathers/ancestors) is the standard term for the patriarchal generation and for Israelite ancestors generally — covenant promises are made 'to your fathers' (lāʾābôt), and the covenant relationship is characterized as the relationship established with the fathers that the present generation inherits. The covenant formula 'the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' is inseparable from the ʾāb language.
The OT's most startling use of ʾāb is the application to YHWH. God is called the ʾāb of Israel in a few programmatic texts: 'Is he not your Father, who created you?' (Deut 32:6); 'you are our Father' (Isa 63:16; 64:8); 'Israel is my firstborn son' (Exod 4:22). This usage is rare in the OT but theologically dense — it grounds the covenant relationship in the most intimate human bond.
The NT's explosion of Father-language for God ('Abba, Father' in Jesus' prayer and Paul's adoption texts) is the development of this OT ʾāb theology to its fullest expression through the revelation of the Son.
Sense father
Definition Father, source, protector, or covenant head.
References Jeremiah 31:9
Why it matters The Lord declares himself father to Israel, grounding restoration in paternal covenant compassion.
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בְּכוֹר names the firstborn — of a human family, of a flock, of a nation — and carries with it a weight that goes far beyond birth sequence. In ancient Israel, the firstborn son held a unique claim: a double portion of inheritance, the right of leadership within the household, and a status that reflected the father's honor, strength, and hope. The word does not simply describe chronological priority; it describes covenantal preeminence. To be firstborn was to stand at the head of all that followed.
The theological gravity of בְּכוֹר builds across the whole Old Testament in layers. At the literal level, the word governs inheritance law, the redemption of firstborn sons and animals, and the narrative of blessing. At the national level, the word is charged with Exodus significance: when God claims Israel as His firstborn son before Pharaoh (Exod 4:22), the word becomes a declaration of covenant identity, of belonging and divine call. Israel is firstborn not because of anything Israel has produced, but because of what God has declared.
At the royal level, Psalm 89:27 places the word in God's own mouth concerning David: 'I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.' Here the word has moved from genealogy to appointment. Firstborn is what God makes someone by sovereign act. The Davidic king's preeminence is not inherited by descent from other kings — it is conferred by the God who sets him at the head of the nations.
For a pastor or teacher, בְּכוֹר is not merely a household legal term. It is a word that announces where God's favor, inheritance, and purpose are concentrated. When the firstborn is killed, inheritance is severed. When the firstborn is redeemed, the household lives. When the firstborn is named, the future is declared.
Sense firstborn, chief son, heir
Definition The firstborn son, often with status of privilege or inheritance.
References Jeremiah 31:9
Why it matters Ephraim is called the Lord's firstborn, emphasizing grace and covenant privilege.
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רָעָה (raah) means to tend a flock, pasture animals, graze or feed, and by extension to shepherd people or associate with companions. Genesis and Exodus use it for ordinary herding. Poetry can say someone feeds on ashes or that death shepherds people toward the grave, while Proverbs uses the verb for keeping company with particular companions. These uses share ideas of tending, feeding, or ongoing association but should not be forced into one leadership metaphor.
God shepherds Israel by guiding, gathering, feeding, protecting, and sustaining. Psalm 23 confesses the Lord as the speaker's shepherd, Isaiah 40 portrays tender care for vulnerable members of the flock, and Jeremiah promises shepherds who act with knowledge and understanding. These images offer comfort without promising an absence of danger, grief, enemies, or death; Psalm 23 itself moves through a dark valley and a threatened table.
Ezekiel 34 indicts leaders who feed themselves, exploit the flock, neglect the weak, and allow scattering. God promises to seek, gather, feed, heal, judge between animals, and appoint one Davidic shepherd. The passage makes leadership accountable and centers the flock's welfare. Later Christian shepherd language can draw on this trajectory, but H7462 does not make clergy owners of people or authorize surveillance, coercion, secrecy, dependency, or unchecked power.
Sense to shepherd, tend, pasture
Definition To shepherd, feed, tend, or care for a flock.
References Jeremiah 31:10
Why it matters The Lord watches over Israel like a shepherd, reversing the scattering caused by judgment.
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פָּדָה (padah) is a Hebrew verb for ransoming, redeeming, or securing release. Exodus 13:13 and 34:20 use it in firstborn redemption, Leviticus 27:27 addresses redemption of an unclean animal under valuation rules, and Numbers 18:15-16 specifies a redemption price for firstborn sons. These legal texts give payment and substitution concrete roles, but not every occurrence names a price, creditor, or commercial exchange.
Deuteronomy remembers God's redemption of Israel from slavery. Deuteronomy 7:8 grounds it in the Lord's love and oath, while 15:15 and 24:18 make remembered redemption a reason for generosity and justice. Micah 6:4 likewise recalls deliverance from the house of slavery. The Exodus use is liberation by divine action and covenant faithfulness; Scripture does not describe God paying Pharaoh or Satan as the owner of Israel.
Psalms and prophets extend the language to danger, guilt, exile, death, and hope. Psalm 49:7 says one human cannot ransom another's life, yet verse 15 trusts God to redeem from Sheol. Psalm 130:8 expects God to redeem Israel from iniquities, Jeremiah 31:11 speaks of redemption from a stronger hand, and Isaiah 35:10 pictures the ransomed returning with joy. Hosea 13:14 uses ransom-from-Sheol language in a difficult judgment context, so later resurrection connections should respect both its immediate setting and its canonical reuse.
Form in passage Qal · Perfect · 3rd Person · Masculine · Singular What is this?
Sense to ransom, redeem, deliver by payment or power
Definition To redeem or ransom from bondage or danger.
References Jeremiah 31:11
Why it matters The Lord ransoms Jacob, portraying restoration as redemptive deliverance.
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גָּאַל is one of the most theologically rich verbs in the OT. In Israelite law it named the action of the גֹּאֵל — the kinsman-redeemer — the nearest male relative obligated to buy back what a family member had lost: a field sold under economic pressure, a person sold into slavery, or the life of someone murdered (blood avenger). The institution encoded in this verb is relational before it is legal: redemption in this legal-family register is the act of someone bound by kinship obligation, stepping in to restore what you could not restore yourself.
Ruth introduces us to the institution through Boaz, the גֹּאֵל who redeems Naomi's field and marries Ruth to preserve the family line. Leviticus 25 grounds the institution in theology: the land belongs to God, Israel are his tenants, and the kinsman-redeemer mechanism exists because God does not want his people permanently dispossessed of the inheritance he gave them.
The theological transfer of this verb to God himself is the great conceptual move of the prophets. Isaiah uses גָּאַל more than any other Old Testament writer, especially for God's redemption of Israel in Exodus and restoration imagery. 'Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel' (Isa 41:14). 'I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... your Redeemer' (Isa 43:3, 14).
'As for our Redeemer — the Lord of hosts is his name' (Isa 47:4). The application of the kinsman-redeemer category to God draws on the legal institution's relational weight: God is not presented as an external rescuer who happens to intervene, but as the covenant Redeemer who binds himself to restore his people. The NT's fulfilment of גָּאַל is christological: Galatians 3:13 uses the Greek equivalent λυτρόω — 'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law.'
But the deeper NT resonance of גָּאַל is in the Incarnation itself: the Son truly shares flesh and blood with those he redeems, so the redemption is not detached from real solidarity.
Sense to redeem, act as kinsman-redeemer
Definition To redeem, reclaim, or deliver, often with covenant-family overtones.
References Jeremiah 31:11
Why it matters The Lord redeems Jacob from hands too strong for him, showing divine rescue from overwhelming power.
Sense Rachel, matriarch of Israel
Definition Jacob's wife and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, here representing maternal grief over Israel's children.
References Jeremiah 31:15
Why it matters Rachel's weeping embodies the grief of exile and child-loss, later echoed in Matthew's account of Herod's slaughter.
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A cord or hope must be understood through the thing named in the passage. Joshua describes the scarlet cord Rahab ties in her window under the conditions of the spies' oath. Psalm 62 instead directs the speaker's soul to rest in God because hope comes from Him. Jeremiah promises a future and hope to the exiles within a message that names Babylon's seventy years and restoration.
The shared Hebrew noun does not make the cord a hidden definition of every act of hoping, or turn Jeremiah's particular promise into immediate success for any personal plan. Other accounts preserve distressed speech about hope, including Naomi's questions and Job's contrast between a tree's renewed shoots and mortal life. Name the physical object or hoped-for future and the speaker's actual grounds.
Hope can be taught without pretending that grief is absent or assigning a guaranteed outcome the passage does not give.
Form in passage Feminine · Singular · Absolute What is this?
Sense hope, expectation, future
Definition Hope or confident expectation.
References Jeremiah 31:17
Why it matters The Lord tells Rachel there is hope for her descendants despite devastating loss.
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שׁוּב (shuv) is a common Hebrew verb for turning, returning, going back, bringing back, or restoring. Many occurrences describe ordinary movement, so the verb does not mean repentance every time it appears. In covenant and prophetic settings, however, returning to the Lord becomes a rich description of repentance: people turn from wicked ways, return to God, hear His voice, and seek His mercy.
Other stem forms can describe causing someone or something to return, including God's restoration of His people. Deuteronomy 30 joins Israel's return to the Lord with God's gathering and renewal after judgment. Isaiah 55 calls the wicked to forsake a way and return to the compassionate God. Hosea and Zechariah address a covenant people whose return must be truthful rather than merely verbal.
Christian teaching can connect this movement with New Testament calls to repent and turn to God, but the Hebrew verb itself should not be collapsed into one technical doctrine. Pastoral use must also distinguish return to God from pressure to return to an unsafe person, place, leader, or institution.
Sense restore me, turn me back
Definition A plea for the LORD to turn or restore the speaker.
References Jeremiah 31:18
Why it matters Ephraim's repentance depends on the Lord's restoring action: restore me, and I will return.
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נָחַם (nāḥam) is a Hebrew verb whose range includes comforting or consoling and, in other forms and settings, being sorry, regretting, or relenting. Genesis 24:67 says Isaac was comforted after his mother's death, Genesis 50:21 describes Joseph comforting his brothers, and Isaiah 40:1 commands comfort for God's people. Exodus 32:14, by contrast, uses the verb when the Lord relents from announced disaster after Moses intercedes. These senses belong to the same lexical identity, but interpreters should not force them into one emotional definition.
The divine uses require close attention to each passage. Genesis 6:6 speaks of the Lord regretting that he had made humanity and being grieved to his heart. Exodus 32:14 presents his relenting in response to covenant-grounded intercession. Jeremiah 18:8 places relenting from announced disaster within an explicit account of a nation turning from evil, and Jonah 3:10 narrates that pattern when Nineveh turns from its way. The verb presents God's judgment and mercy as genuinely responsive in the narrative without authorizing claims that God was ignorant, mistaken, or morally unstable.
First Samuel 15 deliberately keeps a difficult tension before the reader. The Lord regrets making Saul king in verses 11 and 35, while verse 29 says Israel's Glory is not a human being who regrets or changes purpose as people do. The chapter does not permit either statement to erase the other. Numbers 23:19 likewise distinguishes God's truthfulness and constancy from human unreliability. A responsible account therefore preserves both divine responsiveness and divine faithfulness rather than resolving the range with a slogan.
Form in passage Niphal · Perfect · 1st Person · Common · Singular What is this?
Sense to repent, relent, be sorry, be moved
Definition To be moved to sorrow, repentance, or change of course depending on context.
References Jeremiah 31:19
Why it matters Ephraim's turning includes grief and shame after understanding his sin.
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רָחַם (rāḥam) is a verb for loving, having compassion, showing mercy, or being shown compassion. It usually portrays compassion as an action or disposition directed toward someone, while negated forms describe compassion withheld in settings of judgment. Psalm 18:1 uses the verb for the psalmist's love toward the Lord, showing that its range is not restricted to pity for weakness. Stem, subject, object, and polarity control the sense.
God is frequently the subject. Exodus 33:19 places compassion within God's self-declared freedom, while Deuteronomy, Kings, prophets, and psalms connect divine compassion with covenant remembrance, return, forgiveness, restoration, and parental care. Isaiah 49:15 explicitly compares God's remembrance with a nursing mother's compassion, and Psalm 103:13 uses a father's compassion. These contextual images support tender care without making womb imagery the definition of every H7355 occurrence.
Hosea uses the verb in the Lo-ruhamah and Ruhamah wordplay to stage judgment and renewed mercy. Jeremiah and Isaiah also contain statements that compassion will not be shown under judgment. Such texts testify to moral seriousness and historical catastrophe; they do not authorize caregivers, churches, or governments to imitate divine judgment by becoming cruel. Proverbs 28:13 joins mercy with confession and forsaking wrongdoing, but it must not be turned into a formula that denies protection or aid until a vulnerable person performs repentance to another's satisfaction.
Form in passage Piel · Infinitive absolute What is this?
Sense to have compassion, show mercy
Definition To show tender mercy or compassion.
References Jeremiah 31:20
Why it matters The Lord's yearning compassion toward Ephraim reveals the tenderness of covenant mercy.
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H2232 is a Hebrew verb for sowing seed and, in figurative settings, scattering or establishing something expected to bear a later result. Ecclesiastes 11:6 urges sowing in the morning and continuing work into the evening because the worker does not know which effort will succeed. Hosea 10:12 calls Israel to sow righteousness, reap loving devotion, break up unplowed ground, and seek the Lord, using agricultural labor to summon covenant repentance.
Second Kings 19:29 promises that after two years of eating what grows without regular cultivation, Judah will again sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. Other texts describe ordinary farming, creation's seed-bearing plants, invasion that destroys crops, and people sowing trouble or wind. H2232 opens teaching on patient labor, uncertainty, moral formation, judgment, and restored livelihood.
It corrects formulas that promise every good act a predictable material return or blame sufferers when faithful sowing does not produce the harvest they hoped to see.
Sense to sow, scatter seed, plant
Definition To sow seed for future growth.
References Jeremiah 31:27
Why it matters The Lord will sow Israel and Judah with people and animals, reversing depopulation and devastation.
Sense new covenant, renewed covenant arrangement
Definition A covenant newly established by the LORD, distinct from the broken exodus covenant.
References Jeremiah 31:31
Why it matters This is the chapter's theological climax and a central biblical foundation for New Covenant theology fulfilled in Christ.
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בְּרִית (berit) names a covenant, treaty, alliance, or other binding agreement. The word occurs in agreements between people as well as in the covenants God establishes, so the noun alone does not tell readers which parties, promises, obligations, signs, or sanctions are present. Those details must come from each passage. Genesis 15 presents the Lord making covenant with Abram and confirms the land promise in a solemn ceremony.
Exodus 19 places Israel's covenant obedience within the Lord's prior deliverance and His purpose for a treasured people. The Davidic texts join covenant and royal hope, while Jeremiah 31 promises a new covenant marked by God's instruction written within, true knowledge of Him, and forgiveness. Across these settings, berit helps readers follow God's faithful commitments without flattening Noah, Abraham, Sinai, David, and the new covenant into one undifferentiated arrangement.
The New Testament identifies Jesus' blood with the new covenant, but that fulfillment rests on the passages' developing covenant story rather than on the lexical meaning of berit by itself.
Sense covenant, binding relationship, solemn agreement
Definition A binding covenant relationship or solemn agreement established by God.
References Jeremiah 31:31-33
Why it matters The chapter contrasts the broken exodus covenant with the promised New Covenant.
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תּוֹרָה (torah) can name instruction, a particular ruling, priestly teaching, the law associated with Moses, or the Torah as a recognized body of Scripture. Context determines the scope. The noun should not be defined only from a proposed connection with the verb 'to instruct' and then made to mean whatever a teacher prefers. In Deuteronomy, torah shapes Israel's covenant life.
Psalm 119 delights in God's instruction as trustworthy guidance. Isaiah envisions instruction going out from Zion, Ezra devotes himself to studying, practicing, and teaching the Torah, and Jeremiah 31 promises God's torah written within. These passages resist two opposite reductions. Torah is not a ladder by which sinners earn God's favor, but neither is it an obsolete burden with nothing to teach.
The New Testament presents Jesus as fulfilling the Law and Prophets and teaches believers to read Israel's Scriptures through His person and work. Responsible application distinguishes Israel's covenant setting, enduring revelation of God's character and purposes, and the commands' fulfillment in Christ rather than forcing every statute directly onto the church.
Sense law, instruction, teaching
Definition The LORD's instruction, teaching, or law.
References Jeremiah 31:33
Why it matters In the New Covenant, the Lord puts his law within his people and writes it on their hearts.
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H7130 names an inner part or center and often locates someone or something in the midst of a person, people, place, or community. Its uses can be bodily, spatial, social, or inward, so the surrounding construction must decide whether the text speaks of organs, interior thought, presence among a people, or position inside a place. In Ezek. 11. 19, god promises the scattered people one heart and a new spirit within them, replacing a stony heart with a responsive heart of flesh.
In Joel. 2. 27, after restored provision, Israel will know that the Lord is present among His people and that He alone is their God. H7130 opens teaching on what is present within a person or community and on the difference between claimed nearness to God and a life actually shaped by His presence. It corrects vague appeals to the heart that ignore embodied and communal uses, and it challenges religious confidence that says God is among us while leaders practice injustice.
H7130 makes inwardness concrete rather than private or sentimental: Ezekiel promises a new spirit within a restored people, Joel locates the LORDs presence among Israel, and Proverbs pictures wisdom resting in the discerning heart. These settings connect inner renewal, public covenant life, and practiced discernment without making them identical. For H7130, responsible teaching keeps lexical meaning, passage context, canonical synthesis, and present application distinguishable.
H7130 does not prove that every inward impression comes from God, make communal belonging a guarantee of divine approval, or separate spiritual renewal from truthful conduct and accountable relationships.
Sense inward part, midst, inner being
Definition The inward part, inner being, or midst.
References Jeremiah 31:33
Why it matters The law is placed within the people, emphasizing internal transformation.
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לֵב (lēb) is commonly translated heart, but its Hebrew range is wider than emotion alone. Depending on context, it can name thought, understanding, intention, will, desire, courage, moral orientation, or the inner center of a person. It can also denote the center of something. The range does not mean that every occurrence carries every sense; the immediate passage must determine the emphasis.
Genesis 6:5 uses lēb for the inward formation of human thoughts and intentions. Proverbs 4:23 presents the heart as the source from which life's courses flow, while Psalm 119:11 speaks of storing God's word there. These witnesses show cognitive, volitional, and moral dimensions without requiring a modern division between mind and emotion.
Jeremiah 17:9 describes the heart as deceitful and difficult to understand, and Jeremiah 31:33 promises that the Lord will write his instruction on the heart. Ezekiel 36:26 likewise uses lēb in the promise of a new heart in place of a heart of stone. The movement from diagnosis to divine renewal is a genuine canonical pattern, though each prophetic passage contributes its own covenant setting and imagery.
H3820 is closely related to H3824 לֵבָב (lēbāb). Deuteronomy 6:5 and 10:16 use H3824, not H3820, so they can illuminate the broader Hebrew heart concept but should not be presented as direct occurrences of this identity.
Sense heart, inner person, will, mind
Definition The inner person, including mind, desire, will, and moral orientation.
References Jeremiah 31:33
Why it matters The law written on the heart is the defining internal work of the New Covenant.
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H3789, kātab, is a Hebrew verb for writing, inscribing, recording, or prescribing. Its objects range from covenant words, legal instruction, letters, royal decrees, histories, songs, accusations, and visions to names and days written in divine books. The verb identifies the act of fixing words in a durable form; it does not guarantee that the content is truthful, just, inspired, or approved by God. Deuteronomy commands written remembrance and accountable royal copying, while Isaiah condemns officials who write oppressive decrees. Meaning therefore depends on who writes, under whose authority, for what audience, and to what end.
Writing often serves covenant memory and public witness. Moses writes the law and entrusts it to the priests and elders. Joshua inscribes a copy before Israel. The Lord commands words to be written on doorposts, on a scroll, and on tablets so that later hearers can remember, read, teach, and test them. Habakkuk is told to make the vision plain, while Jeremiah records words meant to survive immediate resistance. These texts value durable transmission, but they never detach the written word from faithful hearing, communal responsibility, and the God who speaks.
The canon also uses inscription figuratively. Proverbs places loyal love and faithfulness on the heart's tablet, Jeremiah promises God's law inscribed on hearts, and the Psalms speak of days or names written in God's book. Such images describe belonging, memory, formation, and divine knowledge; they do not authorize speculation about hidden heavenly records. In pastoral practice, written policies, minutes, allegations, promises, and corrections should serve truth, transparency, due process, and the protection of people. A document can preserve testimony or institutionalize harm, so authority must remain answerable to justice and honest review.
Sense to write, inscribe, record
Definition To write or inscribe.
References Jeremiah 31:33
Why it matters The Lord writes his law on hearts, replacing external-only possession with inward covenant transformation.
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יָדַע is a very common Hebrew verb meaning to know, recognize, understand, learn, experience, acknowledge, or make known, with other senses determined by stem and context. The local Old Testament index currently counts about 953 uses. Its range includes factual knowledge, practical skill, recognition, acquaintance, sexual relations, God’s knowledge of people, and people’s knowledge of the Lord. No single contrast between “cognitive” and “relational” knowing explains every occurrence.
Genesis 4:1 uses the verb idiomatically for sexual relations between Adam and Eve. That intimate use demonstrates the word’s range but does not make intimacy the core meaning of every יָדַע. Jeremiah 1:5 says the Lord knew Jeremiah before forming him and appointed him as a prophet; the verse concerns God’s prior knowledge and choice, not a prophetic encounter Jeremiah experienced before birth.
Ezekiel repeatedly says people will know that the Lord is God as they witness his acts of judgment or restoration. Jeremiah 31:34 promises that all members of the new covenant will know the Lord because he will forgive their iniquity. Hosea can join knowledge of God with covenant loyalty, obedience, and rejection of instruction. These passages give knowing God relational and covenantal dimensions without excluding true teaching or accurate knowledge.
For teaching, יָדַע helps congregations distinguish knowing facts, recognizing God’s acts, possessing skill, and living in covenant acknowledgment of the Lord. The immediate object and construction determine the sense. Christian application may trace Jeremiah 31 and other promises through the New Testament’s explicit use rather than claiming that the verb itself defines eternal life or guarantees unmediated knowledge.
Form in passage Qal · Imperfect · 3rd Person · Masculine · Plural What is this?
Sense to know, recognize, understand relationally
Definition To know personally, relationally, and covenantally.
References Jeremiah 31:34
Why it matters The New Covenant includes universal covenant knowledge of the Lord among his people.
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סָלַח (sālaḥ) is a Hebrew verb for forgiving or pardoning. Its characteristic active uses are God-centered: Moses asks the Lord to forgive Israel in Exodus 34:9 and Numbers 14:19, Solomon asks God to hear and forgive in 1 Kings 8:30, and God declares, “I have forgiven” in Numbers 14:20. Leviticus frequently uses a passive formula after priestly atonement: the offender or congregation will be forgiven. This distribution gives the verb strong theological weight without implying that the Hebrew Bible lacks other vocabulary for human release, reconciliation, or forgiveness.
Numbers 14 shows pardon and consequence together. God answers Moses' intercession with forgiveness in verse 20, yet the rebellious generation still does not enter the land. Forgiveness is real, but it is not presented as erasure of every temporal consequence or as permission to ignore the damage caused by unbelief. Leviticus 4:20 and 5:10 place forgiveness within confession, sacrifice, priestly ministry, and atonement rather than treating pardon as denial that wrongdoing occurred.
The prophetic trajectory joins pardon to return and covenant renewal. Isaiah 55:7 calls the wicked to forsake the way and return to the Lord, who will abundantly forgive. Jeremiah 31:34 promises that God will forgive iniquity and remember sin no more within the new covenant. Second Chronicles 7:14 speaks to God's covenant people and their land in a temple-dedication setting. These passages nourish Christian teaching about divine forgiveness, but they should not be turned into a technique for controlling God, a national prosperity formula, or a reason to bypass truth, safety, justice, and repair.
Form in passage Qal · Imperfect · 1st Person · Common · Singular What is this?
Sense to forgive, pardon
Definition To forgive or pardon sin.
References Jeremiah 31:34
Why it matters Forgiveness is the foundation of the New Covenant promise.
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עָוֺן (ʿāwōn) is a Hebrew noun for iniquity, guilt, or the consequence and punishment attached to wrongdoing. Genesis 4:13 can be translated with Cain saying his punishment is greater than he can bear or his iniquity is too great to bear, illustrating how the word can hold deed, liability, and burden together. Genesis 15:16 speaks of Amorite iniquity not yet being complete, and First Samuel 3:13 names the iniquity of Eli's house in relation to tolerated abuse of priestly power.
Exodus 34:7 places ʿāwōn inside God's self-revelation: the Lord forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin, yet does not simply clear guilt and visits iniquity across generations. Exodus 20:5 qualifies its generational warning in relation to those who hate God, while Jeremiah 31:30 and Ezekiel 18 insist on personal accountability rather than a mechanical transfer of a parent's guilt to an innocent child. Harmful patterns and consequences can cross generations, but these texts do not authorize fatalism, inherited moral blame without personal action, or “generational curse” diagnoses detached from evidence.
Ritual, poetry, and prophecy address how iniquity is borne and forgiven. Leviticus 16:22 says the live goat bears Israel's iniquities to a remote land. Psalm 32:5 joins acknowledged iniquity to God's forgiveness, and Psalm 51:2 asks to be washed from iniquity. Isaiah 53:6 says the Lord causes the iniquity of all to meet upon the servant, and verse 11 says the righteous servant bears the iniquities of many. Micah 7:18 praises God for forgiving iniquity. These passages ground serious teaching about atonement and pardon, but the noun alone does not settle every atonement model or remove the need for repentance, justice, repair, and protection of victims.
Sense iniquity, guilt, wickedness
Definition Iniquity, guilt, or wickedness and its burden.
References Jeremiah 31:34
Why it matters The Lord forgives the wickedness that broke covenant fellowship.
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זָכַר is the Old Testament's primary word for remembrance — but the English word barely reaches what the Hebrew is doing. In modern usage, to remember means to mentally retrieve a fact. In the world of Scripture, זָכַר carries active weight. When God remembers, something moves. When Israel is commanded to remember, a whole orientation of the self — not merely the mind — is being summoned.
The BDB root suggests the idea of marking something so it can be recognised, a kind of deliberate attentiveness that produces a response. This is why זָכַר does so much theological work in the Old Testament. When God remembered Noah, the waters began to recede (Gen 8:1). When God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he acted to deliver Israel from slavery (Exod 2:24). Remembrance in the divine life is not passive cognition — it is covenantal fidelity taking concrete form. God does not simply think about what he has promised; he moves toward it.
When Israel is commanded to remember, the summons is equally active. To remember the Sabbath is to order the whole week around it (Exod 20:8). To remember the Exodus is to let that defining moment of grace shape how you live, how you treat the stranger, how you relate to your God (Deut 8:2). Forgetting, in this framework, is not simply a lapse of memory — it is a failure of fidelity, a turning of the back on what God has done.
זָכַר can also mean to mention or invoke — to bring someone's name or situation before God in speech, or to declare God's deeds before others. The Psalms move in both directions: the psalmist brings his suffering before God in lament, and brings God's saving history before his own soul in praise. Remembrance is the spiritual practice that keeps the people of God oriented toward their covenant Lord.
Form in passage Qal · Imperfect · 1st Person · Common · Singular What is this?
Sense not remember again, not bring to account
Definition To no longer bring sins to covenant remembrance for judgment.
References Jeremiah 31:34
Why it matters The Lord's promise to remember sins no more is central to definitive New Covenant forgiveness.
Form in passage Both · Plural · Construct What is this?
Sense statutes, fixed order, ordinances
Definition Fixed ordinances, statutes, or established order.
References Jeremiah 31:35-36
Why it matters The fixed order of creation guarantees Israel's permanence before the Lord.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
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קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) names holiness, sacredness, or something designated as holy. It can refer to holy ground, sanctuary space, offerings, garments, days, and the inscription 'Holy to the Lord.' The noun's range is learned from these uses, not from a claim that its root always means separation. Exodus 3 calls the ground holy because the Lord meets Moses there. Priestly texts mark people, places, and objects for service in God's presence.
Psalms speak of worship in holy splendor, and Isaiah 35 names a Way of Holiness within a promise of restoration. Zechariah 14 extends 'Holy to the Lord' beyond priestly equipment to ordinary objects, picturing a future in which all life belongs to God. Related adjective and verb forms also speak of God's own holiness and His people's calling, but they should not be collapsed into this noun.
Qodesh joins worship, consecration, moral obedience, mercy, and reverent access without making ritual status a tool for shame, exclusion, or control.
Sense holy, set apart, sacred
Definition Set apart to the LORD as holy or sacred.
References Jeremiah 31:40
Why it matters The rebuilt Jerusalem will be holy to the Lord, marking restoration as consecrated belonging.
Lexicon data: MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML (CC0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (CC BY 4.0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible Data (CC BY 4.0) · Full details
Hebrew Verb Morphology
Prophetic Perfect — This chapter may contain prophetic perfect constructions (37 perfective verbs in prophetic context with messianic/eschatological thread signals): Jer 31:2, Jer 31:3, Jer 31:5, Jer 31:6, Jer 31:7 and 18 more. Perfective verbs may declare future events as grammatically completed, expressing divine certainty rather than past time.
| v.1 | H1961הָיָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH1961הָיָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.10 | H8085שָׁמַעQal · Imperative · ImperativeH2219זָרָהPiel · Participle |
| v.11 | H6299פָּדָהQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.12 | H3254יָסַףHiphil · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.13 | H8055שָׂמַחQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.14 | H7646שָׂבַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.15 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH8085שָׁמַעNiphal · Participle passiveH1058בָּכָהPiel · ParticipleH3985מָאֵןPiel · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.16 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH4513מָנַעQal · Imperative · ImperativeH341אֹיֵבQal · Participle |
| v.18 | H8085שָׁמַעQal · Infinitive absoluteH8085שָׁמַעQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5110נוּדHithpolel · Participle activeH3925לָמַדPual · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.19 | H5162נָחַםNiphal · Perfect · IndicativeH5606Qal · Perfect · IndicativeH954בּוּשׁQal · Perfect · IndicativeH3637כָּלַםNiphal · Perfect · IndicativeH5375נָשָׂאQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.2 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH4672מָצָאQal · Perfect · IndicativeH1980הָלַךְQal · Infinitive absolute |
| v.20 | H2142זָכַרQal · Infinitive absoluteH1993הָמָהQal · Perfect · IndicativeH7355רָחַםPiel · Infinitive absolute |
| v.21 | H5324נָצַבHiphil · Imperative · ImperativeH7760שׂוּםQal · Imperative · ImperativeH7896שִׁיתQal · Imperative · ImperativeH1980הָלַךְQal · Perfect · IndicativeH1980הָלַךְQal · Perfect · IndicativeH7725שׁוּבQal · Imperative · ImperativeH7725שׁוּבQal · Imperative · Imperative |
| v.22 | H1254בָּרָאQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5437סָבַבPoel · Imperfective |
| v.23 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH559אָמַרQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.25 | H7301רָוָהHiphil · Perfect · IndicativeH1669דָּאַבQal · Perfect · IndicativeH4390מָלֵאPiel · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.26 | H6974קוּץHiphil · Perfect · IndicativeH6149עָרֵבQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.27 | H935בּוֹאQal · Participle |
| v.28 | H8245שָׁקַדQal · Perfect · IndicativeH8245שָׁקַדQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortative |
| v.29 | H559אָמַרQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH398אָכַלQal · Perfect · IndicativeH6949Qal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.3 | H7200רָאָהNiphal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.30 | H4191מוּתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH6949Qal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.31 | H935בּוֹאQal · Participle |
| v.32 | H3772כָּרַתQal · Perfect · IndicativeH6565פָּרַרHiphil · Perfect · IndicativeH1166בָּעַלQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.33 | H3772כָּרַתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH5414נָתַןQal · Perfect · IndicativeH1961הָיָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.34 | H3925לָמַדPiel · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH3045יָדַעQal · Imperative · ImperativeH3045יָדַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH5545סָלַחQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH2142זָכַרQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortative |
| v.35 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5414נָתַןQal · ParticipleH7280רָגַעQal · Participle |
| v.36 | H4185מוּשׁQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH7673שָׁבַתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.37 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH4058מָדַדNiphal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH3988מָאַסQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH6213עָשָׂהQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.38 | H935בּוֹאQal · Participle |
| v.4 | H5710עָדָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH7832שָׂחַקPiel · Participle |
| v.40 | H5428נָתַשׁNiphal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH2040הָרַסNiphal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.5 | H5193נָטַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH5193נָטַעQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5193נָטַעQal · Participle |
| v.6 | H7121קָרָאQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5341נָצַרQal · ParticipleH6965קוּםQal · Imperative · Imperative |
| v.7 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH7442רָנַןQal · Imperative · ImperativeH8085שָׁמַעHiphil · Imperative · ImperativeH1984הָלַלPiel · Imperative · ImperativeH3467יָשַׁעHiphil · Imperative · Imperative |
| v.8 | H935בּוֹאHiphil · ParticipleH7725שׁוּבQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.9 | H935בּוֹאQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH3782כָּשַׁלNiphal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH1961הָיָהQal · Perfect · Indicative |
Aspect in Hebrew is grammatical form, not tense. Perfect = completed action; Imperfect = incomplete/ongoing. Stem modifies action type (Qal=simple, Niphal=passive, Piel=intensive).
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Theological Argument
Jeremiah 31 argues that the Lord's restoration must address the full depth of Israel's ruin: scattered people, broken joy, bereaved mothers, disciplined children, weary souls, broken covenant, guilty hearts, and ruined city. The Lord answers each need by his covenant love. He gathers the scattered, comforts the grieving, receives the repentant, satisfies the weary, rebuilds what was torn down, and makes a New Covenant that reaches the heart.
The deepest problem is not merely exile from land but covenant breach and sin. Therefore the deepest restoration is not merely return from Babylon but internalized law, universal knowledge of the Lord, and forgiveness in which sins are remembered no more.
From covenant love, to gathered joy, to grief comforted, to repentance embraced, to Judah refreshed, to replanting, to New Covenant transformation, to permanent holy rebuilding.
- 1.Restoration is grounded in the LORD's everlasting love.
- 2.The LORD who scattered Israel is the same LORD who gathers him.
- 3.Restoration includes the weak and vulnerable.
- 4.Exile grief is real but not final.
- 5.True return includes repentance.
- 6.The LORD's compassion answers repentance.
- 7.The New Covenant answers the failure of the broken exodus covenant.
- 8.The New Covenant is internal, relational, universal in covenant knowledge, and forgiving.
- 9.The LORD's faithfulness to Israel is secured by his Creator authority.
Theological Focus
- Everlasting Love
- Covenant Restoration
- Gathering the Scattered
- Joy After Mourning
- Rachel's Comfort
- Ephraim's Repentance
- Fatherly Compassion
- New Covenant
- Forgiveness
- Creation-Secured Faithfulness
- Holy City
- Covenant Love
- Restoration
- Repentance
- Divine Compassion
- Internalization of the Law
- Knowledge of God
- Persevering Covenant Faithfulness
- Christ's Covenant Mediation
- Lord's Supper Theology
Covenant Significance
Jeremiah 31 is one of Scripture's central covenant chapters. It moves from the restored covenant formula in verse 1 to the explicit New Covenant promise in verses 31-34. The New Covenant is necessary because the exodus covenant was broken. The Lord answers covenant failure not by lowering his law but by writing it on the heart, giving true knowledge of himself, forgiving wickedness, and remembering sins no more.
Old Testament Connections
- The chapter opens and climaxes with the promise that the Lord will be their God and they will be his people.
- Everlasting love and unfailing kindness ground restoration.
- The exodus covenant was broken by the people, though the Lord was husband to them.
- The Lord promises a covenant not like the broken one made at the exodus.
- The law will be put in the mind and written on the heart.
- All within the covenant community will know the Lord, from least to greatest.
- The Lord will forgive wickedness and remember sins no more.
- Israel's continued existence is secured by the Lord's Creator faithfulness.
Canonical Connections
The Lord who scattered Israel will gather, comfort, forgive, renew, and bind his people to himself through a New Covenant written on the heart.
Canon-Wide Connections
Cross-reference data: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Formation Focus
Jeremiah 31 forms covenant assurance, grief-with-hope, repentance, heart-level obedience, New Covenant identity, and Christ-centered forgiveness.
Practice Response
- Covenant remembrance - Regularly remember that the Lord's love is everlasting and his kindness draws his people.
- Hopeful lament - Bring grief honestly to God while listening for his promise of future return and restoration.
- Grace-dependent repentance - Ask the Lord to restore you so that you may return.
- Heart-word meditation - Seek not only to read God's law but to have it written deeply into mind, desire, and will.
- Forgiveness assurance - Rest in the Lord's promise to forgive wickedness and remember sin no more through Christ.
- New Covenant worship - Approach God as one brought near by Christ's blood, not by self-made righteousness.
- Shepherded return - Trust the Lord to lead weak, wounded, and weary people on a level path.
Warnings and Misreadings
- Jeremiah 31 is deeply comforting, but it warns against any restoration vision that ignores covenant breach, repentance, heart transformation, and forgiveness.
- Do not reduce restoration to external return.
- Do not deny the reality of grief.
- Do not seek return without repentance.
- Do not treat the old covenant failure as a minor problem.
- Do not turn the New Covenant into mere external religious reform.
- Do not speak of knowing God apart from forgiveness.
- Do not detach New Covenant blessings from Christ.
- Jeremiah 31 is only about national restoration from Babylon. - It includes return from exile but reaches deeper into New Covenant transformation, forgiveness, and knowledge of the Lord.
- Everlasting love means sin and judgment were never serious. - The chapter assumes real scattering, grief, discipline, shame, and broken covenant.
- Rachel's weeping is only emotional poetry with no theological force. - Rachel's lament embodies exile grief and child-loss, answered by the Lord's promise of return.
- Ephraim restores himself by repentance. - Ephraim asks the Lord to restore him so he may return, showing dependence on divine initiative.
- The New Covenant means God's law is set aside. - The law is not discarded · it is internalized by being put in the mind and written on the heart.
- The New Covenant is merely better instruction. - It includes internal transformation, covenant knowledge, and definitive forgiveness.
- Sins remembered no more means God loses knowledge. - The phrase means the Lord no longer holds sins against his forgiven people in covenant judgment.
- The New Covenant removes the need to teach Scripture. - The promise concerns direct covenant knowledge of the Lord within the renewed people, not the elimination of all instruction, discipleship, or proclamation in every sense.
- Creation-order language is ornamental. - The fixed order of creation functions as a covenant assurance of Israel's continuance before the Lord.
Discipleship Questions
- Do I ground my hope in the Lord's everlasting love or in my ability to repair myself?
- Where do I need to grieve honestly like Rachel while still receiving the Lord's promise of hope?
- Can I pray Ephraim's prayer: 'Restore me, and I will return'?
- Am I seeking external improvement only, or do I desire God's law written on my heart?
- How does the promise that God remembers sins no more deepen my assurance in Christ?
- Do I know the Lord personally through his forgiving grace, or only know about religious things?
- How should New Covenant identity shape my obedience, worship, and service?
- What would it look like to comfort the grieving without denying the grief?
Pastoral Applications
- Preach Jeremiah 31 as the movement from exile grief to New Covenant grace. Keep the whole sweep together: love, gathering, tears, repentance, forgiveness, and heart renewal.
- Use Rachel's weeping to validate deep grief and the Lord's promise to hold out hope without shallow comfort.
- Ephraim's words give language for disciplined believers: 'Restore me, and I will return.' Repentance depends on the restoring grace of God.
- The promise that the Lord forgives wickedness and remembers sins no more is central for troubled consciences, especially when grounded in Christ's New Covenant blood.
- Teach that the New Covenant does not produce lawlessness but heart-written obedience.
- New Covenant people should be marked by knowledge of God, forgiven hearts, Spirit-shaped obedience, and covenant belonging.
- Connect Jeremiah 31 to the Lord's Supper, where Jesus identifies the cup with the New Covenant in his blood.
- Do not give people restoration language without addressing sin, repentance, and forgiveness. Jeremiah 31's comfort is deep because it deals with the deepest problem.
Pastoral Trajectories
Chapter Movement
The chapter moves from covenant restoration of all Israel, to joyful return, to Rachel's comfort and Ephraim's repentance, to Judah's restoration, to the New Covenant promise, and finally to the permanence of Israel and rebuilt Jerusalem.
Discourse Insight
Theological exposition and fulfillment
Jeremiah 31 forms covenant assurance, grief-with-hope, repentance, heart-level obedience, New Covenant identity, and Christ-centered forgiveness.
Structural Flow
Chapter Outline
- 1-6: The Lord restores covenant relationship, draws Israel with unfailing kindness, and brings back joy, vineyards, and worship.
- 7-14: The scattered remnant is gathered from the ends of the earth, led as children, shepherded, ransomed, and filled with joy.
- 15-17: Rachel's grief over lost children is answered by the promise that the children will return from enemy territory.
- 18-22: Ephraim confesses discipline and asks for restoration, while the Lord responds as a yearning father toward a dear son.
- 23-26: Judah's towns, Zion, farmers, shepherds, weary souls, and faint hearts receive renewed blessing.
- 27-30: The Lord reverses uprooting and tearing down by building and planting, while clarifying personal accountability.
- 31-34: The Lord writes his law on the heart, restores covenant fellowship, gives knowledge of himself, forgives wickedness, and remembers sins no more.
- 35-40: Israel's permanence is secured by the Creator's faithfulness, and Jerusalem will be rebuilt and holy to the Lord.
Gospel Clarity
Jeremiah 31 clarifies the gospel by showing that the core human problem is not merely exile, sorrow, or broken circumstances but broken covenant and sin. The Lord does not merely promise to bring people back to land; he promises to forgive wickedness, remember sins no more, and write his law on the heart. The gospel announces that this New Covenant is established through the blood of Jesus Christ.
In Christ, sinners are forgiven, brought to know God, indwelt by the Spirit, and made part of the restored people of God.
Primary Emphasis
Jeremiah 31 is foundational for understanding Christ's covenant-mediating work. The New Covenant promised here is explicitly invoked in the New Testament in relation to Jesus' blood, priesthood, and sacrifice. Jesus is the Shepherd who gathers the scattered, the Son who embodies true Israel, the mediator who establishes the New Covenant, and the sacrifice through whom wickedness is forgiven and sins are remembered no more.
In him, the law written on the heart, the knowledge of God, and definitive forgiveness are secured and applied by the Spirit.
Chapter Contribution
Jeremiah 31 argues that the Lord's restoration must address the full depth of Israel's ruin: scattered people, broken joy, bereaved mothers, disciplined children, weary souls, broken covenant, guilty hearts, and ruined city. The Lord answers each need by his covenant love. He gathers the scattered, comforts the grieving, receives the repentant, satisfies the weary, rebuilds what was torn down, and makes a New Covenant that reaches the heart.
The deepest problem is not merely exile from land but covenant breach and sin. Therefore the deepest restoration is not merely return from Babylon but internalized law, universal knowledge of the Lord, and forgiveness in which sins are remembered no more.
Motifs in This Chapter
Trace remnant preservation, covenant continuity, and mercy under judgment across Scripture.
Follow shepherding as divine care, messianic leadership, and pastoral oversight across Scripture.
Study holiness as divine character, covenant identity, and sanctified life across Scripture.
Study temple presence, worship, corruption, judgment, and renewal across Scripture.
Track judgment as covenant accountability, divine justice, and eschatological reckoning.
Study kingdom reign, divine rule, and gospel kingdom proclamation across Scripture.
Doctrines in This Chapter
God remains committed to fulfilling His promises despite the consequences of judgment.
God restores the relational formula in which He is the God of His people and they belong to Him.
God demonstrates tender care for His people, especially the weak and vulnerable.
God’s redemptive work is described as a creative act that brings about a new reality.
God corrects His people as a loving father disciplines a child.
God’s enduring love forms the foundation of Israel’s restoration.
The rebuilding of Jerusalem signifies God’s enduring presence among His people.
God sustains and renews the lives of His people after seasons of suffering.
God restores what was destroyed and reestablishes His people in their land.
God leads His people as a shepherd who protects and guides them.
God governs both judgment and restoration in the life of His covenant people.
God grants full and decisive forgiveness to His covenant people.
God’s restored community is characterized by righteousness and covenant faithfulness.
Each individual is morally accountable before God for his own actions.
God promises a covenant characterized by internal transformation, personal relationship, and complete forgiveness.
The regular order of creation reflects God’s ongoing governance of the universe.
The writing of the law on the heart signifies the inward renewal of God’s people.
God calls His people to turn back from wandering and return to covenant faithfulness.
God restores the physical land, social life, and spiritual condition of His people.
Doctrinal Weight
The Lord loves Israel with everlasting love and draws with unfailing kindness.
The Lord rebuilds, gathers, shepherds, redeems, comforts, and restores Israel and Judah.
Ephraim's repentance is marked by acknowledgment of discipline, shame, and dependence on the Lord to restore.
The Lord's heart yearns for Ephraim, his dear son, and he has great compassion.
The Lord promises a New Covenant with Israel and Judah, distinct from the broken exodus covenant.
The Lord puts his law in the mind and writes it on the heart.
All in the New Covenant community will know the Lord, from least to greatest.
The Lord forgives wickedness and remembers sins no more.
Israel's continuance before the Lord is guaranteed by the fixed order of creation.
The New Covenant promise is fulfilled through Christ's blood and priestly mediation.
The New Testament connects the cup of the Lord's Supper with the New Covenant in Christ's blood.
Reading Lenses
Theological exposition and fulfillment
- Jeremiah 31 forms covenant assurance, grief-with-hope, repentance, heart-level obedience, New Covenant identity, and Christ-centered forgiveness.
Commentary (Keil & Delitzsch)
C.F. Keil & F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–91) — public domain
The Biblical World
Chapter At A Glance
The chapter moves from covenant restoration of all Israel, to joyful return, to Rachel's comfort and Ephraim's repentance, to Judah's restoration, to the New Covenant promise, and finally to the permanence of Israel and rebuilt Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 31 is one of Scripture's central covenant chapters. It moves from the restored covenant formula in verse 1 to the explicit New Covenant promise in verses 31-34. The New Covenant is necessary because the exodus covenant was broken. The Lord answers covenant failure not by lowering his law but by writing it on the heart, giving true knowledge of himself, forgiving wickedness, and remembering sins no more.
Jeremiah 31 clarifies the gospel by showing that the core human problem is not merely exile, sorrow, or broken circumstances but broken covenant and sin. The Lord does not merely promise to bring people back to land; he promises to forgive wickedness, remember sins no more, and write his law on the heart. The gospel announces that this New Covenant is established through the blood of Jesus Christ.
In Christ, sinners are forgiven, brought to know God, indwelt by the Spirit, and made part of the restored people of God.
Focus Points
- Everlasting Love
- Covenant Restoration
- Gathering the Scattered
- Joy After Mourning
- Rachel's Comfort
- Ephraim's Repentance
- Fatherly Compassion
- New Covenant
- Forgiveness
- Creation-Secured Faithfulness
- Holy City
- Covenant Love
- Restoration
- Repentance
- Divine Compassion
- Internalization of the Law
- Knowledge of God
- Persevering Covenant Faithfulness
- Christ's Covenant Mediation
- Lord's Supper Theology
Jer 31:6 Jer 31:6 is attached to the foregoing by כּי, which introduces the reason of what has been stated. The connection is as follows: This prosperous condition of Ephraim is to be a permanent one; for the sin of Jeroboam, the seduction of the ten tribes from the sanctuary of the Lord, shall not continue, but Ephraim shall once more, in the future, betake himself to Zion, to the Lord his God.
"There is a day," i. e. , there comes a day, a time, when watchmen call. נצרים here denotes the watchmen who were posted on the mountains, that they might observe and given notice of the first appearance of the crescent of the moon after new-moon, so that the festival of the new-moon and the feasts connected with it might be fixed; cf. Keil’s Bibl. Archäol .
ii. §74, Anm. 9 see also the articles Mond and Neumond in Herzog’s Real-Encykl . vols. ix. and x. ; New-moon in Smith’s Bible Dictionary , vol. ii.] עלה, to go up to Jerusalem, which was pre-eminent among the cities of the land as to spiritual matters.
Jer 31:7-14 The restoration of Israel. - Jer 31:7 . "For thus saith Jahveh: Shout for joy over Jacob, and cry out over the head of the nations! Make known, praise, and say, I Jahveh, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel! Jer 31:8 . Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and will gather them from the sides of the earth. Among them are the blind and lame, the woman with child and she that hath born, together; a great company shall they return hither.
Jer 31:9 . With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I lead them: I will bring them to streams of water, by a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. Jer 31:10. Hear the word of Jahveh, ye nations, and declare among the islands far off, and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11. For Jahveh hath redeemed Israel and ransomed him out of the hand of one stronger than he. Jer 31:12. And they shall come and sing with joy on the height of Zion, and come like a flood to the goodness of Jahveh, because of corn, and new wine, and fresh oil, and the young of the flock and the herd; and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, neither shall they pine away any more.
Jer 31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old men together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and will cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. Jer 31:14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jahveh." In order to set forth the greatness of the salvation which the Lord will prepare for Israel, so long outcast, Israel is commanded to make loud jubilation, and exhorted to approach the Lord with entreaties for the fulfilment of His purpose of grace.
The statement regarding this salvation is introduced by כּי, "for," since the description, given in this strophe, of Israel’s being led back and re-established, furnishes the actual proof that the nation shall be built up again. The summons to rejoice comes from Jahveh (since, by His gracious dealings, He gives the people material for praise), and is addressed to the members of the nation.
These are to rejoice over Jacob, i. e. , over the glorious destiny before the people. צהלו is translated by Hitzig: "shout at the head of the nations," i. e. , making a beginning among them all; but this is incorrect and against the context. The thought that many other enslaved nations besides Israel will rejoice over the fall of their oppressors, has not the least foundation in this passage.
The summons to the nations, which follows in Jer 31:19, is simply a command to make known God’s purpose regarding the deliverance of Israel. Of course, בּראשׁ, taken literally and by itself, may be rendered "at the head" (1Ki 21:12; Amo 6:7, etc.) ; but in this place, the expression of which it forms the first word is the object of צהלו, which is construed with בּ, "to rejoice over something," Isa 24:4.
"The head of the nations" signifies "the first of the nations" (ראשׁית הגּוים, Amo 6:1), i. e. , the most exalted among the nations. Such is the designation given to Israel, because God has chosen them before all the nations of the earth to be His peculiar people (Deu 7:6; 2Sa 7:23.) , made them the highest over (עליון על, Deu 26:19) all nations. This high honour of Israel, which seemed to have been taken from him by his being delivered over to the power of heathen nations, is now to appear again.
השׁמיעוּ, "make to be heard, sing praise," are to be combined into one thought, "sing praise loudly" (so that people may hear it). The words of praise, "Save Thy people, O Jahveh," form rather the expression of a wish than of a request, just as in many psalms, e. g. , Ps. 20:10; Psa 28:9, especially Psa 118:25 in הושׁיאה נא, with which Jesus was greeted on His entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:9 (Graf).
- To the rejoicing and praise the Lord replies with the promise that He will lead back His people out of the most distant countries of the north, - every one, even the feeble and frail, who ordinarily would not have strength for so long a journey, "Hither," i. e. , to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote the promise; cf. Jer 3:18; Jer 16:15. "With weeping," i. e.
, with tears of joy, and with contrition of heart over favour so undeserved, they come, and God leads them with weeping, "amidst earnest prayers to the God they have found again, as a lost son returns to the arms of his father" (Umbreit). Hitzig and Graf would connect בּתחנוּנים with what precedes, and combine "I will lead them, I will bring them;" by this arrangement, it is said, the careful guidance of God, in leaving nothing behind, is properly set forth.
But the symmetry of the verse is thereby destroyed; and the reason assigned for this construction (which is opposed by the accents), viz. , that תּחנוּנים does not mean miseratio, clementia , will not stand the test. As in Isa 55:12 it is the being brought בּשׂמחה that is the chief point, so here, it is the bringing בּתחנוּנים, amidst weeping, i. e. , fervent prayer.
At the same time, the Lord will care like a father for their refreshment and nurture; He will lead them to brooks of water, so that they shall not suffer thirst in the desert (Isa 48:21), and guide them by a straight (i. e. , level) road, so that they shall not fall. For He shows Himself again to Israel as a father, one who cares for them like a father (cf. Jer 3:19; Deu 32:6; Isa 63:6), and treats Ephraim as His first-born.
"The first-born of Jahveh," in Exo 4:22, means the people of Israel as compared with the other nations of the earth. This designation is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the ten tribes; but it is not likely that there is in this any allusion to the preference which Jacob displayed for the sons of Joseph, Gen 49:22. compared with Jer 31:4 (Venema, J.
D. Michaelis, Nägelsbach) - the advantage they obtained consisting in this, that Ephraim and Manasseh were placed on an equal footing with Jacob’s sons as regards inheritance in the land of Canaan; in other words, they were elevated to the dignity of being founders of tribes. There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given to Ephraim before Judah, or of the ten tribes before the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah.
That the deliverance of Ephraim (Israel) from exile is mentioned before that of Judah, and is further more minutely described, is simply due to the fact, already mentioned, that the ten tribes, who had long languished in exile, had the least hope, according to man’s estimation, of deliverance. The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah, - that they are to receive their full share in the Messianic salvation of the whole people; in other words, that the love which the Lord once displayed towards Israel, when He delivered them out of the power of Pharaoh, is also to be, in the future, displayed towards the ten tribes, who were looked on as lost.
The nature of fatherhood and sonship, as set forth in the Old Testament, does not contain the element of the Spirit’s testimony to our spirit, but only the idea of paternal care and love, founded on the choosing of Israel out of all the nations to be the peculiar people of God; see on Exo 4:22 and Isa 63:16; Isa 64:7. בּכרי is substantially the same as יקּיר been בּן and ילד שׁעשׁעים in Jer 31:20.
Jer 31:7-14 The restoration of Israel. - Jer 31:7 . "For thus saith Jahveh: Shout for joy over Jacob, and cry out over the head of the nations! Make known, praise, and say, I Jahveh, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel! Jer 31:8 . Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and will gather them from the sides of the earth. Among them are the blind and lame, the woman with child and she that hath born, together; a great company shall they return hither.
Jer 31:9 . With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I lead them: I will bring them to streams of water, by a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. Jer 31:10. Hear the word of Jahveh, ye nations, and declare among the islands far off, and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11. For Jahveh hath redeemed Israel and ransomed him out of the hand of one stronger than he. Jer 31:12. And they shall come and sing with joy on the height of Zion, and come like a flood to the goodness of Jahveh, because of corn, and new wine, and fresh oil, and the young of the flock and the herd; and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, neither shall they pine away any more.
Jer 31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old men together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and will cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. Jer 31:14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jahveh." In order to set forth the greatness of the salvation which the Lord will prepare for Israel, so long outcast, Israel is commanded to make loud jubilation, and exhorted to approach the Lord with entreaties for the fulfilment of His purpose of grace.
The statement regarding this salvation is introduced by כּי, "for," since the description, given in this strophe, of Israel’s being led back and re-established, furnishes the actual proof that the nation shall be built up again. The summons to rejoice comes from Jahveh (since, by His gracious dealings, He gives the people material for praise), and is addressed to the members of the nation.
These are to rejoice over Jacob, i. e. , over the glorious destiny before the people. צהלו is translated by Hitzig: "shout at the head of the nations," i. e. , making a beginning among them all; but this is incorrect and against the context. The thought that many other enslaved nations besides Israel will rejoice over the fall of their oppressors, has not the least foundation in this passage.
The summons to the nations, which follows in Jer 31:19, is simply a command to make known God’s purpose regarding the deliverance of Israel. Of course, בּראשׁ, taken literally and by itself, may be rendered "at the head" (1Ki 21:12; Amo 6:7, etc.) ; but in this place, the expression of which it forms the first word is the object of צהלו, which is construed with בּ, "to rejoice over something," Isa 24:4.
"The head of the nations" signifies "the first of the nations" (ראשׁית הגּוים, Amo 6:1), i. e. , the most exalted among the nations. Such is the designation given to Israel, because God has chosen them before all the nations of the earth to be His peculiar people (Deu 7:6; 2Sa 7:23.) , made them the highest over (עליון על, Deu 26:19) all nations. This high honour of Israel, which seemed to have been taken from him by his being delivered over to the power of heathen nations, is now to appear again.
השׁמיעוּ, "make to be heard, sing praise," are to be combined into one thought, "sing praise loudly" (so that people may hear it). The words of praise, "Save Thy people, O Jahveh," form rather the expression of a wish than of a request, just as in many psalms, e. g. , Ps. 20:10; Psa 28:9, especially Psa 118:25 in הושׁיאה נא, with which Jesus was greeted on His entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:9 (Graf).
- To the rejoicing and praise the Lord replies with the promise that He will lead back His people out of the most distant countries of the north, - every one, even the feeble and frail, who ordinarily would not have strength for so long a journey, "Hither," i. e. , to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote the promise; cf. Jer 3:18; Jer 16:15. "With weeping," i. e.
, with tears of joy, and with contrition of heart over favour so undeserved, they come, and God leads them with weeping, "amidst earnest prayers to the God they have found again, as a lost son returns to the arms of his father" (Umbreit). Hitzig and Graf would connect בּתחנוּנים with what precedes, and combine "I will lead them, I will bring them;" by this arrangement, it is said, the careful guidance of God, in leaving nothing behind, is properly set forth.
But the symmetry of the verse is thereby destroyed; and the reason assigned for this construction (which is opposed by the accents), viz. , that תּחנוּנים does not mean miseratio, clementia , will not stand the test. As in Isa 55:12 it is the being brought בּשׂמחה that is the chief point, so here, it is the bringing בּתחנוּנים, amidst weeping, i. e. , fervent prayer.
At the same time, the Lord will care like a father for their refreshment and nurture; He will lead them to brooks of water, so that they shall not suffer thirst in the desert (Isa 48:21), and guide them by a straight (i. e. , level) road, so that they shall not fall. For He shows Himself again to Israel as a father, one who cares for them like a father (cf. Jer 3:19; Deu 32:6; Isa 63:6), and treats Ephraim as His first-born.
"The first-born of Jahveh," in Exo 4:22, means the people of Israel as compared with the other nations of the earth. This designation is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the ten tribes; but it is not likely that there is in this any allusion to the preference which Jacob displayed for the sons of Joseph, Gen 49:22. compared with Jer 31:4 (Venema, J.
D. Michaelis, Nägelsbach) - the advantage they obtained consisting in this, that Ephraim and Manasseh were placed on an equal footing with Jacob’s sons as regards inheritance in the land of Canaan; in other words, they were elevated to the dignity of being founders of tribes. There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given to Ephraim before Judah, or of the ten tribes before the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah.
That the deliverance of Ephraim (Israel) from exile is mentioned before that of Judah, and is further more minutely described, is simply due to the fact, already mentioned, that the ten tribes, who had long languished in exile, had the least hope, according to man’s estimation, of deliverance. The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah, - that they are to receive their full share in the Messianic salvation of the whole people; in other words, that the love which the Lord once displayed towards Israel, when He delivered them out of the power of Pharaoh, is also to be, in the future, displayed towards the ten tribes, who were looked on as lost.
The nature of fatherhood and sonship, as set forth in the Old Testament, does not contain the element of the Spirit’s testimony to our spirit, but only the idea of paternal care and love, founded on the choosing of Israel out of all the nations to be the peculiar people of God; see on Exo 4:22 and Isa 63:16; Isa 64:7. בּכרי is substantially the same as יקּיר been בּן and ילד שׁעשׁעים in Jer 31:20.
Jer 31:7-14 The restoration of Israel. - Jer 31:7 . "For thus saith Jahveh: Shout for joy over Jacob, and cry out over the head of the nations! Make known, praise, and say, I Jahveh, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel! Jer 31:8 . Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and will gather them from the sides of the earth. Among them are the blind and lame, the woman with child and she that hath born, together; a great company shall they return hither.
Jer 31:9 . With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I lead them: I will bring them to streams of water, by a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. Jer 31:10. Hear the word of Jahveh, ye nations, and declare among the islands far off, and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11. For Jahveh hath redeemed Israel and ransomed him out of the hand of one stronger than he. Jer 31:12. And they shall come and sing with joy on the height of Zion, and come like a flood to the goodness of Jahveh, because of corn, and new wine, and fresh oil, and the young of the flock and the herd; and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, neither shall they pine away any more.
Jer 31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old men together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and will cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. Jer 31:14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jahveh." In order to set forth the greatness of the salvation which the Lord will prepare for Israel, so long outcast, Israel is commanded to make loud jubilation, and exhorted to approach the Lord with entreaties for the fulfilment of His purpose of grace.
The statement regarding this salvation is introduced by כּי, "for," since the description, given in this strophe, of Israel’s being led back and re-established, furnishes the actual proof that the nation shall be built up again. The summons to rejoice comes from Jahveh (since, by His gracious dealings, He gives the people material for praise), and is addressed to the members of the nation.
These are to rejoice over Jacob, i. e. , over the glorious destiny before the people. צהלו is translated by Hitzig: "shout at the head of the nations," i. e. , making a beginning among them all; but this is incorrect and against the context. The thought that many other enslaved nations besides Israel will rejoice over the fall of their oppressors, has not the least foundation in this passage.
The summons to the nations, which follows in Jer 31:19, is simply a command to make known God’s purpose regarding the deliverance of Israel. Of course, בּראשׁ, taken literally and by itself, may be rendered "at the head" (1Ki 21:12; Amo 6:7, etc.) ; but in this place, the expression of which it forms the first word is the object of צהלו, which is construed with בּ, "to rejoice over something," Isa 24:4.
"The head of the nations" signifies "the first of the nations" (ראשׁית הגּוים, Amo 6:1), i. e. , the most exalted among the nations. Such is the designation given to Israel, because God has chosen them before all the nations of the earth to be His peculiar people (Deu 7:6; 2Sa 7:23.) , made them the highest over (עליון על, Deu 26:19) all nations. This high honour of Israel, which seemed to have been taken from him by his being delivered over to the power of heathen nations, is now to appear again.
השׁמיעוּ, "make to be heard, sing praise," are to be combined into one thought, "sing praise loudly" (so that people may hear it). The words of praise, "Save Thy people, O Jahveh," form rather the expression of a wish than of a request, just as in many psalms, e. g. , Ps. 20:10; Psa 28:9, especially Psa 118:25 in הושׁיאה נא, with which Jesus was greeted on His entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:9 (Graf).
- To the rejoicing and praise the Lord replies with the promise that He will lead back His people out of the most distant countries of the north, - every one, even the feeble and frail, who ordinarily would not have strength for so long a journey, "Hither," i. e. , to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote the promise; cf. Jer 3:18; Jer 16:15. "With weeping," i. e.
, with tears of joy, and with contrition of heart over favour so undeserved, they come, and God leads them with weeping, "amidst earnest prayers to the God they have found again, as a lost son returns to the arms of his father" (Umbreit). Hitzig and Graf would connect בּתחנוּנים with what precedes, and combine "I will lead them, I will bring them;" by this arrangement, it is said, the careful guidance of God, in leaving nothing behind, is properly set forth.
But the symmetry of the verse is thereby destroyed; and the reason assigned for this construction (which is opposed by the accents), viz. , that תּחנוּנים does not mean miseratio, clementia , will not stand the test. As in Isa 55:12 it is the being brought בּשׂמחה that is the chief point, so here, it is the bringing בּתחנוּנים, amidst weeping, i. e. , fervent prayer.
At the same time, the Lord will care like a father for their refreshment and nurture; He will lead them to brooks of water, so that they shall not suffer thirst in the desert (Isa 48:21), and guide them by a straight (i. e. , level) road, so that they shall not fall. For He shows Himself again to Israel as a father, one who cares for them like a father (cf. Jer 3:19; Deu 32:6; Isa 63:6), and treats Ephraim as His first-born.
"The first-born of Jahveh," in Exo 4:22, means the people of Israel as compared with the other nations of the earth. This designation is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the ten tribes; but it is not likely that there is in this any allusion to the preference which Jacob displayed for the sons of Joseph, Gen 49:22. compared with Jer 31:4 (Venema, J.
D. Michaelis, Nägelsbach) - the advantage they obtained consisting in this, that Ephraim and Manasseh were placed on an equal footing with Jacob’s sons as regards inheritance in the land of Canaan; in other words, they were elevated to the dignity of being founders of tribes. There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given to Ephraim before Judah, or of the ten tribes before the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah.
That the deliverance of Ephraim (Israel) from exile is mentioned before that of Judah, and is further more minutely described, is simply due to the fact, already mentioned, that the ten tribes, who had long languished in exile, had the least hope, according to man’s estimation, of deliverance. The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah, - that they are to receive their full share in the Messianic salvation of the whole people; in other words, that the love which the Lord once displayed towards Israel, when He delivered them out of the power of Pharaoh, is also to be, in the future, displayed towards the ten tribes, who were looked on as lost.
The nature of fatherhood and sonship, as set forth in the Old Testament, does not contain the element of the Spirit’s testimony to our spirit, but only the idea of paternal care and love, founded on the choosing of Israel out of all the nations to be the peculiar people of God; see on Exo 4:22 and Isa 63:16; Isa 64:7. בּכרי is substantially the same as יקּיר been בּן and ילד שׁעשׁעים in Jer 31:20.
Jer 31:7-14 The restoration of Israel. - Jer 31:7 . "For thus saith Jahveh: Shout for joy over Jacob, and cry out over the head of the nations! Make known, praise, and say, I Jahveh, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel! Jer 31:8 . Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and will gather them from the sides of the earth. Among them are the blind and lame, the woman with child and she that hath born, together; a great company shall they return hither.
Jer 31:9 . With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I lead them: I will bring them to streams of water, by a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. Jer 31:10. Hear the word of Jahveh, ye nations, and declare among the islands far off, and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11. For Jahveh hath redeemed Israel and ransomed him out of the hand of one stronger than he. Jer 31:12. And they shall come and sing with joy on the height of Zion, and come like a flood to the goodness of Jahveh, because of corn, and new wine, and fresh oil, and the young of the flock and the herd; and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, neither shall they pine away any more.
Jer 31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old men together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and will cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. Jer 31:14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jahveh." In order to set forth the greatness of the salvation which the Lord will prepare for Israel, so long outcast, Israel is commanded to make loud jubilation, and exhorted to approach the Lord with entreaties for the fulfilment of His purpose of grace.
The statement regarding this salvation is introduced by כּי, "for," since the description, given in this strophe, of Israel’s being led back and re-established, furnishes the actual proof that the nation shall be built up again. The summons to rejoice comes from Jahveh (since, by His gracious dealings, He gives the people material for praise), and is addressed to the members of the nation.
These are to rejoice over Jacob, i. e. , over the glorious destiny before the people. צהלו is translated by Hitzig: "shout at the head of the nations," i. e. , making a beginning among them all; but this is incorrect and against the context. The thought that many other enslaved nations besides Israel will rejoice over the fall of their oppressors, has not the least foundation in this passage.
The summons to the nations, which follows in Jer 31:19, is simply a command to make known God’s purpose regarding the deliverance of Israel. Of course, בּראשׁ, taken literally and by itself, may be rendered "at the head" (1Ki 21:12; Amo 6:7, etc.) ; but in this place, the expression of which it forms the first word is the object of צהלו, which is construed with בּ, "to rejoice over something," Isa 24:4.
"The head of the nations" signifies "the first of the nations" (ראשׁית הגּוים, Amo 6:1), i. e. , the most exalted among the nations. Such is the designation given to Israel, because God has chosen them before all the nations of the earth to be His peculiar people (Deu 7:6; 2Sa 7:23.) , made them the highest over (עליון על, Deu 26:19) all nations. This high honour of Israel, which seemed to have been taken from him by his being delivered over to the power of heathen nations, is now to appear again.
השׁמיעוּ, "make to be heard, sing praise," are to be combined into one thought, "sing praise loudly" (so that people may hear it). The words of praise, "Save Thy people, O Jahveh," form rather the expression of a wish than of a request, just as in many psalms, e. g. , Ps. 20:10; Psa 28:9, especially Psa 118:25 in הושׁיאה נא, with which Jesus was greeted on His entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:9 (Graf).
- To the rejoicing and praise the Lord replies with the promise that He will lead back His people out of the most distant countries of the north, - every one, even the feeble and frail, who ordinarily would not have strength for so long a journey, "Hither," i. e. , to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote the promise; cf. Jer 3:18; Jer 16:15. "With weeping," i. e.
, with tears of joy, and with contrition of heart over favour so undeserved, they come, and God leads them with weeping, "amidst earnest prayers to the God they have found again, as a lost son returns to the arms of his father" (Umbreit). Hitzig and Graf would connect בּתחנוּנים with what precedes, and combine "I will lead them, I will bring them;" by this arrangement, it is said, the careful guidance of God, in leaving nothing behind, is properly set forth.
But the symmetry of the verse is thereby destroyed; and the reason assigned for this construction (which is opposed by the accents), viz. , that תּחנוּנים does not mean miseratio, clementia , will not stand the test. As in Isa 55:12 it is the being brought בּשׂמחה that is the chief point, so here, it is the bringing בּתחנוּנים, amidst weeping, i. e. , fervent prayer.
At the same time, the Lord will care like a father for their refreshment and nurture; He will lead them to brooks of water, so that they shall not suffer thirst in the desert (Isa 48:21), and guide them by a straight (i. e. , level) road, so that they shall not fall. For He shows Himself again to Israel as a father, one who cares for them like a father (cf. Jer 3:19; Deu 32:6; Isa 63:6), and treats Ephraim as His first-born.
"The first-born of Jahveh," in Exo 4:22, means the people of Israel as compared with the other nations of the earth. This designation is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the ten tribes; but it is not likely that there is in this any allusion to the preference which Jacob displayed for the sons of Joseph, Gen 49:22. compared with Jer 31:4 (Venema, J.
D. Michaelis, Nägelsbach) - the advantage they obtained consisting in this, that Ephraim and Manasseh were placed on an equal footing with Jacob’s sons as regards inheritance in the land of Canaan; in other words, they were elevated to the dignity of being founders of tribes. There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given to Ephraim before Judah, or of the ten tribes before the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah.
That the deliverance of Ephraim (Israel) from exile is mentioned before that of Judah, and is further more minutely described, is simply due to the fact, already mentioned, that the ten tribes, who had long languished in exile, had the least hope, according to man’s estimation, of deliverance. The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah, - that they are to receive their full share in the Messianic salvation of the whole people; in other words, that the love which the Lord once displayed towards Israel, when He delivered them out of the power of Pharaoh, is also to be, in the future, displayed towards the ten tribes, who were looked on as lost.
The nature of fatherhood and sonship, as set forth in the Old Testament, does not contain the element of the Spirit’s testimony to our spirit, but only the idea of paternal care and love, founded on the choosing of Israel out of all the nations to be the peculiar people of God; see on Exo 4:22 and Isa 63:16; Isa 64:7. בּכרי is substantially the same as יקּיר been בּן and ילד שׁעשׁעים in Jer 31:20.
Jer 31:7-14 The restoration of Israel. - Jer 31:7 . "For thus saith Jahveh: Shout for joy over Jacob, and cry out over the head of the nations! Make known, praise, and say, I Jahveh, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel! Jer 31:8 . Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and will gather them from the sides of the earth. Among them are the blind and lame, the woman with child and she that hath born, together; a great company shall they return hither.
Jer 31:9 . With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I lead them: I will bring them to streams of water, by a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. Jer 31:10. Hear the word of Jahveh, ye nations, and declare among the islands far off, and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11. For Jahveh hath redeemed Israel and ransomed him out of the hand of one stronger than he. Jer 31:12. And they shall come and sing with joy on the height of Zion, and come like a flood to the goodness of Jahveh, because of corn, and new wine, and fresh oil, and the young of the flock and the herd; and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, neither shall they pine away any more.
Jer 31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old men together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and will cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. Jer 31:14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jahveh." In order to set forth the greatness of the salvation which the Lord will prepare for Israel, so long outcast, Israel is commanded to make loud jubilation, and exhorted to approach the Lord with entreaties for the fulfilment of His purpose of grace.
The statement regarding this salvation is introduced by כּי, "for," since the description, given in this strophe, of Israel’s being led back and re-established, furnishes the actual proof that the nation shall be built up again. The summons to rejoice comes from Jahveh (since, by His gracious dealings, He gives the people material for praise), and is addressed to the members of the nation.
These are to rejoice over Jacob, i. e. , over the glorious destiny before the people. צהלו is translated by Hitzig: "shout at the head of the nations," i. e. , making a beginning among them all; but this is incorrect and against the context. The thought that many other enslaved nations besides Israel will rejoice over the fall of their oppressors, has not the least foundation in this passage.
The summons to the nations, which follows in Jer 31:19, is simply a command to make known God’s purpose regarding the deliverance of Israel. Of course, בּראשׁ, taken literally and by itself, may be rendered "at the head" (1Ki 21:12; Amo 6:7, etc.) ; but in this place, the expression of which it forms the first word is the object of צהלו, which is construed with בּ, "to rejoice over something," Isa 24:4.
"The head of the nations" signifies "the first of the nations" (ראשׁית הגּוים, Amo 6:1), i. e. , the most exalted among the nations. Such is the designation given to Israel, because God has chosen them before all the nations of the earth to be His peculiar people (Deu 7:6; 2Sa 7:23.) , made them the highest over (עליון על, Deu 26:19) all nations. This high honour of Israel, which seemed to have been taken from him by his being delivered over to the power of heathen nations, is now to appear again.
השׁמיעוּ, "make to be heard, sing praise," are to be combined into one thought, "sing praise loudly" (so that people may hear it). The words of praise, "Save Thy people, O Jahveh," form rather the expression of a wish than of a request, just as in many psalms, e. g. , Ps. 20:10; Psa 28:9, especially Psa 118:25 in הושׁיאה נא, with which Jesus was greeted on His entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:9 (Graf).
- To the rejoicing and praise the Lord replies with the promise that He will lead back His people out of the most distant countries of the north, - every one, even the feeble and frail, who ordinarily would not have strength for so long a journey, "Hither," i. e. , to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote the promise; cf. Jer 3:18; Jer 16:15. "With weeping," i. e.
, with tears of joy, and with contrition of heart over favour so undeserved, they come, and God leads them with weeping, "amidst earnest prayers to the God they have found again, as a lost son returns to the arms of his father" (Umbreit). Hitzig and Graf would connect בּתחנוּנים with what precedes, and combine "I will lead them, I will bring them;" by this arrangement, it is said, the careful guidance of God, in leaving nothing behind, is properly set forth.
But the symmetry of the verse is thereby destroyed; and the reason assigned for this construction (which is opposed by the accents), viz. , that תּחנוּנים does not mean miseratio, clementia , will not stand the test. As in Isa 55:12 it is the being brought בּשׂמחה that is the chief point, so here, it is the bringing בּתחנוּנים, amidst weeping, i. e. , fervent prayer.
At the same time, the Lord will care like a father for their refreshment and nurture; He will lead them to brooks of water, so that they shall not suffer thirst in the desert (Isa 48:21), and guide them by a straight (i. e. , level) road, so that they shall not fall. For He shows Himself again to Israel as a father, one who cares for them like a father (cf. Jer 3:19; Deu 32:6; Isa 63:6), and treats Ephraim as His first-born.
"The first-born of Jahveh," in Exo 4:22, means the people of Israel as compared with the other nations of the earth. This designation is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the ten tribes; but it is not likely that there is in this any allusion to the preference which Jacob displayed for the sons of Joseph, Gen 49:22. compared with Jer 31:4 (Venema, J.
D. Michaelis, Nägelsbach) - the advantage they obtained consisting in this, that Ephraim and Manasseh were placed on an equal footing with Jacob’s sons as regards inheritance in the land of Canaan; in other words, they were elevated to the dignity of being founders of tribes. There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given to Ephraim before Judah, or of the ten tribes before the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah.
That the deliverance of Ephraim (Israel) from exile is mentioned before that of Judah, and is further more minutely described, is simply due to the fact, already mentioned, that the ten tribes, who had long languished in exile, had the least hope, according to man’s estimation, of deliverance. The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah, - that they are to receive their full share in the Messianic salvation of the whole people; in other words, that the love which the Lord once displayed towards Israel, when He delivered them out of the power of Pharaoh, is also to be, in the future, displayed towards the ten tribes, who were looked on as lost.
The nature of fatherhood and sonship, as set forth in the Old Testament, does not contain the element of the Spirit’s testimony to our spirit, but only the idea of paternal care and love, founded on the choosing of Israel out of all the nations to be the peculiar people of God; see on Exo 4:22 and Isa 63:16; Isa 64:7. בּכרי is substantially the same as יקּיר been בּן and ילד שׁעשׁעים in Jer 31:20.
Jer 31:7-14 The restoration of Israel. - Jer 31:7 . "For thus saith Jahveh: Shout for joy over Jacob, and cry out over the head of the nations! Make known, praise, and say, I Jahveh, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel! Jer 31:8 . Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and will gather them from the sides of the earth. Among them are the blind and lame, the woman with child and she that hath born, together; a great company shall they return hither.
Jer 31:9 . With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I lead them: I will bring them to streams of water, by a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. Jer 31:10. Hear the word of Jahveh, ye nations, and declare among the islands far off, and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11. For Jahveh hath redeemed Israel and ransomed him out of the hand of one stronger than he. Jer 31:12. And they shall come and sing with joy on the height of Zion, and come like a flood to the goodness of Jahveh, because of corn, and new wine, and fresh oil, and the young of the flock and the herd; and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, neither shall they pine away any more.
Jer 31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old men together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and will cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. Jer 31:14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jahveh." In order to set forth the greatness of the salvation which the Lord will prepare for Israel, so long outcast, Israel is commanded to make loud jubilation, and exhorted to approach the Lord with entreaties for the fulfilment of His purpose of grace.
The statement regarding this salvation is introduced by כּי, "for," since the description, given in this strophe, of Israel’s being led back and re-established, furnishes the actual proof that the nation shall be built up again. The summons to rejoice comes from Jahveh (since, by His gracious dealings, He gives the people material for praise), and is addressed to the members of the nation.
These are to rejoice over Jacob, i. e. , over the glorious destiny before the people. צהלו is translated by Hitzig: "shout at the head of the nations," i. e. , making a beginning among them all; but this is incorrect and against the context. The thought that many other enslaved nations besides Israel will rejoice over the fall of their oppressors, has not the least foundation in this passage.
The summons to the nations, which follows in Jer 31:19, is simply a command to make known God’s purpose regarding the deliverance of Israel. Of course, בּראשׁ, taken literally and by itself, may be rendered "at the head" (1Ki 21:12; Amo 6:7, etc.) ; but in this place, the expression of which it forms the first word is the object of צהלו, which is construed with בּ, "to rejoice over something," Isa 24:4.
"The head of the nations" signifies "the first of the nations" (ראשׁית הגּוים, Amo 6:1), i. e. , the most exalted among the nations. Such is the designation given to Israel, because God has chosen them before all the nations of the earth to be His peculiar people (Deu 7:6; 2Sa 7:23.) , made them the highest over (עליון על, Deu 26:19) all nations. This high honour of Israel, which seemed to have been taken from him by his being delivered over to the power of heathen nations, is now to appear again.
השׁמיעוּ, "make to be heard, sing praise," are to be combined into one thought, "sing praise loudly" (so that people may hear it). The words of praise, "Save Thy people, O Jahveh," form rather the expression of a wish than of a request, just as in many psalms, e. g. , Ps. 20:10; Psa 28:9, especially Psa 118:25 in הושׁיאה נא, with which Jesus was greeted on His entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:9 (Graf).
- To the rejoicing and praise the Lord replies with the promise that He will lead back His people out of the most distant countries of the north, - every one, even the feeble and frail, who ordinarily would not have strength for so long a journey, "Hither," i. e. , to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote the promise; cf. Jer 3:18; Jer 16:15. "With weeping," i. e.
, with tears of joy, and with contrition of heart over favour so undeserved, they come, and God leads them with weeping, "amidst earnest prayers to the God they have found again, as a lost son returns to the arms of his father" (Umbreit). Hitzig and Graf would connect בּתחנוּנים with what precedes, and combine "I will lead them, I will bring them;" by this arrangement, it is said, the careful guidance of God, in leaving nothing behind, is properly set forth.
But the symmetry of the verse is thereby destroyed; and the reason assigned for this construction (which is opposed by the accents), viz. , that תּחנוּנים does not mean miseratio, clementia , will not stand the test. As in Isa 55:12 it is the being brought בּשׂמחה that is the chief point, so here, it is the bringing בּתחנוּנים, amidst weeping, i. e. , fervent prayer.
At the same time, the Lord will care like a father for their refreshment and nurture; He will lead them to brooks of water, so that they shall not suffer thirst in the desert (Isa 48:21), and guide them by a straight (i. e. , level) road, so that they shall not fall. For He shows Himself again to Israel as a father, one who cares for them like a father (cf. Jer 3:19; Deu 32:6; Isa 63:6), and treats Ephraim as His first-born.
"The first-born of Jahveh," in Exo 4:22, means the people of Israel as compared with the other nations of the earth. This designation is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the ten tribes; but it is not likely that there is in this any allusion to the preference which Jacob displayed for the sons of Joseph, Gen 49:22. compared with Jer 31:4 (Venema, J.
D. Michaelis, Nägelsbach) - the advantage they obtained consisting in this, that Ephraim and Manasseh were placed on an equal footing with Jacob’s sons as regards inheritance in the land of Canaan; in other words, they were elevated to the dignity of being founders of tribes. There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given to Ephraim before Judah, or of the ten tribes before the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah.
That the deliverance of Ephraim (Israel) from exile is mentioned before that of Judah, and is further more minutely described, is simply due to the fact, already mentioned, that the ten tribes, who had long languished in exile, had the least hope, according to man’s estimation, of deliverance. The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah, - that they are to receive their full share in the Messianic salvation of the whole people; in other words, that the love which the Lord once displayed towards Israel, when He delivered them out of the power of Pharaoh, is also to be, in the future, displayed towards the ten tribes, who were looked on as lost.
The nature of fatherhood and sonship, as set forth in the Old Testament, does not contain the element of the Spirit’s testimony to our spirit, but only the idea of paternal care and love, founded on the choosing of Israel out of all the nations to be the peculiar people of God; see on Exo 4:22 and Isa 63:16; Isa 64:7. בּכרי is substantially the same as יקּיר been בּן and ילד שׁעשׁעים in Jer 31:20.
Jer 31:7-14 The restoration of Israel. - Jer 31:7 . "For thus saith Jahveh: Shout for joy over Jacob, and cry out over the head of the nations! Make known, praise, and say, I Jahveh, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel! Jer 31:8 . Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and will gather them from the sides of the earth. Among them are the blind and lame, the woman with child and she that hath born, together; a great company shall they return hither.
Jer 31:9 . With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I lead them: I will bring them to streams of water, by a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. Jer 31:10. Hear the word of Jahveh, ye nations, and declare among the islands far off, and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11. For Jahveh hath redeemed Israel and ransomed him out of the hand of one stronger than he. Jer 31:12. And they shall come and sing with joy on the height of Zion, and come like a flood to the goodness of Jahveh, because of corn, and new wine, and fresh oil, and the young of the flock and the herd; and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, neither shall they pine away any more.
Jer 31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old men together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and will cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. Jer 31:14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jahveh." In order to set forth the greatness of the salvation which the Lord will prepare for Israel, so long outcast, Israel is commanded to make loud jubilation, and exhorted to approach the Lord with entreaties for the fulfilment of His purpose of grace.
The statement regarding this salvation is introduced by כּי, "for," since the description, given in this strophe, of Israel’s being led back and re-established, furnishes the actual proof that the nation shall be built up again. The summons to rejoice comes from Jahveh (since, by His gracious dealings, He gives the people material for praise), and is addressed to the members of the nation.
These are to rejoice over Jacob, i. e. , over the glorious destiny before the people. צהלו is translated by Hitzig: "shout at the head of the nations," i. e. , making a beginning among them all; but this is incorrect and against the context. The thought that many other enslaved nations besides Israel will rejoice over the fall of their oppressors, has not the least foundation in this passage.
The summons to the nations, which follows in Jer 31:19, is simply a command to make known God’s purpose regarding the deliverance of Israel. Of course, בּראשׁ, taken literally and by itself, may be rendered "at the head" (1Ki 21:12; Amo 6:7, etc.) ; but in this place, the expression of which it forms the first word is the object of צהלו, which is construed with בּ, "to rejoice over something," Isa 24:4.
"The head of the nations" signifies "the first of the nations" (ראשׁית הגּוים, Amo 6:1), i. e. , the most exalted among the nations. Such is the designation given to Israel, because God has chosen them before all the nations of the earth to be His peculiar people (Deu 7:6; 2Sa 7:23.) , made them the highest over (עליון על, Deu 26:19) all nations. This high honour of Israel, which seemed to have been taken from him by his being delivered over to the power of heathen nations, is now to appear again.
השׁמיעוּ, "make to be heard, sing praise," are to be combined into one thought, "sing praise loudly" (so that people may hear it). The words of praise, "Save Thy people, O Jahveh," form rather the expression of a wish than of a request, just as in many psalms, e. g. , Ps. 20:10; Psa 28:9, especially Psa 118:25 in הושׁיאה נא, with which Jesus was greeted on His entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:9 (Graf).
- To the rejoicing and praise the Lord replies with the promise that He will lead back His people out of the most distant countries of the north, - every one, even the feeble and frail, who ordinarily would not have strength for so long a journey, "Hither," i. e. , to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote the promise; cf. Jer 3:18; Jer 16:15. "With weeping," i. e.
, with tears of joy, and with contrition of heart over favour so undeserved, they come, and God leads them with weeping, "amidst earnest prayers to the God they have found again, as a lost son returns to the arms of his father" (Umbreit). Hitzig and Graf would connect בּתחנוּנים with what precedes, and combine "I will lead them, I will bring them;" by this arrangement, it is said, the careful guidance of God, in leaving nothing behind, is properly set forth.
But the symmetry of the verse is thereby destroyed; and the reason assigned for this construction (which is opposed by the accents), viz. , that תּחנוּנים does not mean miseratio, clementia , will not stand the test. As in Isa 55:12 it is the being brought בּשׂמחה that is the chief point, so here, it is the bringing בּתחנוּנים, amidst weeping, i. e. , fervent prayer.
At the same time, the Lord will care like a father for their refreshment and nurture; He will lead them to brooks of water, so that they shall not suffer thirst in the desert (Isa 48:21), and guide them by a straight (i. e. , level) road, so that they shall not fall. For He shows Himself again to Israel as a father, one who cares for them like a father (cf. Jer 3:19; Deu 32:6; Isa 63:6), and treats Ephraim as His first-born.
"The first-born of Jahveh," in Exo 4:22, means the people of Israel as compared with the other nations of the earth. This designation is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the ten tribes; but it is not likely that there is in this any allusion to the preference which Jacob displayed for the sons of Joseph, Gen 49:22. compared with Jer 31:4 (Venema, J.
D. Michaelis, Nägelsbach) - the advantage they obtained consisting in this, that Ephraim and Manasseh were placed on an equal footing with Jacob’s sons as regards inheritance in the land of Canaan; in other words, they were elevated to the dignity of being founders of tribes. There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given to Ephraim before Judah, or of the ten tribes before the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah.
That the deliverance of Ephraim (Israel) from exile is mentioned before that of Judah, and is further more minutely described, is simply due to the fact, already mentioned, that the ten tribes, who had long languished in exile, had the least hope, according to man’s estimation, of deliverance. The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah, - that they are to receive their full share in the Messianic salvation of the whole people; in other words, that the love which the Lord once displayed towards Israel, when He delivered them out of the power of Pharaoh, is also to be, in the future, displayed towards the ten tribes, who were looked on as lost.
The nature of fatherhood and sonship, as set forth in the Old Testament, does not contain the element of the Spirit’s testimony to our spirit, but only the idea of paternal care and love, founded on the choosing of Israel out of all the nations to be the peculiar people of God; see on Exo 4:22 and Isa 63:16; Isa 64:7. בּכרי is substantially the same as יקּיר been בּן and ילד שׁעשׁעים in Jer 31:20.
Jer 31:7-14 The restoration of Israel. - Jer 31:7 . "For thus saith Jahveh: Shout for joy over Jacob, and cry out over the head of the nations! Make known, praise, and say, I Jahveh, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel! Jer 31:8 . Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and will gather them from the sides of the earth. Among them are the blind and lame, the woman with child and she that hath born, together; a great company shall they return hither.
Jer 31:9 . With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I lead them: I will bring them to streams of water, by a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. Jer 31:10. Hear the word of Jahveh, ye nations, and declare among the islands far off, and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11. For Jahveh hath redeemed Israel and ransomed him out of the hand of one stronger than he. Jer 31:12. And they shall come and sing with joy on the height of Zion, and come like a flood to the goodness of Jahveh, because of corn, and new wine, and fresh oil, and the young of the flock and the herd; and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, neither shall they pine away any more.
Jer 31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old men together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and will cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. Jer 31:14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jahveh." In order to set forth the greatness of the salvation which the Lord will prepare for Israel, so long outcast, Israel is commanded to make loud jubilation, and exhorted to approach the Lord with entreaties for the fulfilment of His purpose of grace.
The statement regarding this salvation is introduced by כּי, "for," since the description, given in this strophe, of Israel’s being led back and re-established, furnishes the actual proof that the nation shall be built up again. The summons to rejoice comes from Jahveh (since, by His gracious dealings, He gives the people material for praise), and is addressed to the members of the nation.
These are to rejoice over Jacob, i. e. , over the glorious destiny before the people. צהלו is translated by Hitzig: "shout at the head of the nations," i. e. , making a beginning among them all; but this is incorrect and against the context. The thought that many other enslaved nations besides Israel will rejoice over the fall of their oppressors, has not the least foundation in this passage.
The summons to the nations, which follows in Jer 31:19, is simply a command to make known God’s purpose regarding the deliverance of Israel. Of course, בּראשׁ, taken literally and by itself, may be rendered "at the head" (1Ki 21:12; Amo 6:7, etc.) ; but in this place, the expression of which it forms the first word is the object of צהלו, which is construed with בּ, "to rejoice over something," Isa 24:4.
"The head of the nations" signifies "the first of the nations" (ראשׁית הגּוים, Amo 6:1), i. e. , the most exalted among the nations. Such is the designation given to Israel, because God has chosen them before all the nations of the earth to be His peculiar people (Deu 7:6; 2Sa 7:23.) , made them the highest over (עליון על, Deu 26:19) all nations. This high honour of Israel, which seemed to have been taken from him by his being delivered over to the power of heathen nations, is now to appear again.
השׁמיעוּ, "make to be heard, sing praise," are to be combined into one thought, "sing praise loudly" (so that people may hear it). The words of praise, "Save Thy people, O Jahveh," form rather the expression of a wish than of a request, just as in many psalms, e. g. , Ps. 20:10; Psa 28:9, especially Psa 118:25 in הושׁיאה נא, with which Jesus was greeted on His entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:9 (Graf).
- To the rejoicing and praise the Lord replies with the promise that He will lead back His people out of the most distant countries of the north, - every one, even the feeble and frail, who ordinarily would not have strength for so long a journey, "Hither," i. e. , to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote the promise; cf. Jer 3:18; Jer 16:15. "With weeping," i. e.
, with tears of joy, and with contrition of heart over favour so undeserved, they come, and God leads them with weeping, "amidst earnest prayers to the God they have found again, as a lost son returns to the arms of his father" (Umbreit). Hitzig and Graf would connect בּתחנוּנים with what precedes, and combine "I will lead them, I will bring them;" by this arrangement, it is said, the careful guidance of God, in leaving nothing behind, is properly set forth.
But the symmetry of the verse is thereby destroyed; and the reason assigned for this construction (which is opposed by the accents), viz. , that תּחנוּנים does not mean miseratio, clementia , will not stand the test. As in Isa 55:12 it is the being brought בּשׂמחה that is the chief point, so here, it is the bringing בּתחנוּנים, amidst weeping, i. e. , fervent prayer.
At the same time, the Lord will care like a father for their refreshment and nurture; He will lead them to brooks of water, so that they shall not suffer thirst in the desert (Isa 48:21), and guide them by a straight (i. e. , level) road, so that they shall not fall. For He shows Himself again to Israel as a father, one who cares for them like a father (cf. Jer 3:19; Deu 32:6; Isa 63:6), and treats Ephraim as His first-born.
"The first-born of Jahveh," in Exo 4:22, means the people of Israel as compared with the other nations of the earth. This designation is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the ten tribes; but it is not likely that there is in this any allusion to the preference which Jacob displayed for the sons of Joseph, Gen 49:22. compared with Jer 31:4 (Venema, J.
D. Michaelis, Nägelsbach) - the advantage they obtained consisting in this, that Ephraim and Manasseh were placed on an equal footing with Jacob’s sons as regards inheritance in the land of Canaan; in other words, they were elevated to the dignity of being founders of tribes. There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given to Ephraim before Judah, or of the ten tribes before the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah.
That the deliverance of Ephraim (Israel) from exile is mentioned before that of Judah, and is further more minutely described, is simply due to the fact, already mentioned, that the ten tribes, who had long languished in exile, had the least hope, according to man’s estimation, of deliverance. The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah, - that they are to receive their full share in the Messianic salvation of the whole people; in other words, that the love which the Lord once displayed towards Israel, when He delivered them out of the power of Pharaoh, is also to be, in the future, displayed towards the ten tribes, who were looked on as lost.
The nature of fatherhood and sonship, as set forth in the Old Testament, does not contain the element of the Spirit’s testimony to our spirit, but only the idea of paternal care and love, founded on the choosing of Israel out of all the nations to be the peculiar people of God; see on Exo 4:22 and Isa 63:16; Isa 64:7. בּכרי is substantially the same as יקּיר been בּן and ילד שׁעשׁעים in Jer 31:20.
Jer 31:15-22 Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.
Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf not tamed. Turn me that I may turn, for Thou, O Jahveh, art my God. Jer 31:19. For, after I return I repent, and after I have been taught I smite upon [my] thigh; I am ashamed, yea, and confounded, because I bear the reproach of my youth.
Jer 31:20. Is Ephraim a son dear to me, or a child of delight, that, as often as I speak against him, I do yet certainly remember him? Therefore my bowels move for him; I shall surely pity him, saith Jahveh. Jer 31:21. Set thee up way-marks, put up posts for thyself; set thine heart to the highway, the road [by which] thou camest: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these cities of thine.
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou wander about, O backsliding daughter? For Jahveh hath created a new [thing] in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." In this strophe the promise is further confirmed by carrying out the thought, that Israel’s release from his captivity shall certainly take place, however little prospect there is of it at present. For Israel will come to an acknowledgment of his sins, and the Lord will then once more show him His love.
The hopeless condition of Israel is dramatically set forth in Jer 31:15. : Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and thus the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief tribe of the Israelites who had revolted from the royal house of David, weeps bitterly over the loss of her children, the ten tribes who have been carried away into exile; and the Lord addresses consolation to her, with the promise that they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
"A voice is heard" (נשׁמע, participle, to show duration ). The "voice" is more fully treated of in the second part of the verse: loud lamentation and bitter weeping. There is a difficulty connected with בּרמה. The lxx took it to be the name of the city Ramah , now called er - Râm , in the tribe of Benjamin, five English miles north from Jerusalem, on the borders of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1Ki 15:17), although this city is elsewhere written with the article (הרמה), not only in the historical notices found in Jer 40:1, Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5, etc.
, but also in prophetical addresses, as in Hos 6:8; Isa 10:29. In this passage it cannot be a mere appellative ("on a height"), as in 1Sa 22:6; Eze 16:24; nor can we think of Ramah in Naphtali (Jos 19:36, also הרמה), for this latter city never figures in history like the Ramah of Samuel, not far from Gibeah; see on Jos 18:25 and 1Sa 1:1. But why is the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah?
Most expositors reply, because the tomb of Rachel was in the divinity of Ramah; in support of this they cite 1Sa 10:2. Nägelsbach, who is one of these, still maintains this view with the utmost confidence. But this assumption is opposed to Gen 35:16 and Gen 35:19, where it is stated that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem, and not far from the town (see on Genesis, l.
c. ), which is about five miles south from Jerusalem, and thus far from Ramah. Nor is any support for this view to be got from 1Sa 10:2, except by making the groundless assumption, that Saul, while seeking for the asses of his father, came to Samuel in his native town ; whereas, in the account given in that chapter, he is merely said to have sought for Samuel in a certain town, of which nothing more is stated, and to have inquired at him; see on 1Sa 10:2.
We must therefore reject, as arbitrary and groundless, all attempts to fix the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre in the neighbourhood of Ramah (Nägelsbach); in the same way we must treat the assertion of Thenius, Knobel, Graf, etc. , that the Ephratah of Gen 35:16, Gen 35:19, is the same as the Ephron of 2Ch 13:19, which was situated near Bethel; so, too, must we deal with the statements, that Ephratah, i.
e. , Bethlehem, is to be expunged from the text of Gen 35:9 and 48 as a false gloss, and that the tradition, attested in Mat 2:18, as to the situation of Rachel’s sepulchre in the vicinity of Bethlehem, is incorrect. Nor does the passage of Jeremiah now before us imply that Rachel’s sepulchre was near Ramah. Rachel does not weep at Ramah over her lost children, either because she had been buried there, or because it was in Ramah of Benjamin that the exiles were assembled, according to Jer 40:1 (Hitzig, and also Delitzsch on Gen 35:20).
For it was the Jews who were to be carried away captive that were gathered together at Ramah, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried into exile that Rachel weeps. The lamentation of Rachel is heard at Ramah, as the most loftily situated border-town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.
Nor does she weep because she has learned something in her tomb of the carrying away of the people, but as their common mother, as the beloved spouse of Jacob, who in her married life so earnestly desired children. Just as the people are often included under the notion of the "daughter of Zion," as their ideal representative, so the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is here named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost.
The sing. כּי איננּוּ signifies, "for not one of them is left." - This verse is quoted by Matthew (Mat 2:18), after relating the story of the murder of the children at Bethlehem, with the introductory formula, τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ̓Ιερεμίου: from this the older theologians (cf. Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad Jer. l. c. ) conclude that Jeremiah directly prophesied that massacre of the children committed by Herod.
But this inference cannot be allowed; it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. The expression ἐπληρώθη, used by Matthew, only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfilment through that act of Herod. Of course, we must not reduce the typical reference of the prophecy to that event at Bethlehem simply to this, that the wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem over their murdered children was as great as the lamentation made when the people were carried into exile.
Typology rather assumes a causal connection between the two events. The destruction of the people of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans is a type of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, in so far as the sin which brought the children of Israel into exile laid a foundation for the fact that Herod the Idumean became king over the Jews, and wished to destroy the true King and Saviour of Israel that he might strengthen his own dominion.
Cf. Fr. Kleinschmidt, die typolog. Citate der vier Evangelien , 1861, S. 10ff. ; Fairbairn’s Typology , fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 452-3.] The Lord will put an end to this wailing. "Cease thy weeping," He cries to the sorrowing ones, "for there is a reward for thy labour" (almost identical with 2Ch 15:7). פּעלּה is the maternal labour of birth and rearing of children.
The reward consists in this, that the children shall return out of the land of the enemy into their own land. Jer 31:17 states the same thing in parallel clauses, to confirm the promise. On the expression "hope for thy latter end," cf. Jer 29:11. בּנים without the article, as in Hos 11:10, etc. ; cf. Ewald, §277, b . This hope is grounded on the circumstance that Israel will become aware, through suffering, that he is punished for his sins, and, repenting of these sins, will beseech his God for favour.
The Lord already perceives this repentant spirit and acknowledgment of sin. ואוּסר does not mean "I had myself chastised," or "I learned chastisement" (Hitzig), but "I was chastised," like an untamed calf, i. e. , one not trained to bear the yoke and to endure labour. On this figure, cf. Hos 10:11. The recognition of suffering as chastisement by God excites a desire after amelioration and amendment.
But since man cannot accomplish these through his own powers, Israel prays, "Lead me back," sc. from my evil way, i. e. , turn me. He finds himself constrained to this request, because he feels regret for his apostasy from God. אחרי שׁוּבי in this connection can only mean, "after I turned," sc. from Thee, O Lord my God; on this meaning of שׁוּב, cf. Jer 8:4.
הוּדע, to be brought to understanding through punishment, i. e. , to become wise. To smite the thighs is a token of terror and horror; cf. Eze 21:17. On בּשׁתּי וגם נכלמתּי cf. Isa 45:16. "The shame of my youth" is that which I brought on myself in my youth through the sins I then committed. On this confession generally, cf. the similar one in Jer 3:21. - Thereafter the Lord replies, Jer 31:20, with the question, whether Ephraim is so dear a son to Him that, as often as He has spoken against him, i.
e. , uttered hard words of condemnation, He still, or again, thinks of him. ילד שׁעשׁעים, "a child of delight," whom one fondles; cf. Isa 5:7. The clause explanatory of the question, "for as often as," etc. , is taken in different ways. דּבּר may signify, "to speak about one," or "to speak against one," or "to pay addresses to one," i. e. , to court him: 1Sa 25:39; Sol 8:8.
Hitzig applies the last meaning to the expression, and translates, "as often as I have paid my suit to him;" according to this view, the basis of the representation of Jahveh’s relation to the people is that of a husband to his wife. But this meaning of the verb does not by any means suit the present context, well established though it is by the passages that have been adduced.
Ephraim is here represented as a son, not a virgin to whom Jahveh could pay suit. Hence we must take the expression in the sense of "speaking against" some one. But what Jahveh says against Ephraim is no mere threatening by words, but a reprimand by deeds of judgment. The answer to the question is to be inferred from the context: If the Lord, whenever He is constrained to punish Ephraim, still thinks of him, then Ephraim must be a son dear to Him.
But this is not because of his conduct, as if he caused Him joy by obedience and faithful attachment, but in consequence of the unchangeable love of God, who cannot leave His son, however much grief he causes his Father. "Therefore," i. e. , because he is a son to whom Jahveh shows the fulness of His paternal love, all His kindly feelings towards him are now excited, and He desires to show compassion on him.
On המוּ מעי cf. Isa 16:11 and Isa 63:15. Under "bowels" are included especially the heart, liver, reins, the noblest organs of the soul. The expression is strongly anthropopathic, and denotes the most heartfelt sympathy. This fellow-feeling manifests itself in the form of pity, and actually as deliverance from misery. The Lord desires to execute this purpose of His everlasting love.
Jer 31:21. Israel is required to prepare himself for return, and to go home again into his own cities. "Set thee up way marks." ציּוּן, in 2Ki 23:17 and Eze 39:15, "a tombstone," probably a stone pillar, which could also serve as a way-mark. תּמרוּרים is not from מרר as in Jer 31:15, but from תּמר, and has the same meaning as תּימרה, Joe 3:3, Talm. תּמּוּר, a pillar, Arab.
t̀âmîrun , pl. , cippi, signa in desertis . "Set thy heart," i. e. , turn thy mind to the road, the way you have gone (on הלכתּי see Jer 2:20), not, that you may not miss it, but because it leads thee home. "Return to these cities of thine." "These" implies that the summons issues from Palestine. Moreover, the separate clauses of this verse are merely a poetic individualization of the thought that Israel is to think seriously of returning; and, inasmuch as this return to Palestine presupposes return to the Lord, Israel must first turn with the heart to his God.
Then, in Jer 31:22, follows the exhortation not to delay. The meaning of התחמּק is educed from Sol 5:6, where חמק signifies to turn one’s self round; hence the Hithpael means to wander about here and there, uncertain what to do. This exhortation is finally enforced by the statement, "Jahveh creates a new thing on earth" (cf. Isa 43:19). This novelty is, "a woman will encompass a man."
With regard to the meaning of these words, about which there is great dispute, this much is evident from the context, that they indicate a transformation of things, a new arrangement of the relations of life. This new arrangement of things which Jahveh brings about is mentioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim (= Israel) to return without delay to the Lord and to his cities.
If we keep this in mind, we shall at once set aside as untenable such interpretations as that of Luther in his first translation of 1532-38, "those who formerly behaved like women shall be men," which Ewald has revived in his rendering, "a woman changing into a man," or that of Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer, "the woman shall protect the man," or that of Nägelsbach, "the woman shall turn the man to herself." The above-mentioned general consideration, we repeat, is sufficient to set aside these explanations, quite apart from the fact that none of them can be lexically substantiated; for סובב neither means to "turn one’s self, vertere ," nor to "protect," nor to "cause to return" (as if סובב were used for שׁובב).
Deu 32:10 is adduced to prove the meaning of protection; but the word there means to go about fondling and cherishing. Neither the transmutation of the female into a male, or of a weak woman into a strong man, nor the protection of the man by a woman, nor the notion that the strong succumbs to the weak, forms an effectual motive for the summons to Israel to return; nor can we call any of them a new creative act effected by Jahveh, or a new arrangement of things.
But we must utterly reject the meaning of the words given by Castle, le Clerc, and Hitzig, who apply them to the unnatural circumstance, that a woman makes her suit to a man, even where by the woman is understood the virgin of Israel, and by the man, Jahveh. Luther gave the correct rendering in his editions of 1543 and 1545, "the woman shall encompass the man," - only, "embrace" (Ger.
umfangen ) might express the sense better than "encompass" (Ger. umgeben ). נקבה is nomen sexus, "femella, a female;" גּבר, a "man," also " proles mascula ," not according to the sexual relation (=זכר), but with the idea of strength. Both in the choice of these words and by the omission of the article, the relation is set forth in its widest generality; the attention is thereby steadily directed to its fundamental nature.
The woman, the weak and tender being, shall lovingly embrace the man, the strong one. Hengstenberg reverses the meaning of the words when he renders them, "the strong one shall again take the weak into his closest intercourse, under his protection, loving care." Many expositors, including Hengstenberg and Hitzig of moderns, have rightly perceived that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jahveh.
Starting with this view, which is suggested by the context, the older expositors explained the words of the conception and birth of Christ by a virgin; cf. Corn. a Lapide, Calovii Bibl. ill . , Cocceius, and Pfeiffer, dubia vex . p. 758ff. Thus, for example, the Berleburger Bibel gives the following explanation: "A woman or virgin - not a married woman - will encompass, i.
e. , carry and contain in her body, the man who is to be a vanquisher of all and to surpass all in strength." This explanation cannot be set aside by the simple remark, "that here there would be set forth the very feature in the birth of Christ by a virgin which is not peculiar to it as compared with others;" for this "superficial remark" does not in the least touch the real point to be explained.
But it may very properly be objected, that סובב has not the special meaning of conceiving in a mother’s womb. On this ground we can also set down as incorrect the other explanation of the words in the Berleburger Bibel, that the text rather speaks of "the woman who is the Jewish Church, and who, in the spirit of faith, is to bear Christ as the mighty God, Isa 9:6, in the likeness of a man, Rev 12:1-2."
However, these explanations are nearer the truth than any that have been offered since. The general statement, "a woman shall encompass (the) man," i. e. , lovingly embrace him - this new relation which Jahveh will bring about in place of the old, that the man encompasses the wife, loving, providing for, protecting her - can only be referred, agreeably to the context, to change of relation between Israel and the Lord.
סובב, "to encompass," is used tropically, not merely of the mode of dealing on the part of the Lord to His people, the faithful, - of the protection, the grace, and the aid which He grants to the pious ones, as in Psa 32:7, Psa 32:10; Deu 32:10, - but also of the dealings of men with divine things. אסובבה מזבּחך, Psa 26:6, does not mean, "I will go round Thine altar," in a circle or semicircle as it were, but, "I will keep to Thine altar," instead of keeping company with the wicked; or more correctly, "I will surround Thine altar," making it the object of my care, of all my dealings, - I will make mine own the favours shown to the faithful at Thine altar.
In the verse now before us, סובב signifies to encompass with love and care, to surround lovingly and carefully, - the natural and fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance. And the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature that needs help, will lovingly and solicitously surround the man, the stronger.
Herein is expressed a new relation of Israel to the Lord, a reference to a new covenant which the Lord, Jer 31:31. , will conclude with His people, and in which He deals so condescendingly towards them that they can lovingly embrace Him. This is the substance of the Messianic meaning in the words. The conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary is not expressed in them either directly or indirectly, even though we were allowed to take סובב in the meaning of "embrace."
This new creation of the Lord is intended to be, and can be, for Israel, a powerful motive to their immediate return to their God.
Jer 31:15-22 Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.
Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf not tamed. Turn me that I may turn, for Thou, O Jahveh, art my God. Jer 31:19. For, after I return I repent, and after I have been taught I smite upon [my] thigh; I am ashamed, yea, and confounded, because I bear the reproach of my youth.
Jer 31:20. Is Ephraim a son dear to me, or a child of delight, that, as often as I speak against him, I do yet certainly remember him? Therefore my bowels move for him; I shall surely pity him, saith Jahveh. Jer 31:21. Set thee up way-marks, put up posts for thyself; set thine heart to the highway, the road [by which] thou camest: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these cities of thine.
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou wander about, O backsliding daughter? For Jahveh hath created a new [thing] in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." In this strophe the promise is further confirmed by carrying out the thought, that Israel’s release from his captivity shall certainly take place, however little prospect there is of it at present. For Israel will come to an acknowledgment of his sins, and the Lord will then once more show him His love.
The hopeless condition of Israel is dramatically set forth in Jer 31:15. : Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and thus the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief tribe of the Israelites who had revolted from the royal house of David, weeps bitterly over the loss of her children, the ten tribes who have been carried away into exile; and the Lord addresses consolation to her, with the promise that they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
"A voice is heard" (נשׁמע, participle, to show duration ). The "voice" is more fully treated of in the second part of the verse: loud lamentation and bitter weeping. There is a difficulty connected with בּרמה. The lxx took it to be the name of the city Ramah , now called er - Râm , in the tribe of Benjamin, five English miles north from Jerusalem, on the borders of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1Ki 15:17), although this city is elsewhere written with the article (הרמה), not only in the historical notices found in Jer 40:1, Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5, etc.
, but also in prophetical addresses, as in Hos 6:8; Isa 10:29. In this passage it cannot be a mere appellative ("on a height"), as in 1Sa 22:6; Eze 16:24; nor can we think of Ramah in Naphtali (Jos 19:36, also הרמה), for this latter city never figures in history like the Ramah of Samuel, not far from Gibeah; see on Jos 18:25 and 1Sa 1:1. But why is the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah?
Most expositors reply, because the tomb of Rachel was in the divinity of Ramah; in support of this they cite 1Sa 10:2. Nägelsbach, who is one of these, still maintains this view with the utmost confidence. But this assumption is opposed to Gen 35:16 and Gen 35:19, where it is stated that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem, and not far from the town (see on Genesis, l.
c. ), which is about five miles south from Jerusalem, and thus far from Ramah. Nor is any support for this view to be got from 1Sa 10:2, except by making the groundless assumption, that Saul, while seeking for the asses of his father, came to Samuel in his native town ; whereas, in the account given in that chapter, he is merely said to have sought for Samuel in a certain town, of which nothing more is stated, and to have inquired at him; see on 1Sa 10:2.
We must therefore reject, as arbitrary and groundless, all attempts to fix the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre in the neighbourhood of Ramah (Nägelsbach); in the same way we must treat the assertion of Thenius, Knobel, Graf, etc. , that the Ephratah of Gen 35:16, Gen 35:19, is the same as the Ephron of 2Ch 13:19, which was situated near Bethel; so, too, must we deal with the statements, that Ephratah, i.
e. , Bethlehem, is to be expunged from the text of Gen 35:9 and 48 as a false gloss, and that the tradition, attested in Mat 2:18, as to the situation of Rachel’s sepulchre in the vicinity of Bethlehem, is incorrect. Nor does the passage of Jeremiah now before us imply that Rachel’s sepulchre was near Ramah. Rachel does not weep at Ramah over her lost children, either because she had been buried there, or because it was in Ramah of Benjamin that the exiles were assembled, according to Jer 40:1 (Hitzig, and also Delitzsch on Gen 35:20).
For it was the Jews who were to be carried away captive that were gathered together at Ramah, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried into exile that Rachel weeps. The lamentation of Rachel is heard at Ramah, as the most loftily situated border-town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.
Nor does she weep because she has learned something in her tomb of the carrying away of the people, but as their common mother, as the beloved spouse of Jacob, who in her married life so earnestly desired children. Just as the people are often included under the notion of the "daughter of Zion," as their ideal representative, so the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is here named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost.
The sing. כּי איננּוּ signifies, "for not one of them is left." - This verse is quoted by Matthew (Mat 2:18), after relating the story of the murder of the children at Bethlehem, with the introductory formula, τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ̓Ιερεμίου: from this the older theologians (cf. Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad Jer. l. c. ) conclude that Jeremiah directly prophesied that massacre of the children committed by Herod.
But this inference cannot be allowed; it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. The expression ἐπληρώθη, used by Matthew, only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfilment through that act of Herod. Of course, we must not reduce the typical reference of the prophecy to that event at Bethlehem simply to this, that the wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem over their murdered children was as great as the lamentation made when the people were carried into exile.
Typology rather assumes a causal connection between the two events. The destruction of the people of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans is a type of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, in so far as the sin which brought the children of Israel into exile laid a foundation for the fact that Herod the Idumean became king over the Jews, and wished to destroy the true King and Saviour of Israel that he might strengthen his own dominion.
Cf. Fr. Kleinschmidt, die typolog. Citate der vier Evangelien , 1861, S. 10ff. ; Fairbairn’s Typology , fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 452-3.] The Lord will put an end to this wailing. "Cease thy weeping," He cries to the sorrowing ones, "for there is a reward for thy labour" (almost identical with 2Ch 15:7). פּעלּה is the maternal labour of birth and rearing of children.
The reward consists in this, that the children shall return out of the land of the enemy into their own land. Jer 31:17 states the same thing in parallel clauses, to confirm the promise. On the expression "hope for thy latter end," cf. Jer 29:11. בּנים without the article, as in Hos 11:10, etc. ; cf. Ewald, §277, b . This hope is grounded on the circumstance that Israel will become aware, through suffering, that he is punished for his sins, and, repenting of these sins, will beseech his God for favour.
The Lord already perceives this repentant spirit and acknowledgment of sin. ואוּסר does not mean "I had myself chastised," or "I learned chastisement" (Hitzig), but "I was chastised," like an untamed calf, i. e. , one not trained to bear the yoke and to endure labour. On this figure, cf. Hos 10:11. The recognition of suffering as chastisement by God excites a desire after amelioration and amendment.
But since man cannot accomplish these through his own powers, Israel prays, "Lead me back," sc. from my evil way, i. e. , turn me. He finds himself constrained to this request, because he feels regret for his apostasy from God. אחרי שׁוּבי in this connection can only mean, "after I turned," sc. from Thee, O Lord my God; on this meaning of שׁוּב, cf. Jer 8:4.
הוּדע, to be brought to understanding through punishment, i. e. , to become wise. To smite the thighs is a token of terror and horror; cf. Eze 21:17. On בּשׁתּי וגם נכלמתּי cf. Isa 45:16. "The shame of my youth" is that which I brought on myself in my youth through the sins I then committed. On this confession generally, cf. the similar one in Jer 3:21. - Thereafter the Lord replies, Jer 31:20, with the question, whether Ephraim is so dear a son to Him that, as often as He has spoken against him, i.
e. , uttered hard words of condemnation, He still, or again, thinks of him. ילד שׁעשׁעים, "a child of delight," whom one fondles; cf. Isa 5:7. The clause explanatory of the question, "for as often as," etc. , is taken in different ways. דּבּר may signify, "to speak about one," or "to speak against one," or "to pay addresses to one," i. e. , to court him: 1Sa 25:39; Sol 8:8.
Hitzig applies the last meaning to the expression, and translates, "as often as I have paid my suit to him;" according to this view, the basis of the representation of Jahveh’s relation to the people is that of a husband to his wife. But this meaning of the verb does not by any means suit the present context, well established though it is by the passages that have been adduced.
Ephraim is here represented as a son, not a virgin to whom Jahveh could pay suit. Hence we must take the expression in the sense of "speaking against" some one. But what Jahveh says against Ephraim is no mere threatening by words, but a reprimand by deeds of judgment. The answer to the question is to be inferred from the context: If the Lord, whenever He is constrained to punish Ephraim, still thinks of him, then Ephraim must be a son dear to Him.
But this is not because of his conduct, as if he caused Him joy by obedience and faithful attachment, but in consequence of the unchangeable love of God, who cannot leave His son, however much grief he causes his Father. "Therefore," i. e. , because he is a son to whom Jahveh shows the fulness of His paternal love, all His kindly feelings towards him are now excited, and He desires to show compassion on him.
On המוּ מעי cf. Isa 16:11 and Isa 63:15. Under "bowels" are included especially the heart, liver, reins, the noblest organs of the soul. The expression is strongly anthropopathic, and denotes the most heartfelt sympathy. This fellow-feeling manifests itself in the form of pity, and actually as deliverance from misery. The Lord desires to execute this purpose of His everlasting love.
Jer 31:21. Israel is required to prepare himself for return, and to go home again into his own cities. "Set thee up way marks." ציּוּן, in 2Ki 23:17 and Eze 39:15, "a tombstone," probably a stone pillar, which could also serve as a way-mark. תּמרוּרים is not from מרר as in Jer 31:15, but from תּמר, and has the same meaning as תּימרה, Joe 3:3, Talm. תּמּוּר, a pillar, Arab.
t̀âmîrun , pl. , cippi, signa in desertis . "Set thy heart," i. e. , turn thy mind to the road, the way you have gone (on הלכתּי see Jer 2:20), not, that you may not miss it, but because it leads thee home. "Return to these cities of thine." "These" implies that the summons issues from Palestine. Moreover, the separate clauses of this verse are merely a poetic individualization of the thought that Israel is to think seriously of returning; and, inasmuch as this return to Palestine presupposes return to the Lord, Israel must first turn with the heart to his God.
Then, in Jer 31:22, follows the exhortation not to delay. The meaning of התחמּק is educed from Sol 5:6, where חמק signifies to turn one’s self round; hence the Hithpael means to wander about here and there, uncertain what to do. This exhortation is finally enforced by the statement, "Jahveh creates a new thing on earth" (cf. Isa 43:19). This novelty is, "a woman will encompass a man."
With regard to the meaning of these words, about which there is great dispute, this much is evident from the context, that they indicate a transformation of things, a new arrangement of the relations of life. This new arrangement of things which Jahveh brings about is mentioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim (= Israel) to return without delay to the Lord and to his cities.
If we keep this in mind, we shall at once set aside as untenable such interpretations as that of Luther in his first translation of 1532-38, "those who formerly behaved like women shall be men," which Ewald has revived in his rendering, "a woman changing into a man," or that of Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer, "the woman shall protect the man," or that of Nägelsbach, "the woman shall turn the man to herself." The above-mentioned general consideration, we repeat, is sufficient to set aside these explanations, quite apart from the fact that none of them can be lexically substantiated; for סובב neither means to "turn one’s self, vertere ," nor to "protect," nor to "cause to return" (as if סובב were used for שׁובב).
Deu 32:10 is adduced to prove the meaning of protection; but the word there means to go about fondling and cherishing. Neither the transmutation of the female into a male, or of a weak woman into a strong man, nor the protection of the man by a woman, nor the notion that the strong succumbs to the weak, forms an effectual motive for the summons to Israel to return; nor can we call any of them a new creative act effected by Jahveh, or a new arrangement of things.
But we must utterly reject the meaning of the words given by Castle, le Clerc, and Hitzig, who apply them to the unnatural circumstance, that a woman makes her suit to a man, even where by the woman is understood the virgin of Israel, and by the man, Jahveh. Luther gave the correct rendering in his editions of 1543 and 1545, "the woman shall encompass the man," - only, "embrace" (Ger.
umfangen ) might express the sense better than "encompass" (Ger. umgeben ). נקבה is nomen sexus, "femella, a female;" גּבר, a "man," also " proles mascula ," not according to the sexual relation (=זכר), but with the idea of strength. Both in the choice of these words and by the omission of the article, the relation is set forth in its widest generality; the attention is thereby steadily directed to its fundamental nature.
The woman, the weak and tender being, shall lovingly embrace the man, the strong one. Hengstenberg reverses the meaning of the words when he renders them, "the strong one shall again take the weak into his closest intercourse, under his protection, loving care." Many expositors, including Hengstenberg and Hitzig of moderns, have rightly perceived that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jahveh.
Starting with this view, which is suggested by the context, the older expositors explained the words of the conception and birth of Christ by a virgin; cf. Corn. a Lapide, Calovii Bibl. ill . , Cocceius, and Pfeiffer, dubia vex . p. 758ff. Thus, for example, the Berleburger Bibel gives the following explanation: "A woman or virgin - not a married woman - will encompass, i.
e. , carry and contain in her body, the man who is to be a vanquisher of all and to surpass all in strength." This explanation cannot be set aside by the simple remark, "that here there would be set forth the very feature in the birth of Christ by a virgin which is not peculiar to it as compared with others;" for this "superficial remark" does not in the least touch the real point to be explained.
But it may very properly be objected, that סובב has not the special meaning of conceiving in a mother’s womb. On this ground we can also set down as incorrect the other explanation of the words in the Berleburger Bibel, that the text rather speaks of "the woman who is the Jewish Church, and who, in the spirit of faith, is to bear Christ as the mighty God, Isa 9:6, in the likeness of a man, Rev 12:1-2."
However, these explanations are nearer the truth than any that have been offered since. The general statement, "a woman shall encompass (the) man," i. e. , lovingly embrace him - this new relation which Jahveh will bring about in place of the old, that the man encompasses the wife, loving, providing for, protecting her - can only be referred, agreeably to the context, to change of relation between Israel and the Lord.
סובב, "to encompass," is used tropically, not merely of the mode of dealing on the part of the Lord to His people, the faithful, - of the protection, the grace, and the aid which He grants to the pious ones, as in Psa 32:7, Psa 32:10; Deu 32:10, - but also of the dealings of men with divine things. אסובבה מזבּחך, Psa 26:6, does not mean, "I will go round Thine altar," in a circle or semicircle as it were, but, "I will keep to Thine altar," instead of keeping company with the wicked; or more correctly, "I will surround Thine altar," making it the object of my care, of all my dealings, - I will make mine own the favours shown to the faithful at Thine altar.
In the verse now before us, סובב signifies to encompass with love and care, to surround lovingly and carefully, - the natural and fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance. And the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature that needs help, will lovingly and solicitously surround the man, the stronger.
Herein is expressed a new relation of Israel to the Lord, a reference to a new covenant which the Lord, Jer 31:31. , will conclude with His people, and in which He deals so condescendingly towards them that they can lovingly embrace Him. This is the substance of the Messianic meaning in the words. The conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary is not expressed in them either directly or indirectly, even though we were allowed to take סובב in the meaning of "embrace."
This new creation of the Lord is intended to be, and can be, for Israel, a powerful motive to their immediate return to their God.
Jer 31:15-22 Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.
Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf not tamed. Turn me that I may turn, for Thou, O Jahveh, art my God. Jer 31:19. For, after I return I repent, and after I have been taught I smite upon [my] thigh; I am ashamed, yea, and confounded, because I bear the reproach of my youth.
Jer 31:20. Is Ephraim a son dear to me, or a child of delight, that, as often as I speak against him, I do yet certainly remember him? Therefore my bowels move for him; I shall surely pity him, saith Jahveh. Jer 31:21. Set thee up way-marks, put up posts for thyself; set thine heart to the highway, the road [by which] thou camest: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these cities of thine.
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou wander about, O backsliding daughter? For Jahveh hath created a new [thing] in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." In this strophe the promise is further confirmed by carrying out the thought, that Israel’s release from his captivity shall certainly take place, however little prospect there is of it at present. For Israel will come to an acknowledgment of his sins, and the Lord will then once more show him His love.
The hopeless condition of Israel is dramatically set forth in Jer 31:15. : Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and thus the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief tribe of the Israelites who had revolted from the royal house of David, weeps bitterly over the loss of her children, the ten tribes who have been carried away into exile; and the Lord addresses consolation to her, with the promise that they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
"A voice is heard" (נשׁמע, participle, to show duration ). The "voice" is more fully treated of in the second part of the verse: loud lamentation and bitter weeping. There is a difficulty connected with בּרמה. The lxx took it to be the name of the city Ramah , now called er - Râm , in the tribe of Benjamin, five English miles north from Jerusalem, on the borders of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1Ki 15:17), although this city is elsewhere written with the article (הרמה), not only in the historical notices found in Jer 40:1, Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5, etc.
, but also in prophetical addresses, as in Hos 6:8; Isa 10:29. In this passage it cannot be a mere appellative ("on a height"), as in 1Sa 22:6; Eze 16:24; nor can we think of Ramah in Naphtali (Jos 19:36, also הרמה), for this latter city never figures in history like the Ramah of Samuel, not far from Gibeah; see on Jos 18:25 and 1Sa 1:1. But why is the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah?
Most expositors reply, because the tomb of Rachel was in the divinity of Ramah; in support of this they cite 1Sa 10:2. Nägelsbach, who is one of these, still maintains this view with the utmost confidence. But this assumption is opposed to Gen 35:16 and Gen 35:19, where it is stated that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem, and not far from the town (see on Genesis, l.
c. ), which is about five miles south from Jerusalem, and thus far from Ramah. Nor is any support for this view to be got from 1Sa 10:2, except by making the groundless assumption, that Saul, while seeking for the asses of his father, came to Samuel in his native town ; whereas, in the account given in that chapter, he is merely said to have sought for Samuel in a certain town, of which nothing more is stated, and to have inquired at him; see on 1Sa 10:2.
We must therefore reject, as arbitrary and groundless, all attempts to fix the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre in the neighbourhood of Ramah (Nägelsbach); in the same way we must treat the assertion of Thenius, Knobel, Graf, etc. , that the Ephratah of Gen 35:16, Gen 35:19, is the same as the Ephron of 2Ch 13:19, which was situated near Bethel; so, too, must we deal with the statements, that Ephratah, i.
e. , Bethlehem, is to be expunged from the text of Gen 35:9 and 48 as a false gloss, and that the tradition, attested in Mat 2:18, as to the situation of Rachel’s sepulchre in the vicinity of Bethlehem, is incorrect. Nor does the passage of Jeremiah now before us imply that Rachel’s sepulchre was near Ramah. Rachel does not weep at Ramah over her lost children, either because she had been buried there, or because it was in Ramah of Benjamin that the exiles were assembled, according to Jer 40:1 (Hitzig, and also Delitzsch on Gen 35:20).
For it was the Jews who were to be carried away captive that were gathered together at Ramah, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried into exile that Rachel weeps. The lamentation of Rachel is heard at Ramah, as the most loftily situated border-town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.
Nor does she weep because she has learned something in her tomb of the carrying away of the people, but as their common mother, as the beloved spouse of Jacob, who in her married life so earnestly desired children. Just as the people are often included under the notion of the "daughter of Zion," as their ideal representative, so the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is here named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost.
The sing. כּי איננּוּ signifies, "for not one of them is left." - This verse is quoted by Matthew (Mat 2:18), after relating the story of the murder of the children at Bethlehem, with the introductory formula, τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ̓Ιερεμίου: from this the older theologians (cf. Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad Jer. l. c. ) conclude that Jeremiah directly prophesied that massacre of the children committed by Herod.
But this inference cannot be allowed; it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. The expression ἐπληρώθη, used by Matthew, only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfilment through that act of Herod. Of course, we must not reduce the typical reference of the prophecy to that event at Bethlehem simply to this, that the wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem over their murdered children was as great as the lamentation made when the people were carried into exile.
Typology rather assumes a causal connection between the two events. The destruction of the people of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans is a type of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, in so far as the sin which brought the children of Israel into exile laid a foundation for the fact that Herod the Idumean became king over the Jews, and wished to destroy the true King and Saviour of Israel that he might strengthen his own dominion.
Cf. Fr. Kleinschmidt, die typolog. Citate der vier Evangelien , 1861, S. 10ff. ; Fairbairn’s Typology , fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 452-3.] The Lord will put an end to this wailing. "Cease thy weeping," He cries to the sorrowing ones, "for there is a reward for thy labour" (almost identical with 2Ch 15:7). פּעלּה is the maternal labour of birth and rearing of children.
The reward consists in this, that the children shall return out of the land of the enemy into their own land. Jer 31:17 states the same thing in parallel clauses, to confirm the promise. On the expression "hope for thy latter end," cf. Jer 29:11. בּנים without the article, as in Hos 11:10, etc. ; cf. Ewald, §277, b . This hope is grounded on the circumstance that Israel will become aware, through suffering, that he is punished for his sins, and, repenting of these sins, will beseech his God for favour.
The Lord already perceives this repentant spirit and acknowledgment of sin. ואוּסר does not mean "I had myself chastised," or "I learned chastisement" (Hitzig), but "I was chastised," like an untamed calf, i. e. , one not trained to bear the yoke and to endure labour. On this figure, cf. Hos 10:11. The recognition of suffering as chastisement by God excites a desire after amelioration and amendment.
But since man cannot accomplish these through his own powers, Israel prays, "Lead me back," sc. from my evil way, i. e. , turn me. He finds himself constrained to this request, because he feels regret for his apostasy from God. אחרי שׁוּבי in this connection can only mean, "after I turned," sc. from Thee, O Lord my God; on this meaning of שׁוּב, cf. Jer 8:4.
הוּדע, to be brought to understanding through punishment, i. e. , to become wise. To smite the thighs is a token of terror and horror; cf. Eze 21:17. On בּשׁתּי וגם נכלמתּי cf. Isa 45:16. "The shame of my youth" is that which I brought on myself in my youth through the sins I then committed. On this confession generally, cf. the similar one in Jer 3:21. - Thereafter the Lord replies, Jer 31:20, with the question, whether Ephraim is so dear a son to Him that, as often as He has spoken against him, i.
e. , uttered hard words of condemnation, He still, or again, thinks of him. ילד שׁעשׁעים, "a child of delight," whom one fondles; cf. Isa 5:7. The clause explanatory of the question, "for as often as," etc. , is taken in different ways. דּבּר may signify, "to speak about one," or "to speak against one," or "to pay addresses to one," i. e. , to court him: 1Sa 25:39; Sol 8:8.
Hitzig applies the last meaning to the expression, and translates, "as often as I have paid my suit to him;" according to this view, the basis of the representation of Jahveh’s relation to the people is that of a husband to his wife. But this meaning of the verb does not by any means suit the present context, well established though it is by the passages that have been adduced.
Ephraim is here represented as a son, not a virgin to whom Jahveh could pay suit. Hence we must take the expression in the sense of "speaking against" some one. But what Jahveh says against Ephraim is no mere threatening by words, but a reprimand by deeds of judgment. The answer to the question is to be inferred from the context: If the Lord, whenever He is constrained to punish Ephraim, still thinks of him, then Ephraim must be a son dear to Him.
But this is not because of his conduct, as if he caused Him joy by obedience and faithful attachment, but in consequence of the unchangeable love of God, who cannot leave His son, however much grief he causes his Father. "Therefore," i. e. , because he is a son to whom Jahveh shows the fulness of His paternal love, all His kindly feelings towards him are now excited, and He desires to show compassion on him.
On המוּ מעי cf. Isa 16:11 and Isa 63:15. Under "bowels" are included especially the heart, liver, reins, the noblest organs of the soul. The expression is strongly anthropopathic, and denotes the most heartfelt sympathy. This fellow-feeling manifests itself in the form of pity, and actually as deliverance from misery. The Lord desires to execute this purpose of His everlasting love.
Jer 31:21. Israel is required to prepare himself for return, and to go home again into his own cities. "Set thee up way marks." ציּוּן, in 2Ki 23:17 and Eze 39:15, "a tombstone," probably a stone pillar, which could also serve as a way-mark. תּמרוּרים is not from מרר as in Jer 31:15, but from תּמר, and has the same meaning as תּימרה, Joe 3:3, Talm. תּמּוּר, a pillar, Arab.
t̀âmîrun , pl. , cippi, signa in desertis . "Set thy heart," i. e. , turn thy mind to the road, the way you have gone (on הלכתּי see Jer 2:20), not, that you may not miss it, but because it leads thee home. "Return to these cities of thine." "These" implies that the summons issues from Palestine. Moreover, the separate clauses of this verse are merely a poetic individualization of the thought that Israel is to think seriously of returning; and, inasmuch as this return to Palestine presupposes return to the Lord, Israel must first turn with the heart to his God.
Then, in Jer 31:22, follows the exhortation not to delay. The meaning of התחמּק is educed from Sol 5:6, where חמק signifies to turn one’s self round; hence the Hithpael means to wander about here and there, uncertain what to do. This exhortation is finally enforced by the statement, "Jahveh creates a new thing on earth" (cf. Isa 43:19). This novelty is, "a woman will encompass a man."
With regard to the meaning of these words, about which there is great dispute, this much is evident from the context, that they indicate a transformation of things, a new arrangement of the relations of life. This new arrangement of things which Jahveh brings about is mentioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim (= Israel) to return without delay to the Lord and to his cities.
If we keep this in mind, we shall at once set aside as untenable such interpretations as that of Luther in his first translation of 1532-38, "those who formerly behaved like women shall be men," which Ewald has revived in his rendering, "a woman changing into a man," or that of Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer, "the woman shall protect the man," or that of Nägelsbach, "the woman shall turn the man to herself." The above-mentioned general consideration, we repeat, is sufficient to set aside these explanations, quite apart from the fact that none of them can be lexically substantiated; for סובב neither means to "turn one’s self, vertere ," nor to "protect," nor to "cause to return" (as if סובב were used for שׁובב).
Deu 32:10 is adduced to prove the meaning of protection; but the word there means to go about fondling and cherishing. Neither the transmutation of the female into a male, or of a weak woman into a strong man, nor the protection of the man by a woman, nor the notion that the strong succumbs to the weak, forms an effectual motive for the summons to Israel to return; nor can we call any of them a new creative act effected by Jahveh, or a new arrangement of things.
But we must utterly reject the meaning of the words given by Castle, le Clerc, and Hitzig, who apply them to the unnatural circumstance, that a woman makes her suit to a man, even where by the woman is understood the virgin of Israel, and by the man, Jahveh. Luther gave the correct rendering in his editions of 1543 and 1545, "the woman shall encompass the man," - only, "embrace" (Ger.
umfangen ) might express the sense better than "encompass" (Ger. umgeben ). נקבה is nomen sexus, "femella, a female;" גּבר, a "man," also " proles mascula ," not according to the sexual relation (=זכר), but with the idea of strength. Both in the choice of these words and by the omission of the article, the relation is set forth in its widest generality; the attention is thereby steadily directed to its fundamental nature.
The woman, the weak and tender being, shall lovingly embrace the man, the strong one. Hengstenberg reverses the meaning of the words when he renders them, "the strong one shall again take the weak into his closest intercourse, under his protection, loving care." Many expositors, including Hengstenberg and Hitzig of moderns, have rightly perceived that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jahveh.
Starting with this view, which is suggested by the context, the older expositors explained the words of the conception and birth of Christ by a virgin; cf. Corn. a Lapide, Calovii Bibl. ill . , Cocceius, and Pfeiffer, dubia vex . p. 758ff. Thus, for example, the Berleburger Bibel gives the following explanation: "A woman or virgin - not a married woman - will encompass, i.
e. , carry and contain in her body, the man who is to be a vanquisher of all and to surpass all in strength." This explanation cannot be set aside by the simple remark, "that here there would be set forth the very feature in the birth of Christ by a virgin which is not peculiar to it as compared with others;" for this "superficial remark" does not in the least touch the real point to be explained.
But it may very properly be objected, that סובב has not the special meaning of conceiving in a mother’s womb. On this ground we can also set down as incorrect the other explanation of the words in the Berleburger Bibel, that the text rather speaks of "the woman who is the Jewish Church, and who, in the spirit of faith, is to bear Christ as the mighty God, Isa 9:6, in the likeness of a man, Rev 12:1-2."
However, these explanations are nearer the truth than any that have been offered since. The general statement, "a woman shall encompass (the) man," i. e. , lovingly embrace him - this new relation which Jahveh will bring about in place of the old, that the man encompasses the wife, loving, providing for, protecting her - can only be referred, agreeably to the context, to change of relation between Israel and the Lord.
סובב, "to encompass," is used tropically, not merely of the mode of dealing on the part of the Lord to His people, the faithful, - of the protection, the grace, and the aid which He grants to the pious ones, as in Psa 32:7, Psa 32:10; Deu 32:10, - but also of the dealings of men with divine things. אסובבה מזבּחך, Psa 26:6, does not mean, "I will go round Thine altar," in a circle or semicircle as it were, but, "I will keep to Thine altar," instead of keeping company with the wicked; or more correctly, "I will surround Thine altar," making it the object of my care, of all my dealings, - I will make mine own the favours shown to the faithful at Thine altar.
In the verse now before us, סובב signifies to encompass with love and care, to surround lovingly and carefully, - the natural and fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance. And the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature that needs help, will lovingly and solicitously surround the man, the stronger.
Herein is expressed a new relation of Israel to the Lord, a reference to a new covenant which the Lord, Jer 31:31. , will conclude with His people, and in which He deals so condescendingly towards them that they can lovingly embrace Him. This is the substance of the Messianic meaning in the words. The conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary is not expressed in them either directly or indirectly, even though we were allowed to take סובב in the meaning of "embrace."
This new creation of the Lord is intended to be, and can be, for Israel, a powerful motive to their immediate return to their God.
Jer 31:15-22 Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.
Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf not tamed. Turn me that I may turn, for Thou, O Jahveh, art my God. Jer 31:19. For, after I return I repent, and after I have been taught I smite upon [my] thigh; I am ashamed, yea, and confounded, because I bear the reproach of my youth.
Jer 31:20. Is Ephraim a son dear to me, or a child of delight, that, as often as I speak against him, I do yet certainly remember him? Therefore my bowels move for him; I shall surely pity him, saith Jahveh. Jer 31:21. Set thee up way-marks, put up posts for thyself; set thine heart to the highway, the road [by which] thou camest: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these cities of thine.
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou wander about, O backsliding daughter? For Jahveh hath created a new [thing] in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." In this strophe the promise is further confirmed by carrying out the thought, that Israel’s release from his captivity shall certainly take place, however little prospect there is of it at present. For Israel will come to an acknowledgment of his sins, and the Lord will then once more show him His love.
The hopeless condition of Israel is dramatically set forth in Jer 31:15. : Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and thus the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief tribe of the Israelites who had revolted from the royal house of David, weeps bitterly over the loss of her children, the ten tribes who have been carried away into exile; and the Lord addresses consolation to her, with the promise that they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
"A voice is heard" (נשׁמע, participle, to show duration ). The "voice" is more fully treated of in the second part of the verse: loud lamentation and bitter weeping. There is a difficulty connected with בּרמה. The lxx took it to be the name of the city Ramah , now called er - Râm , in the tribe of Benjamin, five English miles north from Jerusalem, on the borders of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1Ki 15:17), although this city is elsewhere written with the article (הרמה), not only in the historical notices found in Jer 40:1, Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5, etc.
, but also in prophetical addresses, as in Hos 6:8; Isa 10:29. In this passage it cannot be a mere appellative ("on a height"), as in 1Sa 22:6; Eze 16:24; nor can we think of Ramah in Naphtali (Jos 19:36, also הרמה), for this latter city never figures in history like the Ramah of Samuel, not far from Gibeah; see on Jos 18:25 and 1Sa 1:1. But why is the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah?
Most expositors reply, because the tomb of Rachel was in the divinity of Ramah; in support of this they cite 1Sa 10:2. Nägelsbach, who is one of these, still maintains this view with the utmost confidence. But this assumption is opposed to Gen 35:16 and Gen 35:19, where it is stated that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem, and not far from the town (see on Genesis, l.
c. ), which is about five miles south from Jerusalem, and thus far from Ramah. Nor is any support for this view to be got from 1Sa 10:2, except by making the groundless assumption, that Saul, while seeking for the asses of his father, came to Samuel in his native town ; whereas, in the account given in that chapter, he is merely said to have sought for Samuel in a certain town, of which nothing more is stated, and to have inquired at him; see on 1Sa 10:2.
We must therefore reject, as arbitrary and groundless, all attempts to fix the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre in the neighbourhood of Ramah (Nägelsbach); in the same way we must treat the assertion of Thenius, Knobel, Graf, etc. , that the Ephratah of Gen 35:16, Gen 35:19, is the same as the Ephron of 2Ch 13:19, which was situated near Bethel; so, too, must we deal with the statements, that Ephratah, i.
e. , Bethlehem, is to be expunged from the text of Gen 35:9 and 48 as a false gloss, and that the tradition, attested in Mat 2:18, as to the situation of Rachel’s sepulchre in the vicinity of Bethlehem, is incorrect. Nor does the passage of Jeremiah now before us imply that Rachel’s sepulchre was near Ramah. Rachel does not weep at Ramah over her lost children, either because she had been buried there, or because it was in Ramah of Benjamin that the exiles were assembled, according to Jer 40:1 (Hitzig, and also Delitzsch on Gen 35:20).
For it was the Jews who were to be carried away captive that were gathered together at Ramah, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried into exile that Rachel weeps. The lamentation of Rachel is heard at Ramah, as the most loftily situated border-town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.
Nor does she weep because she has learned something in her tomb of the carrying away of the people, but as their common mother, as the beloved spouse of Jacob, who in her married life so earnestly desired children. Just as the people are often included under the notion of the "daughter of Zion," as their ideal representative, so the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is here named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost.
The sing. כּי איננּוּ signifies, "for not one of them is left." - This verse is quoted by Matthew (Mat 2:18), after relating the story of the murder of the children at Bethlehem, with the introductory formula, τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ̓Ιερεμίου: from this the older theologians (cf. Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad Jer. l. c. ) conclude that Jeremiah directly prophesied that massacre of the children committed by Herod.
But this inference cannot be allowed; it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. The expression ἐπληρώθη, used by Matthew, only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfilment through that act of Herod. Of course, we must not reduce the typical reference of the prophecy to that event at Bethlehem simply to this, that the wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem over their murdered children was as great as the lamentation made when the people were carried into exile.
Typology rather assumes a causal connection between the two events. The destruction of the people of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans is a type of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, in so far as the sin which brought the children of Israel into exile laid a foundation for the fact that Herod the Idumean became king over the Jews, and wished to destroy the true King and Saviour of Israel that he might strengthen his own dominion.
Cf. Fr. Kleinschmidt, die typolog. Citate der vier Evangelien , 1861, S. 10ff. ; Fairbairn’s Typology , fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 452-3.] The Lord will put an end to this wailing. "Cease thy weeping," He cries to the sorrowing ones, "for there is a reward for thy labour" (almost identical with 2Ch 15:7). פּעלּה is the maternal labour of birth and rearing of children.
The reward consists in this, that the children shall return out of the land of the enemy into their own land. Jer 31:17 states the same thing in parallel clauses, to confirm the promise. On the expression "hope for thy latter end," cf. Jer 29:11. בּנים without the article, as in Hos 11:10, etc. ; cf. Ewald, §277, b . This hope is grounded on the circumstance that Israel will become aware, through suffering, that he is punished for his sins, and, repenting of these sins, will beseech his God for favour.
The Lord already perceives this repentant spirit and acknowledgment of sin. ואוּסר does not mean "I had myself chastised," or "I learned chastisement" (Hitzig), but "I was chastised," like an untamed calf, i. e. , one not trained to bear the yoke and to endure labour. On this figure, cf. Hos 10:11. The recognition of suffering as chastisement by God excites a desire after amelioration and amendment.
But since man cannot accomplish these through his own powers, Israel prays, "Lead me back," sc. from my evil way, i. e. , turn me. He finds himself constrained to this request, because he feels regret for his apostasy from God. אחרי שׁוּבי in this connection can only mean, "after I turned," sc. from Thee, O Lord my God; on this meaning of שׁוּב, cf. Jer 8:4.
הוּדע, to be brought to understanding through punishment, i. e. , to become wise. To smite the thighs is a token of terror and horror; cf. Eze 21:17. On בּשׁתּי וגם נכלמתּי cf. Isa 45:16. "The shame of my youth" is that which I brought on myself in my youth through the sins I then committed. On this confession generally, cf. the similar one in Jer 3:21. - Thereafter the Lord replies, Jer 31:20, with the question, whether Ephraim is so dear a son to Him that, as often as He has spoken against him, i.
e. , uttered hard words of condemnation, He still, or again, thinks of him. ילד שׁעשׁעים, "a child of delight," whom one fondles; cf. Isa 5:7. The clause explanatory of the question, "for as often as," etc. , is taken in different ways. דּבּר may signify, "to speak about one," or "to speak against one," or "to pay addresses to one," i. e. , to court him: 1Sa 25:39; Sol 8:8.
Hitzig applies the last meaning to the expression, and translates, "as often as I have paid my suit to him;" according to this view, the basis of the representation of Jahveh’s relation to the people is that of a husband to his wife. But this meaning of the verb does not by any means suit the present context, well established though it is by the passages that have been adduced.
Ephraim is here represented as a son, not a virgin to whom Jahveh could pay suit. Hence we must take the expression in the sense of "speaking against" some one. But what Jahveh says against Ephraim is no mere threatening by words, but a reprimand by deeds of judgment. The answer to the question is to be inferred from the context: If the Lord, whenever He is constrained to punish Ephraim, still thinks of him, then Ephraim must be a son dear to Him.
But this is not because of his conduct, as if he caused Him joy by obedience and faithful attachment, but in consequence of the unchangeable love of God, who cannot leave His son, however much grief he causes his Father. "Therefore," i. e. , because he is a son to whom Jahveh shows the fulness of His paternal love, all His kindly feelings towards him are now excited, and He desires to show compassion on him.
On המוּ מעי cf. Isa 16:11 and Isa 63:15. Under "bowels" are included especially the heart, liver, reins, the noblest organs of the soul. The expression is strongly anthropopathic, and denotes the most heartfelt sympathy. This fellow-feeling manifests itself in the form of pity, and actually as deliverance from misery. The Lord desires to execute this purpose of His everlasting love.
Jer 31:21. Israel is required to prepare himself for return, and to go home again into his own cities. "Set thee up way marks." ציּוּן, in 2Ki 23:17 and Eze 39:15, "a tombstone," probably a stone pillar, which could also serve as a way-mark. תּמרוּרים is not from מרר as in Jer 31:15, but from תּמר, and has the same meaning as תּימרה, Joe 3:3, Talm. תּמּוּר, a pillar, Arab.
t̀âmîrun , pl. , cippi, signa in desertis . "Set thy heart," i. e. , turn thy mind to the road, the way you have gone (on הלכתּי see Jer 2:20), not, that you may not miss it, but because it leads thee home. "Return to these cities of thine." "These" implies that the summons issues from Palestine. Moreover, the separate clauses of this verse are merely a poetic individualization of the thought that Israel is to think seriously of returning; and, inasmuch as this return to Palestine presupposes return to the Lord, Israel must first turn with the heart to his God.
Then, in Jer 31:22, follows the exhortation not to delay. The meaning of התחמּק is educed from Sol 5:6, where חמק signifies to turn one’s self round; hence the Hithpael means to wander about here and there, uncertain what to do. This exhortation is finally enforced by the statement, "Jahveh creates a new thing on earth" (cf. Isa 43:19). This novelty is, "a woman will encompass a man."
With regard to the meaning of these words, about which there is great dispute, this much is evident from the context, that they indicate a transformation of things, a new arrangement of the relations of life. This new arrangement of things which Jahveh brings about is mentioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim (= Israel) to return without delay to the Lord and to his cities.
If we keep this in mind, we shall at once set aside as untenable such interpretations as that of Luther in his first translation of 1532-38, "those who formerly behaved like women shall be men," which Ewald has revived in his rendering, "a woman changing into a man," or that of Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer, "the woman shall protect the man," or that of Nägelsbach, "the woman shall turn the man to herself." The above-mentioned general consideration, we repeat, is sufficient to set aside these explanations, quite apart from the fact that none of them can be lexically substantiated; for סובב neither means to "turn one’s self, vertere ," nor to "protect," nor to "cause to return" (as if סובב were used for שׁובב).
Deu 32:10 is adduced to prove the meaning of protection; but the word there means to go about fondling and cherishing. Neither the transmutation of the female into a male, or of a weak woman into a strong man, nor the protection of the man by a woman, nor the notion that the strong succumbs to the weak, forms an effectual motive for the summons to Israel to return; nor can we call any of them a new creative act effected by Jahveh, or a new arrangement of things.
But we must utterly reject the meaning of the words given by Castle, le Clerc, and Hitzig, who apply them to the unnatural circumstance, that a woman makes her suit to a man, even where by the woman is understood the virgin of Israel, and by the man, Jahveh. Luther gave the correct rendering in his editions of 1543 and 1545, "the woman shall encompass the man," - only, "embrace" (Ger.
umfangen ) might express the sense better than "encompass" (Ger. umgeben ). נקבה is nomen sexus, "femella, a female;" גּבר, a "man," also " proles mascula ," not according to the sexual relation (=זכר), but with the idea of strength. Both in the choice of these words and by the omission of the article, the relation is set forth in its widest generality; the attention is thereby steadily directed to its fundamental nature.
The woman, the weak and tender being, shall lovingly embrace the man, the strong one. Hengstenberg reverses the meaning of the words when he renders them, "the strong one shall again take the weak into his closest intercourse, under his protection, loving care." Many expositors, including Hengstenberg and Hitzig of moderns, have rightly perceived that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jahveh.
Starting with this view, which is suggested by the context, the older expositors explained the words of the conception and birth of Christ by a virgin; cf. Corn. a Lapide, Calovii Bibl. ill . , Cocceius, and Pfeiffer, dubia vex . p. 758ff. Thus, for example, the Berleburger Bibel gives the following explanation: "A woman or virgin - not a married woman - will encompass, i.
e. , carry and contain in her body, the man who is to be a vanquisher of all and to surpass all in strength." This explanation cannot be set aside by the simple remark, "that here there would be set forth the very feature in the birth of Christ by a virgin which is not peculiar to it as compared with others;" for this "superficial remark" does not in the least touch the real point to be explained.
But it may very properly be objected, that סובב has not the special meaning of conceiving in a mother’s womb. On this ground we can also set down as incorrect the other explanation of the words in the Berleburger Bibel, that the text rather speaks of "the woman who is the Jewish Church, and who, in the spirit of faith, is to bear Christ as the mighty God, Isa 9:6, in the likeness of a man, Rev 12:1-2."
However, these explanations are nearer the truth than any that have been offered since. The general statement, "a woman shall encompass (the) man," i. e. , lovingly embrace him - this new relation which Jahveh will bring about in place of the old, that the man encompasses the wife, loving, providing for, protecting her - can only be referred, agreeably to the context, to change of relation between Israel and the Lord.
סובב, "to encompass," is used tropically, not merely of the mode of dealing on the part of the Lord to His people, the faithful, - of the protection, the grace, and the aid which He grants to the pious ones, as in Psa 32:7, Psa 32:10; Deu 32:10, - but also of the dealings of men with divine things. אסובבה מזבּחך, Psa 26:6, does not mean, "I will go round Thine altar," in a circle or semicircle as it were, but, "I will keep to Thine altar," instead of keeping company with the wicked; or more correctly, "I will surround Thine altar," making it the object of my care, of all my dealings, - I will make mine own the favours shown to the faithful at Thine altar.
In the verse now before us, סובב signifies to encompass with love and care, to surround lovingly and carefully, - the natural and fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance. And the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature that needs help, will lovingly and solicitously surround the man, the stronger.
Herein is expressed a new relation of Israel to the Lord, a reference to a new covenant which the Lord, Jer 31:31. , will conclude with His people, and in which He deals so condescendingly towards them that they can lovingly embrace Him. This is the substance of the Messianic meaning in the words. The conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary is not expressed in them either directly or indirectly, even though we were allowed to take סובב in the meaning of "embrace."
This new creation of the Lord is intended to be, and can be, for Israel, a powerful motive to their immediate return to their God.
Jer 31:15-22 Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.
Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf not tamed. Turn me that I may turn, for Thou, O Jahveh, art my God. Jer 31:19. For, after I return I repent, and after I have been taught I smite upon [my] thigh; I am ashamed, yea, and confounded, because I bear the reproach of my youth.
Jer 31:20. Is Ephraim a son dear to me, or a child of delight, that, as often as I speak against him, I do yet certainly remember him? Therefore my bowels move for him; I shall surely pity him, saith Jahveh. Jer 31:21. Set thee up way-marks, put up posts for thyself; set thine heart to the highway, the road [by which] thou camest: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these cities of thine.
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou wander about, O backsliding daughter? For Jahveh hath created a new [thing] in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." In this strophe the promise is further confirmed by carrying out the thought, that Israel’s release from his captivity shall certainly take place, however little prospect there is of it at present. For Israel will come to an acknowledgment of his sins, and the Lord will then once more show him His love.
The hopeless condition of Israel is dramatically set forth in Jer 31:15. : Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and thus the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief tribe of the Israelites who had revolted from the royal house of David, weeps bitterly over the loss of her children, the ten tribes who have been carried away into exile; and the Lord addresses consolation to her, with the promise that they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
"A voice is heard" (נשׁמע, participle, to show duration ). The "voice" is more fully treated of in the second part of the verse: loud lamentation and bitter weeping. There is a difficulty connected with בּרמה. The lxx took it to be the name of the city Ramah , now called er - Râm , in the tribe of Benjamin, five English miles north from Jerusalem, on the borders of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1Ki 15:17), although this city is elsewhere written with the article (הרמה), not only in the historical notices found in Jer 40:1, Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5, etc.
, but also in prophetical addresses, as in Hos 6:8; Isa 10:29. In this passage it cannot be a mere appellative ("on a height"), as in 1Sa 22:6; Eze 16:24; nor can we think of Ramah in Naphtali (Jos 19:36, also הרמה), for this latter city never figures in history like the Ramah of Samuel, not far from Gibeah; see on Jos 18:25 and 1Sa 1:1. But why is the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah?
Most expositors reply, because the tomb of Rachel was in the divinity of Ramah; in support of this they cite 1Sa 10:2. Nägelsbach, who is one of these, still maintains this view with the utmost confidence. But this assumption is opposed to Gen 35:16 and Gen 35:19, where it is stated that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem, and not far from the town (see on Genesis, l.
c. ), which is about five miles south from Jerusalem, and thus far from Ramah. Nor is any support for this view to be got from 1Sa 10:2, except by making the groundless assumption, that Saul, while seeking for the asses of his father, came to Samuel in his native town ; whereas, in the account given in that chapter, he is merely said to have sought for Samuel in a certain town, of which nothing more is stated, and to have inquired at him; see on 1Sa 10:2.
We must therefore reject, as arbitrary and groundless, all attempts to fix the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre in the neighbourhood of Ramah (Nägelsbach); in the same way we must treat the assertion of Thenius, Knobel, Graf, etc. , that the Ephratah of Gen 35:16, Gen 35:19, is the same as the Ephron of 2Ch 13:19, which was situated near Bethel; so, too, must we deal with the statements, that Ephratah, i.
e. , Bethlehem, is to be expunged from the text of Gen 35:9 and 48 as a false gloss, and that the tradition, attested in Mat 2:18, as to the situation of Rachel’s sepulchre in the vicinity of Bethlehem, is incorrect. Nor does the passage of Jeremiah now before us imply that Rachel’s sepulchre was near Ramah. Rachel does not weep at Ramah over her lost children, either because she had been buried there, or because it was in Ramah of Benjamin that the exiles were assembled, according to Jer 40:1 (Hitzig, and also Delitzsch on Gen 35:20).
For it was the Jews who were to be carried away captive that were gathered together at Ramah, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried into exile that Rachel weeps. The lamentation of Rachel is heard at Ramah, as the most loftily situated border-town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.
Nor does she weep because she has learned something in her tomb of the carrying away of the people, but as their common mother, as the beloved spouse of Jacob, who in her married life so earnestly desired children. Just as the people are often included under the notion of the "daughter of Zion," as their ideal representative, so the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is here named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost.
The sing. כּי איננּוּ signifies, "for not one of them is left." - This verse is quoted by Matthew (Mat 2:18), after relating the story of the murder of the children at Bethlehem, with the introductory formula, τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ̓Ιερεμίου: from this the older theologians (cf. Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad Jer. l. c. ) conclude that Jeremiah directly prophesied that massacre of the children committed by Herod.
But this inference cannot be allowed; it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. The expression ἐπληρώθη, used by Matthew, only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfilment through that act of Herod. Of course, we must not reduce the typical reference of the prophecy to that event at Bethlehem simply to this, that the wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem over their murdered children was as great as the lamentation made when the people were carried into exile.
Typology rather assumes a causal connection between the two events. The destruction of the people of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans is a type of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, in so far as the sin which brought the children of Israel into exile laid a foundation for the fact that Herod the Idumean became king over the Jews, and wished to destroy the true King and Saviour of Israel that he might strengthen his own dominion.
Cf. Fr. Kleinschmidt, die typolog. Citate der vier Evangelien , 1861, S. 10ff. ; Fairbairn’s Typology , fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 452-3.] The Lord will put an end to this wailing. "Cease thy weeping," He cries to the sorrowing ones, "for there is a reward for thy labour" (almost identical with 2Ch 15:7). פּעלּה is the maternal labour of birth and rearing of children.
The reward consists in this, that the children shall return out of the land of the enemy into their own land. Jer 31:17 states the same thing in parallel clauses, to confirm the promise. On the expression "hope for thy latter end," cf. Jer 29:11. בּנים without the article, as in Hos 11:10, etc. ; cf. Ewald, §277, b . This hope is grounded on the circumstance that Israel will become aware, through suffering, that he is punished for his sins, and, repenting of these sins, will beseech his God for favour.
The Lord already perceives this repentant spirit and acknowledgment of sin. ואוּסר does not mean "I had myself chastised," or "I learned chastisement" (Hitzig), but "I was chastised," like an untamed calf, i. e. , one not trained to bear the yoke and to endure labour. On this figure, cf. Hos 10:11. The recognition of suffering as chastisement by God excites a desire after amelioration and amendment.
But since man cannot accomplish these through his own powers, Israel prays, "Lead me back," sc. from my evil way, i. e. , turn me. He finds himself constrained to this request, because he feels regret for his apostasy from God. אחרי שׁוּבי in this connection can only mean, "after I turned," sc. from Thee, O Lord my God; on this meaning of שׁוּב, cf. Jer 8:4.
הוּדע, to be brought to understanding through punishment, i. e. , to become wise. To smite the thighs is a token of terror and horror; cf. Eze 21:17. On בּשׁתּי וגם נכלמתּי cf. Isa 45:16. "The shame of my youth" is that which I brought on myself in my youth through the sins I then committed. On this confession generally, cf. the similar one in Jer 3:21. - Thereafter the Lord replies, Jer 31:20, with the question, whether Ephraim is so dear a son to Him that, as often as He has spoken against him, i.
e. , uttered hard words of condemnation, He still, or again, thinks of him. ילד שׁעשׁעים, "a child of delight," whom one fondles; cf. Isa 5:7. The clause explanatory of the question, "for as often as," etc. , is taken in different ways. דּבּר may signify, "to speak about one," or "to speak against one," or "to pay addresses to one," i. e. , to court him: 1Sa 25:39; Sol 8:8.
Hitzig applies the last meaning to the expression, and translates, "as often as I have paid my suit to him;" according to this view, the basis of the representation of Jahveh’s relation to the people is that of a husband to his wife. But this meaning of the verb does not by any means suit the present context, well established though it is by the passages that have been adduced.
Ephraim is here represented as a son, not a virgin to whom Jahveh could pay suit. Hence we must take the expression in the sense of "speaking against" some one. But what Jahveh says against Ephraim is no mere threatening by words, but a reprimand by deeds of judgment. The answer to the question is to be inferred from the context: If the Lord, whenever He is constrained to punish Ephraim, still thinks of him, then Ephraim must be a son dear to Him.
But this is not because of his conduct, as if he caused Him joy by obedience and faithful attachment, but in consequence of the unchangeable love of God, who cannot leave His son, however much grief he causes his Father. "Therefore," i. e. , because he is a son to whom Jahveh shows the fulness of His paternal love, all His kindly feelings towards him are now excited, and He desires to show compassion on him.
On המוּ מעי cf. Isa 16:11 and Isa 63:15. Under "bowels" are included especially the heart, liver, reins, the noblest organs of the soul. The expression is strongly anthropopathic, and denotes the most heartfelt sympathy. This fellow-feeling manifests itself in the form of pity, and actually as deliverance from misery. The Lord desires to execute this purpose of His everlasting love.
Jer 31:21. Israel is required to prepare himself for return, and to go home again into his own cities. "Set thee up way marks." ציּוּן, in 2Ki 23:17 and Eze 39:15, "a tombstone," probably a stone pillar, which could also serve as a way-mark. תּמרוּרים is not from מרר as in Jer 31:15, but from תּמר, and has the same meaning as תּימרה, Joe 3:3, Talm. תּמּוּר, a pillar, Arab.
t̀âmîrun , pl. , cippi, signa in desertis . "Set thy heart," i. e. , turn thy mind to the road, the way you have gone (on הלכתּי see Jer 2:20), not, that you may not miss it, but because it leads thee home. "Return to these cities of thine." "These" implies that the summons issues from Palestine. Moreover, the separate clauses of this verse are merely a poetic individualization of the thought that Israel is to think seriously of returning; and, inasmuch as this return to Palestine presupposes return to the Lord, Israel must first turn with the heart to his God.
Then, in Jer 31:22, follows the exhortation not to delay. The meaning of התחמּק is educed from Sol 5:6, where חמק signifies to turn one’s self round; hence the Hithpael means to wander about here and there, uncertain what to do. This exhortation is finally enforced by the statement, "Jahveh creates a new thing on earth" (cf. Isa 43:19). This novelty is, "a woman will encompass a man."
With regard to the meaning of these words, about which there is great dispute, this much is evident from the context, that they indicate a transformation of things, a new arrangement of the relations of life. This new arrangement of things which Jahveh brings about is mentioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim (= Israel) to return without delay to the Lord and to his cities.
If we keep this in mind, we shall at once set aside as untenable such interpretations as that of Luther in his first translation of 1532-38, "those who formerly behaved like women shall be men," which Ewald has revived in his rendering, "a woman changing into a man," or that of Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer, "the woman shall protect the man," or that of Nägelsbach, "the woman shall turn the man to herself." The above-mentioned general consideration, we repeat, is sufficient to set aside these explanations, quite apart from the fact that none of them can be lexically substantiated; for סובב neither means to "turn one’s self, vertere ," nor to "protect," nor to "cause to return" (as if סובב were used for שׁובב).
Deu 32:10 is adduced to prove the meaning of protection; but the word there means to go about fondling and cherishing. Neither the transmutation of the female into a male, or of a weak woman into a strong man, nor the protection of the man by a woman, nor the notion that the strong succumbs to the weak, forms an effectual motive for the summons to Israel to return; nor can we call any of them a new creative act effected by Jahveh, or a new arrangement of things.
But we must utterly reject the meaning of the words given by Castle, le Clerc, and Hitzig, who apply them to the unnatural circumstance, that a woman makes her suit to a man, even where by the woman is understood the virgin of Israel, and by the man, Jahveh. Luther gave the correct rendering in his editions of 1543 and 1545, "the woman shall encompass the man," - only, "embrace" (Ger.
umfangen ) might express the sense better than "encompass" (Ger. umgeben ). נקבה is nomen sexus, "femella, a female;" גּבר, a "man," also " proles mascula ," not according to the sexual relation (=זכר), but with the idea of strength. Both in the choice of these words and by the omission of the article, the relation is set forth in its widest generality; the attention is thereby steadily directed to its fundamental nature.
The woman, the weak and tender being, shall lovingly embrace the man, the strong one. Hengstenberg reverses the meaning of the words when he renders them, "the strong one shall again take the weak into his closest intercourse, under his protection, loving care." Many expositors, including Hengstenberg and Hitzig of moderns, have rightly perceived that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jahveh.
Starting with this view, which is suggested by the context, the older expositors explained the words of the conception and birth of Christ by a virgin; cf. Corn. a Lapide, Calovii Bibl. ill . , Cocceius, and Pfeiffer, dubia vex . p. 758ff. Thus, for example, the Berleburger Bibel gives the following explanation: "A woman or virgin - not a married woman - will encompass, i.
e. , carry and contain in her body, the man who is to be a vanquisher of all and to surpass all in strength." This explanation cannot be set aside by the simple remark, "that here there would be set forth the very feature in the birth of Christ by a virgin which is not peculiar to it as compared with others;" for this "superficial remark" does not in the least touch the real point to be explained.
But it may very properly be objected, that סובב has not the special meaning of conceiving in a mother’s womb. On this ground we can also set down as incorrect the other explanation of the words in the Berleburger Bibel, that the text rather speaks of "the woman who is the Jewish Church, and who, in the spirit of faith, is to bear Christ as the mighty God, Isa 9:6, in the likeness of a man, Rev 12:1-2."
However, these explanations are nearer the truth than any that have been offered since. The general statement, "a woman shall encompass (the) man," i. e. , lovingly embrace him - this new relation which Jahveh will bring about in place of the old, that the man encompasses the wife, loving, providing for, protecting her - can only be referred, agreeably to the context, to change of relation between Israel and the Lord.
סובב, "to encompass," is used tropically, not merely of the mode of dealing on the part of the Lord to His people, the faithful, - of the protection, the grace, and the aid which He grants to the pious ones, as in Psa 32:7, Psa 32:10; Deu 32:10, - but also of the dealings of men with divine things. אסובבה מזבּחך, Psa 26:6, does not mean, "I will go round Thine altar," in a circle or semicircle as it were, but, "I will keep to Thine altar," instead of keeping company with the wicked; or more correctly, "I will surround Thine altar," making it the object of my care, of all my dealings, - I will make mine own the favours shown to the faithful at Thine altar.
In the verse now before us, סובב signifies to encompass with love and care, to surround lovingly and carefully, - the natural and fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance. And the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature that needs help, will lovingly and solicitously surround the man, the stronger.
Herein is expressed a new relation of Israel to the Lord, a reference to a new covenant which the Lord, Jer 31:31. , will conclude with His people, and in which He deals so condescendingly towards them that they can lovingly embrace Him. This is the substance of the Messianic meaning in the words. The conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary is not expressed in them either directly or indirectly, even though we were allowed to take סובב in the meaning of "embrace."
This new creation of the Lord is intended to be, and can be, for Israel, a powerful motive to their immediate return to their God.
Jer 31:15-22 Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.
Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf not tamed. Turn me that I may turn, for Thou, O Jahveh, art my God. Jer 31:19. For, after I return I repent, and after I have been taught I smite upon [my] thigh; I am ashamed, yea, and confounded, because I bear the reproach of my youth.
Jer 31:20. Is Ephraim a son dear to me, or a child of delight, that, as often as I speak against him, I do yet certainly remember him? Therefore my bowels move for him; I shall surely pity him, saith Jahveh. Jer 31:21. Set thee up way-marks, put up posts for thyself; set thine heart to the highway, the road [by which] thou camest: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these cities of thine.
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou wander about, O backsliding daughter? For Jahveh hath created a new [thing] in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." In this strophe the promise is further confirmed by carrying out the thought, that Israel’s release from his captivity shall certainly take place, however little prospect there is of it at present. For Israel will come to an acknowledgment of his sins, and the Lord will then once more show him His love.
The hopeless condition of Israel is dramatically set forth in Jer 31:15. : Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and thus the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief tribe of the Israelites who had revolted from the royal house of David, weeps bitterly over the loss of her children, the ten tribes who have been carried away into exile; and the Lord addresses consolation to her, with the promise that they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
"A voice is heard" (נשׁמע, participle, to show duration ). The "voice" is more fully treated of in the second part of the verse: loud lamentation and bitter weeping. There is a difficulty connected with בּרמה. The lxx took it to be the name of the city Ramah , now called er - Râm , in the tribe of Benjamin, five English miles north from Jerusalem, on the borders of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1Ki 15:17), although this city is elsewhere written with the article (הרמה), not only in the historical notices found in Jer 40:1, Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5, etc.
, but also in prophetical addresses, as in Hos 6:8; Isa 10:29. In this passage it cannot be a mere appellative ("on a height"), as in 1Sa 22:6; Eze 16:24; nor can we think of Ramah in Naphtali (Jos 19:36, also הרמה), for this latter city never figures in history like the Ramah of Samuel, not far from Gibeah; see on Jos 18:25 and 1Sa 1:1. But why is the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah?
Most expositors reply, because the tomb of Rachel was in the divinity of Ramah; in support of this they cite 1Sa 10:2. Nägelsbach, who is one of these, still maintains this view with the utmost confidence. But this assumption is opposed to Gen 35:16 and Gen 35:19, where it is stated that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem, and not far from the town (see on Genesis, l.
c. ), which is about five miles south from Jerusalem, and thus far from Ramah. Nor is any support for this view to be got from 1Sa 10:2, except by making the groundless assumption, that Saul, while seeking for the asses of his father, came to Samuel in his native town ; whereas, in the account given in that chapter, he is merely said to have sought for Samuel in a certain town, of which nothing more is stated, and to have inquired at him; see on 1Sa 10:2.
We must therefore reject, as arbitrary and groundless, all attempts to fix the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre in the neighbourhood of Ramah (Nägelsbach); in the same way we must treat the assertion of Thenius, Knobel, Graf, etc. , that the Ephratah of Gen 35:16, Gen 35:19, is the same as the Ephron of 2Ch 13:19, which was situated near Bethel; so, too, must we deal with the statements, that Ephratah, i.
e. , Bethlehem, is to be expunged from the text of Gen 35:9 and 48 as a false gloss, and that the tradition, attested in Mat 2:18, as to the situation of Rachel’s sepulchre in the vicinity of Bethlehem, is incorrect. Nor does the passage of Jeremiah now before us imply that Rachel’s sepulchre was near Ramah. Rachel does not weep at Ramah over her lost children, either because she had been buried there, or because it was in Ramah of Benjamin that the exiles were assembled, according to Jer 40:1 (Hitzig, and also Delitzsch on Gen 35:20).
For it was the Jews who were to be carried away captive that were gathered together at Ramah, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried into exile that Rachel weeps. The lamentation of Rachel is heard at Ramah, as the most loftily situated border-town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.
Nor does she weep because she has learned something in her tomb of the carrying away of the people, but as their common mother, as the beloved spouse of Jacob, who in her married life so earnestly desired children. Just as the people are often included under the notion of the "daughter of Zion," as their ideal representative, so the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is here named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost.
The sing. כּי איננּוּ signifies, "for not one of them is left." - This verse is quoted by Matthew (Mat 2:18), after relating the story of the murder of the children at Bethlehem, with the introductory formula, τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ̓Ιερεμίου: from this the older theologians (cf. Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad Jer. l. c. ) conclude that Jeremiah directly prophesied that massacre of the children committed by Herod.
But this inference cannot be allowed; it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. The expression ἐπληρώθη, used by Matthew, only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfilment through that act of Herod. Of course, we must not reduce the typical reference of the prophecy to that event at Bethlehem simply to this, that the wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem over their murdered children was as great as the lamentation made when the people were carried into exile.
Typology rather assumes a causal connection between the two events. The destruction of the people of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans is a type of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, in so far as the sin which brought the children of Israel into exile laid a foundation for the fact that Herod the Idumean became king over the Jews, and wished to destroy the true King and Saviour of Israel that he might strengthen his own dominion.
Cf. Fr. Kleinschmidt, die typolog. Citate der vier Evangelien , 1861, S. 10ff. ; Fairbairn’s Typology , fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 452-3.] The Lord will put an end to this wailing. "Cease thy weeping," He cries to the sorrowing ones, "for there is a reward for thy labour" (almost identical with 2Ch 15:7). פּעלּה is the maternal labour of birth and rearing of children.
The reward consists in this, that the children shall return out of the land of the enemy into their own land. Jer 31:17 states the same thing in parallel clauses, to confirm the promise. On the expression "hope for thy latter end," cf. Jer 29:11. בּנים without the article, as in Hos 11:10, etc. ; cf. Ewald, §277, b . This hope is grounded on the circumstance that Israel will become aware, through suffering, that he is punished for his sins, and, repenting of these sins, will beseech his God for favour.
The Lord already perceives this repentant spirit and acknowledgment of sin. ואוּסר does not mean "I had myself chastised," or "I learned chastisement" (Hitzig), but "I was chastised," like an untamed calf, i. e. , one not trained to bear the yoke and to endure labour. On this figure, cf. Hos 10:11. The recognition of suffering as chastisement by God excites a desire after amelioration and amendment.
But since man cannot accomplish these through his own powers, Israel prays, "Lead me back," sc. from my evil way, i. e. , turn me. He finds himself constrained to this request, because he feels regret for his apostasy from God. אחרי שׁוּבי in this connection can only mean, "after I turned," sc. from Thee, O Lord my God; on this meaning of שׁוּב, cf. Jer 8:4.
הוּדע, to be brought to understanding through punishment, i. e. , to become wise. To smite the thighs is a token of terror and horror; cf. Eze 21:17. On בּשׁתּי וגם נכלמתּי cf. Isa 45:16. "The shame of my youth" is that which I brought on myself in my youth through the sins I then committed. On this confession generally, cf. the similar one in Jer 3:21. - Thereafter the Lord replies, Jer 31:20, with the question, whether Ephraim is so dear a son to Him that, as often as He has spoken against him, i.
e. , uttered hard words of condemnation, He still, or again, thinks of him. ילד שׁעשׁעים, "a child of delight," whom one fondles; cf. Isa 5:7. The clause explanatory of the question, "for as often as," etc. , is taken in different ways. דּבּר may signify, "to speak about one," or "to speak against one," or "to pay addresses to one," i. e. , to court him: 1Sa 25:39; Sol 8:8.
Hitzig applies the last meaning to the expression, and translates, "as often as I have paid my suit to him;" according to this view, the basis of the representation of Jahveh’s relation to the people is that of a husband to his wife. But this meaning of the verb does not by any means suit the present context, well established though it is by the passages that have been adduced.
Ephraim is here represented as a son, not a virgin to whom Jahveh could pay suit. Hence we must take the expression in the sense of "speaking against" some one. But what Jahveh says against Ephraim is no mere threatening by words, but a reprimand by deeds of judgment. The answer to the question is to be inferred from the context: If the Lord, whenever He is constrained to punish Ephraim, still thinks of him, then Ephraim must be a son dear to Him.
But this is not because of his conduct, as if he caused Him joy by obedience and faithful attachment, but in consequence of the unchangeable love of God, who cannot leave His son, however much grief he causes his Father. "Therefore," i. e. , because he is a son to whom Jahveh shows the fulness of His paternal love, all His kindly feelings towards him are now excited, and He desires to show compassion on him.
On המוּ מעי cf. Isa 16:11 and Isa 63:15. Under "bowels" are included especially the heart, liver, reins, the noblest organs of the soul. The expression is strongly anthropopathic, and denotes the most heartfelt sympathy. This fellow-feeling manifests itself in the form of pity, and actually as deliverance from misery. The Lord desires to execute this purpose of His everlasting love.
Jer 31:21. Israel is required to prepare himself for return, and to go home again into his own cities. "Set thee up way marks." ציּוּן, in 2Ki 23:17 and Eze 39:15, "a tombstone," probably a stone pillar, which could also serve as a way-mark. תּמרוּרים is not from מרר as in Jer 31:15, but from תּמר, and has the same meaning as תּימרה, Joe 3:3, Talm. תּמּוּר, a pillar, Arab.
t̀âmîrun , pl. , cippi, signa in desertis . "Set thy heart," i. e. , turn thy mind to the road, the way you have gone (on הלכתּי see Jer 2:20), not, that you may not miss it, but because it leads thee home. "Return to these cities of thine." "These" implies that the summons issues from Palestine. Moreover, the separate clauses of this verse are merely a poetic individualization of the thought that Israel is to think seriously of returning; and, inasmuch as this return to Palestine presupposes return to the Lord, Israel must first turn with the heart to his God.
Then, in Jer 31:22, follows the exhortation not to delay. The meaning of התחמּק is educed from Sol 5:6, where חמק signifies to turn one’s self round; hence the Hithpael means to wander about here and there, uncertain what to do. This exhortation is finally enforced by the statement, "Jahveh creates a new thing on earth" (cf. Isa 43:19). This novelty is, "a woman will encompass a man."
With regard to the meaning of these words, about which there is great dispute, this much is evident from the context, that they indicate a transformation of things, a new arrangement of the relations of life. This new arrangement of things which Jahveh brings about is mentioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim (= Israel) to return without delay to the Lord and to his cities.
If we keep this in mind, we shall at once set aside as untenable such interpretations as that of Luther in his first translation of 1532-38, "those who formerly behaved like women shall be men," which Ewald has revived in his rendering, "a woman changing into a man," or that of Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer, "the woman shall protect the man," or that of Nägelsbach, "the woman shall turn the man to herself." The above-mentioned general consideration, we repeat, is sufficient to set aside these explanations, quite apart from the fact that none of them can be lexically substantiated; for סובב neither means to "turn one’s self, vertere ," nor to "protect," nor to "cause to return" (as if סובב were used for שׁובב).
Deu 32:10 is adduced to prove the meaning of protection; but the word there means to go about fondling and cherishing. Neither the transmutation of the female into a male, or of a weak woman into a strong man, nor the protection of the man by a woman, nor the notion that the strong succumbs to the weak, forms an effectual motive for the summons to Israel to return; nor can we call any of them a new creative act effected by Jahveh, or a new arrangement of things.
But we must utterly reject the meaning of the words given by Castle, le Clerc, and Hitzig, who apply them to the unnatural circumstance, that a woman makes her suit to a man, even where by the woman is understood the virgin of Israel, and by the man, Jahveh. Luther gave the correct rendering in his editions of 1543 and 1545, "the woman shall encompass the man," - only, "embrace" (Ger.
umfangen ) might express the sense better than "encompass" (Ger. umgeben ). נקבה is nomen sexus, "femella, a female;" גּבר, a "man," also " proles mascula ," not according to the sexual relation (=זכר), but with the idea of strength. Both in the choice of these words and by the omission of the article, the relation is set forth in its widest generality; the attention is thereby steadily directed to its fundamental nature.
The woman, the weak and tender being, shall lovingly embrace the man, the strong one. Hengstenberg reverses the meaning of the words when he renders them, "the strong one shall again take the weak into his closest intercourse, under his protection, loving care." Many expositors, including Hengstenberg and Hitzig of moderns, have rightly perceived that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jahveh.
Starting with this view, which is suggested by the context, the older expositors explained the words of the conception and birth of Christ by a virgin; cf. Corn. a Lapide, Calovii Bibl. ill . , Cocceius, and Pfeiffer, dubia vex . p. 758ff. Thus, for example, the Berleburger Bibel gives the following explanation: "A woman or virgin - not a married woman - will encompass, i.
e. , carry and contain in her body, the man who is to be a vanquisher of all and to surpass all in strength." This explanation cannot be set aside by the simple remark, "that here there would be set forth the very feature in the birth of Christ by a virgin which is not peculiar to it as compared with others;" for this "superficial remark" does not in the least touch the real point to be explained.
But it may very properly be objected, that סובב has not the special meaning of conceiving in a mother’s womb. On this ground we can also set down as incorrect the other explanation of the words in the Berleburger Bibel, that the text rather speaks of "the woman who is the Jewish Church, and who, in the spirit of faith, is to bear Christ as the mighty God, Isa 9:6, in the likeness of a man, Rev 12:1-2."
However, these explanations are nearer the truth than any that have been offered since. The general statement, "a woman shall encompass (the) man," i. e. , lovingly embrace him - this new relation which Jahveh will bring about in place of the old, that the man encompasses the wife, loving, providing for, protecting her - can only be referred, agreeably to the context, to change of relation between Israel and the Lord.
סובב, "to encompass," is used tropically, not merely of the mode of dealing on the part of the Lord to His people, the faithful, - of the protection, the grace, and the aid which He grants to the pious ones, as in Psa 32:7, Psa 32:10; Deu 32:10, - but also of the dealings of men with divine things. אסובבה מזבּחך, Psa 26:6, does not mean, "I will go round Thine altar," in a circle or semicircle as it were, but, "I will keep to Thine altar," instead of keeping company with the wicked; or more correctly, "I will surround Thine altar," making it the object of my care, of all my dealings, - I will make mine own the favours shown to the faithful at Thine altar.
In the verse now before us, סובב signifies to encompass with love and care, to surround lovingly and carefully, - the natural and fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance. And the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature that needs help, will lovingly and solicitously surround the man, the stronger.
Herein is expressed a new relation of Israel to the Lord, a reference to a new covenant which the Lord, Jer 31:31. , will conclude with His people, and in which He deals so condescendingly towards them that they can lovingly embrace Him. This is the substance of the Messianic meaning in the words. The conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary is not expressed in them either directly or indirectly, even though we were allowed to take סובב in the meaning of "embrace."
This new creation of the Lord is intended to be, and can be, for Israel, a powerful motive to their immediate return to their God.
Jer 31:15-22 Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.
Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf not tamed. Turn me that I may turn, for Thou, O Jahveh, art my God. Jer 31:19. For, after I return I repent, and after I have been taught I smite upon [my] thigh; I am ashamed, yea, and confounded, because I bear the reproach of my youth.
Jer 31:20. Is Ephraim a son dear to me, or a child of delight, that, as often as I speak against him, I do yet certainly remember him? Therefore my bowels move for him; I shall surely pity him, saith Jahveh. Jer 31:21. Set thee up way-marks, put up posts for thyself; set thine heart to the highway, the road [by which] thou camest: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these cities of thine.
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou wander about, O backsliding daughter? For Jahveh hath created a new [thing] in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." In this strophe the promise is further confirmed by carrying out the thought, that Israel’s release from his captivity shall certainly take place, however little prospect there is of it at present. For Israel will come to an acknowledgment of his sins, and the Lord will then once more show him His love.
The hopeless condition of Israel is dramatically set forth in Jer 31:15. : Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and thus the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief tribe of the Israelites who had revolted from the royal house of David, weeps bitterly over the loss of her children, the ten tribes who have been carried away into exile; and the Lord addresses consolation to her, with the promise that they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
"A voice is heard" (נשׁמע, participle, to show duration ). The "voice" is more fully treated of in the second part of the verse: loud lamentation and bitter weeping. There is a difficulty connected with בּרמה. The lxx took it to be the name of the city Ramah , now called er - Râm , in the tribe of Benjamin, five English miles north from Jerusalem, on the borders of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1Ki 15:17), although this city is elsewhere written with the article (הרמה), not only in the historical notices found in Jer 40:1, Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5, etc.
, but also in prophetical addresses, as in Hos 6:8; Isa 10:29. In this passage it cannot be a mere appellative ("on a height"), as in 1Sa 22:6; Eze 16:24; nor can we think of Ramah in Naphtali (Jos 19:36, also הרמה), for this latter city never figures in history like the Ramah of Samuel, not far from Gibeah; see on Jos 18:25 and 1Sa 1:1. But why is the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah?
Most expositors reply, because the tomb of Rachel was in the divinity of Ramah; in support of this they cite 1Sa 10:2. Nägelsbach, who is one of these, still maintains this view with the utmost confidence. But this assumption is opposed to Gen 35:16 and Gen 35:19, where it is stated that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem, and not far from the town (see on Genesis, l.
c. ), which is about five miles south from Jerusalem, and thus far from Ramah. Nor is any support for this view to be got from 1Sa 10:2, except by making the groundless assumption, that Saul, while seeking for the asses of his father, came to Samuel in his native town ; whereas, in the account given in that chapter, he is merely said to have sought for Samuel in a certain town, of which nothing more is stated, and to have inquired at him; see on 1Sa 10:2.
We must therefore reject, as arbitrary and groundless, all attempts to fix the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre in the neighbourhood of Ramah (Nägelsbach); in the same way we must treat the assertion of Thenius, Knobel, Graf, etc. , that the Ephratah of Gen 35:16, Gen 35:19, is the same as the Ephron of 2Ch 13:19, which was situated near Bethel; so, too, must we deal with the statements, that Ephratah, i.
e. , Bethlehem, is to be expunged from the text of Gen 35:9 and 48 as a false gloss, and that the tradition, attested in Mat 2:18, as to the situation of Rachel’s sepulchre in the vicinity of Bethlehem, is incorrect. Nor does the passage of Jeremiah now before us imply that Rachel’s sepulchre was near Ramah. Rachel does not weep at Ramah over her lost children, either because she had been buried there, or because it was in Ramah of Benjamin that the exiles were assembled, according to Jer 40:1 (Hitzig, and also Delitzsch on Gen 35:20).
For it was the Jews who were to be carried away captive that were gathered together at Ramah, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried into exile that Rachel weeps. The lamentation of Rachel is heard at Ramah, as the most loftily situated border-town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.
Nor does she weep because she has learned something in her tomb of the carrying away of the people, but as their common mother, as the beloved spouse of Jacob, who in her married life so earnestly desired children. Just as the people are often included under the notion of the "daughter of Zion," as their ideal representative, so the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is here named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost.
The sing. כּי איננּוּ signifies, "for not one of them is left." - This verse is quoted by Matthew (Mat 2:18), after relating the story of the murder of the children at Bethlehem, with the introductory formula, τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ̓Ιερεμίου: from this the older theologians (cf. Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad Jer. l. c. ) conclude that Jeremiah directly prophesied that massacre of the children committed by Herod.
But this inference cannot be allowed; it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. The expression ἐπληρώθη, used by Matthew, only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfilment through that act of Herod. Of course, we must not reduce the typical reference of the prophecy to that event at Bethlehem simply to this, that the wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem over their murdered children was as great as the lamentation made when the people were carried into exile.
Typology rather assumes a causal connection between the two events. The destruction of the people of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans is a type of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, in so far as the sin which brought the children of Israel into exile laid a foundation for the fact that Herod the Idumean became king over the Jews, and wished to destroy the true King and Saviour of Israel that he might strengthen his own dominion.
Cf. Fr. Kleinschmidt, die typolog. Citate der vier Evangelien , 1861, S. 10ff. ; Fairbairn’s Typology , fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 452-3.] The Lord will put an end to this wailing. "Cease thy weeping," He cries to the sorrowing ones, "for there is a reward for thy labour" (almost identical with 2Ch 15:7). פּעלּה is the maternal labour of birth and rearing of children.
The reward consists in this, that the children shall return out of the land of the enemy into their own land. Jer 31:17 states the same thing in parallel clauses, to confirm the promise. On the expression "hope for thy latter end," cf. Jer 29:11. בּנים without the article, as in Hos 11:10, etc. ; cf. Ewald, §277, b . This hope is grounded on the circumstance that Israel will become aware, through suffering, that he is punished for his sins, and, repenting of these sins, will beseech his God for favour.
The Lord already perceives this repentant spirit and acknowledgment of sin. ואוּסר does not mean "I had myself chastised," or "I learned chastisement" (Hitzig), but "I was chastised," like an untamed calf, i. e. , one not trained to bear the yoke and to endure labour. On this figure, cf. Hos 10:11. The recognition of suffering as chastisement by God excites a desire after amelioration and amendment.
But since man cannot accomplish these through his own powers, Israel prays, "Lead me back," sc. from my evil way, i. e. , turn me. He finds himself constrained to this request, because he feels regret for his apostasy from God. אחרי שׁוּבי in this connection can only mean, "after I turned," sc. from Thee, O Lord my God; on this meaning of שׁוּב, cf. Jer 8:4.
הוּדע, to be brought to understanding through punishment, i. e. , to become wise. To smite the thighs is a token of terror and horror; cf. Eze 21:17. On בּשׁתּי וגם נכלמתּי cf. Isa 45:16. "The shame of my youth" is that which I brought on myself in my youth through the sins I then committed. On this confession generally, cf. the similar one in Jer 3:21. - Thereafter the Lord replies, Jer 31:20, with the question, whether Ephraim is so dear a son to Him that, as often as He has spoken against him, i.
e. , uttered hard words of condemnation, He still, or again, thinks of him. ילד שׁעשׁעים, "a child of delight," whom one fondles; cf. Isa 5:7. The clause explanatory of the question, "for as often as," etc. , is taken in different ways. דּבּר may signify, "to speak about one," or "to speak against one," or "to pay addresses to one," i. e. , to court him: 1Sa 25:39; Sol 8:8.
Hitzig applies the last meaning to the expression, and translates, "as often as I have paid my suit to him;" according to this view, the basis of the representation of Jahveh’s relation to the people is that of a husband to his wife. But this meaning of the verb does not by any means suit the present context, well established though it is by the passages that have been adduced.
Ephraim is here represented as a son, not a virgin to whom Jahveh could pay suit. Hence we must take the expression in the sense of "speaking against" some one. But what Jahveh says against Ephraim is no mere threatening by words, but a reprimand by deeds of judgment. The answer to the question is to be inferred from the context: If the Lord, whenever He is constrained to punish Ephraim, still thinks of him, then Ephraim must be a son dear to Him.
But this is not because of his conduct, as if he caused Him joy by obedience and faithful attachment, but in consequence of the unchangeable love of God, who cannot leave His son, however much grief he causes his Father. "Therefore," i. e. , because he is a son to whom Jahveh shows the fulness of His paternal love, all His kindly feelings towards him are now excited, and He desires to show compassion on him.
On המוּ מעי cf. Isa 16:11 and Isa 63:15. Under "bowels" are included especially the heart, liver, reins, the noblest organs of the soul. The expression is strongly anthropopathic, and denotes the most heartfelt sympathy. This fellow-feeling manifests itself in the form of pity, and actually as deliverance from misery. The Lord desires to execute this purpose of His everlasting love.
Jer 31:21. Israel is required to prepare himself for return, and to go home again into his own cities. "Set thee up way marks." ציּוּן, in 2Ki 23:17 and Eze 39:15, "a tombstone," probably a stone pillar, which could also serve as a way-mark. תּמרוּרים is not from מרר as in Jer 31:15, but from תּמר, and has the same meaning as תּימרה, Joe 3:3, Talm. תּמּוּר, a pillar, Arab.
t̀âmîrun , pl. , cippi, signa in desertis . "Set thy heart," i. e. , turn thy mind to the road, the way you have gone (on הלכתּי see Jer 2:20), not, that you may not miss it, but because it leads thee home. "Return to these cities of thine." "These" implies that the summons issues from Palestine. Moreover, the separate clauses of this verse are merely a poetic individualization of the thought that Israel is to think seriously of returning; and, inasmuch as this return to Palestine presupposes return to the Lord, Israel must first turn with the heart to his God.
Then, in Jer 31:22, follows the exhortation not to delay. The meaning of התחמּק is educed from Sol 5:6, where חמק signifies to turn one’s self round; hence the Hithpael means to wander about here and there, uncertain what to do. This exhortation is finally enforced by the statement, "Jahveh creates a new thing on earth" (cf. Isa 43:19). This novelty is, "a woman will encompass a man."
With regard to the meaning of these words, about which there is great dispute, this much is evident from the context, that they indicate a transformation of things, a new arrangement of the relations of life. This new arrangement of things which Jahveh brings about is mentioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim (= Israel) to return without delay to the Lord and to his cities.
If we keep this in mind, we shall at once set aside as untenable such interpretations as that of Luther in his first translation of 1532-38, "those who formerly behaved like women shall be men," which Ewald has revived in his rendering, "a woman changing into a man," or that of Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer, "the woman shall protect the man," or that of Nägelsbach, "the woman shall turn the man to herself." The above-mentioned general consideration, we repeat, is sufficient to set aside these explanations, quite apart from the fact that none of them can be lexically substantiated; for סובב neither means to "turn one’s self, vertere ," nor to "protect," nor to "cause to return" (as if סובב were used for שׁובב).
Deu 32:10 is adduced to prove the meaning of protection; but the word there means to go about fondling and cherishing. Neither the transmutation of the female into a male, or of a weak woman into a strong man, nor the protection of the man by a woman, nor the notion that the strong succumbs to the weak, forms an effectual motive for the summons to Israel to return; nor can we call any of them a new creative act effected by Jahveh, or a new arrangement of things.
But we must utterly reject the meaning of the words given by Castle, le Clerc, and Hitzig, who apply them to the unnatural circumstance, that a woman makes her suit to a man, even where by the woman is understood the virgin of Israel, and by the man, Jahveh. Luther gave the correct rendering in his editions of 1543 and 1545, "the woman shall encompass the man," - only, "embrace" (Ger.
umfangen ) might express the sense better than "encompass" (Ger. umgeben ). נקבה is nomen sexus, "femella, a female;" גּבר, a "man," also " proles mascula ," not according to the sexual relation (=זכר), but with the idea of strength. Both in the choice of these words and by the omission of the article, the relation is set forth in its widest generality; the attention is thereby steadily directed to its fundamental nature.
The woman, the weak and tender being, shall lovingly embrace the man, the strong one. Hengstenberg reverses the meaning of the words when he renders them, "the strong one shall again take the weak into his closest intercourse, under his protection, loving care." Many expositors, including Hengstenberg and Hitzig of moderns, have rightly perceived that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jahveh.
Starting with this view, which is suggested by the context, the older expositors explained the words of the conception and birth of Christ by a virgin; cf. Corn. a Lapide, Calovii Bibl. ill . , Cocceius, and Pfeiffer, dubia vex . p. 758ff. Thus, for example, the Berleburger Bibel gives the following explanation: "A woman or virgin - not a married woman - will encompass, i.
e. , carry and contain in her body, the man who is to be a vanquisher of all and to surpass all in strength." This explanation cannot be set aside by the simple remark, "that here there would be set forth the very feature in the birth of Christ by a virgin which is not peculiar to it as compared with others;" for this "superficial remark" does not in the least touch the real point to be explained.
But it may very properly be objected, that סובב has not the special meaning of conceiving in a mother’s womb. On this ground we can also set down as incorrect the other explanation of the words in the Berleburger Bibel, that the text rather speaks of "the woman who is the Jewish Church, and who, in the spirit of faith, is to bear Christ as the mighty God, Isa 9:6, in the likeness of a man, Rev 12:1-2."
However, these explanations are nearer the truth than any that have been offered since. The general statement, "a woman shall encompass (the) man," i. e. , lovingly embrace him - this new relation which Jahveh will bring about in place of the old, that the man encompasses the wife, loving, providing for, protecting her - can only be referred, agreeably to the context, to change of relation between Israel and the Lord.
סובב, "to encompass," is used tropically, not merely of the mode of dealing on the part of the Lord to His people, the faithful, - of the protection, the grace, and the aid which He grants to the pious ones, as in Psa 32:7, Psa 32:10; Deu 32:10, - but also of the dealings of men with divine things. אסובבה מזבּחך, Psa 26:6, does not mean, "I will go round Thine altar," in a circle or semicircle as it were, but, "I will keep to Thine altar," instead of keeping company with the wicked; or more correctly, "I will surround Thine altar," making it the object of my care, of all my dealings, - I will make mine own the favours shown to the faithful at Thine altar.
In the verse now before us, סובב signifies to encompass with love and care, to surround lovingly and carefully, - the natural and fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance. And the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature that needs help, will lovingly and solicitously surround the man, the stronger.
Herein is expressed a new relation of Israel to the Lord, a reference to a new covenant which the Lord, Jer 31:31. , will conclude with His people, and in which He deals so condescendingly towards them that they can lovingly embrace Him. This is the substance of the Messianic meaning in the words. The conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary is not expressed in them either directly or indirectly, even though we were allowed to take סובב in the meaning of "embrace."
This new creation of the Lord is intended to be, and can be, for Israel, a powerful motive to their immediate return to their God.
Jer 31:15-22 Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.
Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf not tamed. Turn me that I may turn, for Thou, O Jahveh, art my God. Jer 31:19. For, after I return I repent, and after I have been taught I smite upon [my] thigh; I am ashamed, yea, and confounded, because I bear the reproach of my youth.
Jer 31:20. Is Ephraim a son dear to me, or a child of delight, that, as often as I speak against him, I do yet certainly remember him? Therefore my bowels move for him; I shall surely pity him, saith Jahveh. Jer 31:21. Set thee up way-marks, put up posts for thyself; set thine heart to the highway, the road [by which] thou camest: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these cities of thine.
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou wander about, O backsliding daughter? For Jahveh hath created a new [thing] in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." In this strophe the promise is further confirmed by carrying out the thought, that Israel’s release from his captivity shall certainly take place, however little prospect there is of it at present. For Israel will come to an acknowledgment of his sins, and the Lord will then once more show him His love.
The hopeless condition of Israel is dramatically set forth in Jer 31:15. : Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and thus the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief tribe of the Israelites who had revolted from the royal house of David, weeps bitterly over the loss of her children, the ten tribes who have been carried away into exile; and the Lord addresses consolation to her, with the promise that they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
"A voice is heard" (נשׁמע, participle, to show duration ). The "voice" is more fully treated of in the second part of the verse: loud lamentation and bitter weeping. There is a difficulty connected with בּרמה. The lxx took it to be the name of the city Ramah , now called er - Râm , in the tribe of Benjamin, five English miles north from Jerusalem, on the borders of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1Ki 15:17), although this city is elsewhere written with the article (הרמה), not only in the historical notices found in Jer 40:1, Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5, etc.
, but also in prophetical addresses, as in Hos 6:8; Isa 10:29. In this passage it cannot be a mere appellative ("on a height"), as in 1Sa 22:6; Eze 16:24; nor can we think of Ramah in Naphtali (Jos 19:36, also הרמה), for this latter city never figures in history like the Ramah of Samuel, not far from Gibeah; see on Jos 18:25 and 1Sa 1:1. But why is the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah?
Most expositors reply, because the tomb of Rachel was in the divinity of Ramah; in support of this they cite 1Sa 10:2. Nägelsbach, who is one of these, still maintains this view with the utmost confidence. But this assumption is opposed to Gen 35:16 and Gen 35:19, where it is stated that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem, and not far from the town (see on Genesis, l.
c. ), which is about five miles south from Jerusalem, and thus far from Ramah. Nor is any support for this view to be got from 1Sa 10:2, except by making the groundless assumption, that Saul, while seeking for the asses of his father, came to Samuel in his native town ; whereas, in the account given in that chapter, he is merely said to have sought for Samuel in a certain town, of which nothing more is stated, and to have inquired at him; see on 1Sa 10:2.
We must therefore reject, as arbitrary and groundless, all attempts to fix the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre in the neighbourhood of Ramah (Nägelsbach); in the same way we must treat the assertion of Thenius, Knobel, Graf, etc. , that the Ephratah of Gen 35:16, Gen 35:19, is the same as the Ephron of 2Ch 13:19, which was situated near Bethel; so, too, must we deal with the statements, that Ephratah, i.
e. , Bethlehem, is to be expunged from the text of Gen 35:9 and 48 as a false gloss, and that the tradition, attested in Mat 2:18, as to the situation of Rachel’s sepulchre in the vicinity of Bethlehem, is incorrect. Nor does the passage of Jeremiah now before us imply that Rachel’s sepulchre was near Ramah. Rachel does not weep at Ramah over her lost children, either because she had been buried there, or because it was in Ramah of Benjamin that the exiles were assembled, according to Jer 40:1 (Hitzig, and also Delitzsch on Gen 35:20).
For it was the Jews who were to be carried away captive that were gathered together at Ramah, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried into exile that Rachel weeps. The lamentation of Rachel is heard at Ramah, as the most loftily situated border-town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.
Nor does she weep because she has learned something in her tomb of the carrying away of the people, but as their common mother, as the beloved spouse of Jacob, who in her married life so earnestly desired children. Just as the people are often included under the notion of the "daughter of Zion," as their ideal representative, so the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is here named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost.
The sing. כּי איננּוּ signifies, "for not one of them is left." - This verse is quoted by Matthew (Mat 2:18), after relating the story of the murder of the children at Bethlehem, with the introductory formula, τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ̓Ιερεμίου: from this the older theologians (cf. Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad Jer. l. c. ) conclude that Jeremiah directly prophesied that massacre of the children committed by Herod.
But this inference cannot be allowed; it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. The expression ἐπληρώθη, used by Matthew, only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfilment through that act of Herod. Of course, we must not reduce the typical reference of the prophecy to that event at Bethlehem simply to this, that the wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem over their murdered children was as great as the lamentation made when the people were carried into exile.
Typology rather assumes a causal connection between the two events. The destruction of the people of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans is a type of the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, in so far as the sin which brought the children of Israel into exile laid a foundation for the fact that Herod the Idumean became king over the Jews, and wished to destroy the true King and Saviour of Israel that he might strengthen his own dominion.
Cf. Fr. Kleinschmidt, die typolog. Citate der vier Evangelien , 1861, S. 10ff. ; Fairbairn’s Typology , fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 452-3.] The Lord will put an end to this wailing. "Cease thy weeping," He cries to the sorrowing ones, "for there is a reward for thy labour" (almost identical with 2Ch 15:7). פּעלּה is the maternal labour of birth and rearing of children.
The reward consists in this, that the children shall return out of the land of the enemy into their own land. Jer 31:17 states the same thing in parallel clauses, to confirm the promise. On the expression "hope for thy latter end," cf. Jer 29:11. בּנים without the article, as in Hos 11:10, etc. ; cf. Ewald, §277, b . This hope is grounded on the circumstance that Israel will become aware, through suffering, that he is punished for his sins, and, repenting of these sins, will beseech his God for favour.
The Lord already perceives this repentant spirit and acknowledgment of sin. ואוּסר does not mean "I had myself chastised," or "I learned chastisement" (Hitzig), but "I was chastised," like an untamed calf, i. e. , one not trained to bear the yoke and to endure labour. On this figure, cf. Hos 10:11. The recognition of suffering as chastisement by God excites a desire after amelioration and amendment.
But since man cannot accomplish these through his own powers, Israel prays, "Lead me back," sc. from my evil way, i. e. , turn me. He finds himself constrained to this request, because he feels regret for his apostasy from God. אחרי שׁוּבי in this connection can only mean, "after I turned," sc. from Thee, O Lord my God; on this meaning of שׁוּב, cf. Jer 8:4.
הוּדע, to be brought to understanding through punishment, i. e. , to become wise. To smite the thighs is a token of terror and horror; cf. Eze 21:17. On בּשׁתּי וגם נכלמתּי cf. Isa 45:16. "The shame of my youth" is that which I brought on myself in my youth through the sins I then committed. On this confession generally, cf. the similar one in Jer 3:21. - Thereafter the Lord replies, Jer 31:20, with the question, whether Ephraim is so dear a son to Him that, as often as He has spoken against him, i.
e. , uttered hard words of condemnation, He still, or again, thinks of him. ילד שׁעשׁעים, "a child of delight," whom one fondles; cf. Isa 5:7. The clause explanatory of the question, "for as often as," etc. , is taken in different ways. דּבּר may signify, "to speak about one," or "to speak against one," or "to pay addresses to one," i. e. , to court him: 1Sa 25:39; Sol 8:8.
Hitzig applies the last meaning to the expression, and translates, "as often as I have paid my suit to him;" according to this view, the basis of the representation of Jahveh’s relation to the people is that of a husband to his wife. But this meaning of the verb does not by any means suit the present context, well established though it is by the passages that have been adduced.
Ephraim is here represented as a son, not a virgin to whom Jahveh could pay suit. Hence we must take the expression in the sense of "speaking against" some one. But what Jahveh says against Ephraim is no mere threatening by words, but a reprimand by deeds of judgment. The answer to the question is to be inferred from the context: If the Lord, whenever He is constrained to punish Ephraim, still thinks of him, then Ephraim must be a son dear to Him.
But this is not because of his conduct, as if he caused Him joy by obedience and faithful attachment, but in consequence of the unchangeable love of God, who cannot leave His son, however much grief he causes his Father. "Therefore," i. e. , because he is a son to whom Jahveh shows the fulness of His paternal love, all His kindly feelings towards him are now excited, and He desires to show compassion on him.
On המוּ מעי cf. Isa 16:11 and Isa 63:15. Under "bowels" are included especially the heart, liver, reins, the noblest organs of the soul. The expression is strongly anthropopathic, and denotes the most heartfelt sympathy. This fellow-feeling manifests itself in the form of pity, and actually as deliverance from misery. The Lord desires to execute this purpose of His everlasting love.
Jer 31:21. Israel is required to prepare himself for return, and to go home again into his own cities. "Set thee up way marks." ציּוּן, in 2Ki 23:17 and Eze 39:15, "a tombstone," probably a stone pillar, which could also serve as a way-mark. תּמרוּרים is not from מרר as in Jer 31:15, but from תּמר, and has the same meaning as תּימרה, Joe 3:3, Talm. תּמּוּר, a pillar, Arab.
t̀âmîrun , pl. , cippi, signa in desertis . "Set thy heart," i. e. , turn thy mind to the road, the way you have gone (on הלכתּי see Jer 2:20), not, that you may not miss it, but because it leads thee home. "Return to these cities of thine." "These" implies that the summons issues from Palestine. Moreover, the separate clauses of this verse are merely a poetic individualization of the thought that Israel is to think seriously of returning; and, inasmuch as this return to Palestine presupposes return to the Lord, Israel must first turn with the heart to his God.
Then, in Jer 31:22, follows the exhortation not to delay. The meaning of התחמּק is educed from Sol 5:6, where חמק signifies to turn one’s self round; hence the Hithpael means to wander about here and there, uncertain what to do. This exhortation is finally enforced by the statement, "Jahveh creates a new thing on earth" (cf. Isa 43:19). This novelty is, "a woman will encompass a man."
With regard to the meaning of these words, about which there is great dispute, this much is evident from the context, that they indicate a transformation of things, a new arrangement of the relations of life. This new arrangement of things which Jahveh brings about is mentioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim (= Israel) to return without delay to the Lord and to his cities.
If we keep this in mind, we shall at once set aside as untenable such interpretations as that of Luther in his first translation of 1532-38, "those who formerly behaved like women shall be men," which Ewald has revived in his rendering, "a woman changing into a man," or that of Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer, "the woman shall protect the man," or that of Nägelsbach, "the woman shall turn the man to herself." The above-mentioned general consideration, we repeat, is sufficient to set aside these explanations, quite apart from the fact that none of them can be lexically substantiated; for סובב neither means to "turn one’s self, vertere ," nor to "protect," nor to "cause to return" (as if סובב were used for שׁובב).
Deu 32:10 is adduced to prove the meaning of protection; but the word there means to go about fondling and cherishing. Neither the transmutation of the female into a male, or of a weak woman into a strong man, nor the protection of the man by a woman, nor the notion that the strong succumbs to the weak, forms an effectual motive for the summons to Israel to return; nor can we call any of them a new creative act effected by Jahveh, or a new arrangement of things.
But we must utterly reject the meaning of the words given by Castle, le Clerc, and Hitzig, who apply them to the unnatural circumstance, that a woman makes her suit to a man, even where by the woman is understood the virgin of Israel, and by the man, Jahveh. Luther gave the correct rendering in his editions of 1543 and 1545, "the woman shall encompass the man," - only, "embrace" (Ger.
umfangen ) might express the sense better than "encompass" (Ger. umgeben ). נקבה is nomen sexus, "femella, a female;" גּבר, a "man," also " proles mascula ," not according to the sexual relation (=זכר), but with the idea of strength. Both in the choice of these words and by the omission of the article, the relation is set forth in its widest generality; the attention is thereby steadily directed to its fundamental nature.
The woman, the weak and tender being, shall lovingly embrace the man, the strong one. Hengstenberg reverses the meaning of the words when he renders them, "the strong one shall again take the weak into his closest intercourse, under his protection, loving care." Many expositors, including Hengstenberg and Hitzig of moderns, have rightly perceived that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jahveh.
Starting with this view, which is suggested by the context, the older expositors explained the words of the conception and birth of Christ by a virgin; cf. Corn. a Lapide, Calovii Bibl. ill . , Cocceius, and Pfeiffer, dubia vex . p. 758ff. Thus, for example, the Berleburger Bibel gives the following explanation: "A woman or virgin - not a married woman - will encompass, i.
e. , carry and contain in her body, the man who is to be a vanquisher of all and to surpass all in strength." This explanation cannot be set aside by the simple remark, "that here there would be set forth the very feature in the birth of Christ by a virgin which is not peculiar to it as compared with others;" for this "superficial remark" does not in the least touch the real point to be explained.
But it may very properly be objected, that סובב has not the special meaning of conceiving in a mother’s womb. On this ground we can also set down as incorrect the other explanation of the words in the Berleburger Bibel, that the text rather speaks of "the woman who is the Jewish Church, and who, in the spirit of faith, is to bear Christ as the mighty God, Isa 9:6, in the likeness of a man, Rev 12:1-2."
However, these explanations are nearer the truth than any that have been offered since. The general statement, "a woman shall encompass (the) man," i. e. , lovingly embrace him - this new relation which Jahveh will bring about in place of the old, that the man encompasses the wife, loving, providing for, protecting her - can only be referred, agreeably to the context, to change of relation between Israel and the Lord.
סובב, "to encompass," is used tropically, not merely of the mode of dealing on the part of the Lord to His people, the faithful, - of the protection, the grace, and the aid which He grants to the pious ones, as in Psa 32:7, Psa 32:10; Deu 32:10, - but also of the dealings of men with divine things. אסובבה מזבּחך, Psa 26:6, does not mean, "I will go round Thine altar," in a circle or semicircle as it were, but, "I will keep to Thine altar," instead of keeping company with the wicked; or more correctly, "I will surround Thine altar," making it the object of my care, of all my dealings, - I will make mine own the favours shown to the faithful at Thine altar.
In the verse now before us, סובב signifies to encompass with love and care, to surround lovingly and carefully, - the natural and fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance. And the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature that needs help, will lovingly and solicitously surround the man, the stronger.
Herein is expressed a new relation of Israel to the Lord, a reference to a new covenant which the Lord, Jer 31:31. , will conclude with His people, and in which He deals so condescendingly towards them that they can lovingly embrace Him. This is the substance of the Messianic meaning in the words. The conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary is not expressed in them either directly or indirectly, even though we were allowed to take סובב in the meaning of "embrace."
This new creation of the Lord is intended to be, and can be, for Israel, a powerful motive to their immediate return to their God.
Jer 31:23-25 The re-establishment and blessing of Judah. - Jer 31:23. "Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Once more shall they say this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I turn their captivity: 'Jahveh bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness!' Jer 31:24. And there shall dwell in it, [in] Judah and all its cities together, husbandmen and [those who] move about with the flock.
Jer 31:25. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have filled every languishing soul. Jer 31:26. Because of this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was sweet unto me." The prophecy which treats of Judah alone is condensed, but states much in few words - not merely the restitutio in statum integritatis , but also rich blessing thereafter. "May Jahveh bless thee" is a benediction, equivalent to "may you be blessed;" cf.
Psa 128:5; Psa 134:3. נוה צדק does not mean "habitation of salvation," but "habitation of righteousness;" cf. Isa 1:21, where it is said of Jerusalem that righteousness formerly dwelt in it. This state of matters is again to exist; Jerusalem is again to become a city in which righteousness dwells. "The holy mountain" is Zion, including Moriah, where the Lord had set up His throne.
That the designation "the holy mountain" was applied to the whole of Jerusalem cannot be made out from Psa 2:6; Psa 48:2. , Isa 11:9; Isa 27:13, which have been adduced to prove the assertion. The prayer for the blessing implies that Zion will again be the seat of the Divine King of His people. Jer 31:24. "There dwell in it (in the land of Judah) Judah and all his towns," i.
e. , the population of Judah and of all its towns, as "husbandmen and (those who) pasture flocks," i. e. , each one pursuing undisturbed his own peaceful employment, agriculture and cattle-rearing, and (Jer 31:25) so blessed in these callings that they are kept from every need and want. דּאבה may either be viewed as the perfect, before which the relative is to be supplied, or an adjectival form imitated from the Aramaic participle, masc.
דּאב.
Jer 31:23-25 The re-establishment and blessing of Judah. - Jer 31:23. "Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Once more shall they say this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I turn their captivity: 'Jahveh bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness!' Jer 31:24. And there shall dwell in it, [in] Judah and all its cities together, husbandmen and [those who] move about with the flock.
Jer 31:25. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have filled every languishing soul. Jer 31:26. Because of this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was sweet unto me." The prophecy which treats of Judah alone is condensed, but states much in few words - not merely the restitutio in statum integritatis , but also rich blessing thereafter. "May Jahveh bless thee" is a benediction, equivalent to "may you be blessed;" cf.
Psa 128:5; Psa 134:3. נוה צדק does not mean "habitation of salvation," but "habitation of righteousness;" cf. Isa 1:21, where it is said of Jerusalem that righteousness formerly dwelt in it. This state of matters is again to exist; Jerusalem is again to become a city in which righteousness dwells. "The holy mountain" is Zion, including Moriah, where the Lord had set up His throne.
That the designation "the holy mountain" was applied to the whole of Jerusalem cannot be made out from Psa 2:6; Psa 48:2. , Isa 11:9; Isa 27:13, which have been adduced to prove the assertion. The prayer for the blessing implies that Zion will again be the seat of the Divine King of His people. Jer 31:24. "There dwell in it (in the land of Judah) Judah and all his towns," i.
e. , the population of Judah and of all its towns, as "husbandmen and (those who) pasture flocks," i. e. , each one pursuing undisturbed his own peaceful employment, agriculture and cattle-rearing, and (Jer 31:25) so blessed in these callings that they are kept from every need and want. דּאבה may either be viewed as the perfect, before which the relative is to be supplied, or an adjectival form imitated from the Aramaic participle, masc.
דּאב.
Jer 31:23-25 The re-establishment and blessing of Judah. - Jer 31:23. "Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Once more shall they say this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I turn their captivity: 'Jahveh bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness!' Jer 31:24. And there shall dwell in it, [in] Judah and all its cities together, husbandmen and [those who] move about with the flock.
Jer 31:25. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have filled every languishing soul. Jer 31:26. Because of this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was sweet unto me." The prophecy which treats of Judah alone is condensed, but states much in few words - not merely the restitutio in statum integritatis , but also rich blessing thereafter. "May Jahveh bless thee" is a benediction, equivalent to "may you be blessed;" cf.
Psa 128:5; Psa 134:3. נוה צדק does not mean "habitation of salvation," but "habitation of righteousness;" cf. Isa 1:21, where it is said of Jerusalem that righteousness formerly dwelt in it. This state of matters is again to exist; Jerusalem is again to become a city in which righteousness dwells. "The holy mountain" is Zion, including Moriah, where the Lord had set up His throne.
That the designation "the holy mountain" was applied to the whole of Jerusalem cannot be made out from Psa 2:6; Psa 48:2. , Isa 11:9; Isa 27:13, which have been adduced to prove the assertion. The prayer for the blessing implies that Zion will again be the seat of the Divine King of His people. Jer 31:24. "There dwell in it (in the land of Judah) Judah and all his towns," i.
e. , the population of Judah and of all its towns, as "husbandmen and (those who) pasture flocks," i. e. , each one pursuing undisturbed his own peaceful employment, agriculture and cattle-rearing, and (Jer 31:25) so blessed in these callings that they are kept from every need and want. דּאבה may either be viewed as the perfect, before which the relative is to be supplied, or an adjectival form imitated from the Aramaic participle, masc.
דּאב.
Jer 31:26 Thereupon the prophet awoke from his ecstatic sleep, and said, "My sleep was pleasant" (cf. Pro 3:24). Very many expositors, including Rosenmüller, Umbreit, and Neumann among the moderns, understand the words, "therefore (or, because of this) I awoke," etc. , as referring to God, because in what precedes and follows Jahveh speaks, and because God is sometimes, in the Psalms, called on to awake, e.
g. , Psa 7:7; Psa 35:23; Psa 44:24, etc. But it has been properly objected to this, that the words, "my sleep was sweet" (pleasant), are inappropriate as utterances of God, inasmuch as He does not sleep; nowhere in Scripture is sleep attributed to God, and the summons to awake merely implies the non-interference on the part of God in the affairs of His people.
Moreover, we would need to refer the sleeping of God, mentioned in this verse, to His dealing towards Israel during the exile, in such a way that His conduct as a powerful judge would be compared to a sweet sleep - which is inconceivable. As little can the verse be supposed to contain words of the people languishing in exile, as Jerome has taken them. For the people could not possibly compare the time of oppression during the exile to a pleasant sleep.
There is thus nothing left for us but to take this verse, as the Targum, Raschi, Kimchi, Venema, Dahler, Hitzig, Hengstenberg, and others have done, as a remark by the prophet regarding his feelings when he received this revelation; and we must accept something like the paraphrase of Tholuck ( die Propheten , S. 68): "Because of such glorious promises I awoke to reflect on them, and my ecstatic sleep delighted me."
This view is not rendered less tenable by the objection that Jeremiah nowhere says God had revealed Himself to him in a dream, and that, in what precedes, there is not to be found any intimation that what he sets forth appeared to him as a vision. For neither is there any intimation, throughout the whole prophecy, that he received it while in a waking state.
The command of God, given Jer 30:2 at the first, to write in a book the words which Jahveh spoke to him, implies that the prophecy was not intended, in the first instance, to be publicly read before the people; moreover, it agrees with the assumption that he received the prophecy in a dream. But against the objection that Jeremiah never states, in any other place, in what bodily condition he was when he received his revelations from God, and that we cannot see why he should make such an intimation here - we may reply, with Nägelsbach, that this prophecy is the only one in the whole book which contains unmixed comfort, and that it is thus easy to explain why he could never forget that moment when, awaking after he had received it, he found he had experienced a sweet sleep.
Still less weight is there in the objection of Graf, that one cannot comprehend why this remark stands here, because the description is evidently continued in what follows, while the dream must have ended here, when the prophet awoke. For this is against the assumption that the hand of the Lord immediately touched him again, and put him back into the ecstatic state.
One might rather urge the consideration that the use of the word שׁנה, "sleep," does not certainly prove that the prophet was in the ecstatic state, from the fact that the lxx render תּר, in Gen 2:21 and Gen 15:2, by ἔκστασις. But wherever divine revelations were made in dreams, these of course presuppose sleep; so that the ecstatic state might also be properly called "sleep."
Jeremiah adds, "And I looked," to signify that he had been thoroughly awakened, and, in complete self-consciousness, perceived that his sleep had been pleasant.
Jer 31:27-28 The renovation of Israel and Judah. - Jer 31:27. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with seed of men and seed of beasts. Jer 31:28. And it shall be that, just as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down, to pull down and to destroy and to hurt, so shall I watch over them to build and to plant, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:29. In those days they shall no more say, 'Fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children become blunt;' Jer 31:30. But each man shall die for his own iniquity: every man who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth shall become blunted." After announcement has been made, in what preceded, that both portions of the covenant people will be led back into their own land and re-established there, both are now combined, since they are again, at the restoration, to be united under one king, the sprout of David (cf.
Jer 3:15, Jer 3:18), and to both there is promised great blessing, both temporal and spiritual. The house of Israel and the house of Judah, as separate nations, are represented as a fruitful field, which God will sow with men and cattle. בּהמּה, "cattle," the tame domestic animals, contribute to the prosperity of a nation. That this seed will mightily increase, is evident from the fact that God sows it, and (as is further stated in Jer 31:28) will watch over it as it grows.
Whereas, hitherto, He has watched for the purpose of destroying and annihilating the people, because of their apostasy, He will in time to come watch for the purpose of planting and building them up. The prophet has hitherto been engaged in fulfilling, against the faithless people, the first part of the commission given him by the Lord when he was called to his office (Jer 1:10); hereafter, he will be engaged in building up.
As certainly as the first has taken place - and of this the people have had practical experience - so certainly shall the other now take place.
Jer 31:27-28 The renovation of Israel and Judah. - Jer 31:27. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with seed of men and seed of beasts. Jer 31:28. And it shall be that, just as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down, to pull down and to destroy and to hurt, so shall I watch over them to build and to plant, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:29. In those days they shall no more say, 'Fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children become blunt;' Jer 31:30. But each man shall die for his own iniquity: every man who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth shall become blunted." After announcement has been made, in what preceded, that both portions of the covenant people will be led back into their own land and re-established there, both are now combined, since they are again, at the restoration, to be united under one king, the sprout of David (cf.
Jer 3:15, Jer 3:18), and to both there is promised great blessing, both temporal and spiritual. The house of Israel and the house of Judah, as separate nations, are represented as a fruitful field, which God will sow with men and cattle. בּהמּה, "cattle," the tame domestic animals, contribute to the prosperity of a nation. That this seed will mightily increase, is evident from the fact that God sows it, and (as is further stated in Jer 31:28) will watch over it as it grows.
Whereas, hitherto, He has watched for the purpose of destroying and annihilating the people, because of their apostasy, He will in time to come watch for the purpose of planting and building them up. The prophet has hitherto been engaged in fulfilling, against the faithless people, the first part of the commission given him by the Lord when he was called to his office (Jer 1:10); hereafter, he will be engaged in building up.
As certainly as the first has taken place - and of this the people have had practical experience - so certainly shall the other now take place.
Jer 31:29-30 The proverb, which Ezekiel also (Eze 18:2.) mentions and contends against, cannot mean, "The fathers have begun to eat sour grapes, but not till the teeth of their sons have become blunted by them" (Nägelsbach); the change of tense is against this, for, by the perfect אכלוּ and the imperfect תּקהינה, the blunting of the children’s teeth is set down as a result of the fathers’ eating.
The proverb means, "Children atone for the misdeeds of their fathers," or "The sins of the fathers are visited on their innocent children." On this point, cf. the explanations given in Eze 18:2. "Then shall they no more say" is rightly explained by Hitzig to mean, "They shall have no more occasion to say." But the meaning of the words is not yet made plain by this; in particular, the question how we must understand Jer 31:30 is not settled.
Graf, referring to Jer 23:7-8, supplies יאמרוּ after כּי־אם, and thus obtains the meaning, Then will they no more accuse God of unrighteousness, as in that wicked proverb, but they will perceive that every one has to suffer for his own guilt. Hitzig and Nägelsbach have declared against this insertion - the former with the remark that, in Jer 23:7-8, because both members of the sentence begin with protestations, the whole is clear, while here it is not so - the latter resting on the fact that the dropping of the proverb from current use certainly implies a correct knowledge of the righteousness of God, but one which is very elementary and merely negative; while, on the other hand, the whole connection of the passage now before us shows that it is intended to describe a period when the theocratic life is in a most flourishing condition.
Then expositors take Jer 31:30 as the utterance of the prophet, and as embodying the notion that the average level of morality shall be so high at this future period, that only some sins will continue to be committed, and these as isolated exceptions to the rule. Taken all in all, Israel will be a holy people, in which the general spirit pervading them will repress the evil in some individuals, that would otherwise manifest itself.
But we cannot imagine how these ideas can be supposed to be contained in the words, "Every man shall die for his own sins," etc. Jer 31:30 unquestionably contains the opposite of Jer 31:29. The proverb mentioned in Jer 31:29 involves the complaint against God, that in punishing sin He deals unjustly. According to this view, Jer 31:30 must contain the declaration that, in the future, the righteousness of God is to be revealed in the punishment of sins.
As we have already remarked on Eze 18:3. , the verse in question rather means, that after the re-establishment of Israel, the Lord will make known to His people His grace in so glorious a manner that the favoured ones will fully perceive the righteousness of His judgments. The experience of the unmerited love and compassion of the Lord softens the heart so much, that the favoured one no longer doubts the righteousness of the divine punishment.
Such knowledge of true blessedness cannot be called elementary; rather, it implies a deep experience of divine grace and a great advance in the life of faith. Nor does the verse contain a judgment expressed by the prophet in opposition to that of his contemporaries, but it simply declares that the opinion contained in that current proverb shall no longer be accepted then, but the favoured people will recognise in the death of the sinner the punishment due to them for their own sin.
Viewed in this manner, these verses prepare the way for the following announcement concerning the nature of the new covenant.
Jer 31:29-30 The proverb, which Ezekiel also (Eze 18:2.) mentions and contends against, cannot mean, "The fathers have begun to eat sour grapes, but not till the teeth of their sons have become blunted by them" (Nägelsbach); the change of tense is against this, for, by the perfect אכלוּ and the imperfect תּקהינה, the blunting of the children’s teeth is set down as a result of the fathers’ eating.
The proverb means, "Children atone for the misdeeds of their fathers," or "The sins of the fathers are visited on their innocent children." On this point, cf. the explanations given in Eze 18:2. "Then shall they no more say" is rightly explained by Hitzig to mean, "They shall have no more occasion to say." But the meaning of the words is not yet made plain by this; in particular, the question how we must understand Jer 31:30 is not settled.
Graf, referring to Jer 23:7-8, supplies יאמרוּ after כּי־אם, and thus obtains the meaning, Then will they no more accuse God of unrighteousness, as in that wicked proverb, but they will perceive that every one has to suffer for his own guilt. Hitzig and Nägelsbach have declared against this insertion - the former with the remark that, in Jer 23:7-8, because both members of the sentence begin with protestations, the whole is clear, while here it is not so - the latter resting on the fact that the dropping of the proverb from current use certainly implies a correct knowledge of the righteousness of God, but one which is very elementary and merely negative; while, on the other hand, the whole connection of the passage now before us shows that it is intended to describe a period when the theocratic life is in a most flourishing condition.
Then expositors take Jer 31:30 as the utterance of the prophet, and as embodying the notion that the average level of morality shall be so high at this future period, that only some sins will continue to be committed, and these as isolated exceptions to the rule. Taken all in all, Israel will be a holy people, in which the general spirit pervading them will repress the evil in some individuals, that would otherwise manifest itself.
But we cannot imagine how these ideas can be supposed to be contained in the words, "Every man shall die for his own sins," etc. Jer 31:30 unquestionably contains the opposite of Jer 31:29. The proverb mentioned in Jer 31:29 involves the complaint against God, that in punishing sin He deals unjustly. According to this view, Jer 31:30 must contain the declaration that, in the future, the righteousness of God is to be revealed in the punishment of sins.
As we have already remarked on Eze 18:3. , the verse in question rather means, that after the re-establishment of Israel, the Lord will make known to His people His grace in so glorious a manner that the favoured ones will fully perceive the righteousness of His judgments. The experience of the unmerited love and compassion of the Lord softens the heart so much, that the favoured one no longer doubts the righteousness of the divine punishment.
Such knowledge of true blessedness cannot be called elementary; rather, it implies a deep experience of divine grace and a great advance in the life of faith. Nor does the verse contain a judgment expressed by the prophet in opposition to that of his contemporaries, but it simply declares that the opinion contained in that current proverb shall no longer be accepted then, but the favoured people will recognise in the death of the sinner the punishment due to them for their own sin.
Viewed in this manner, these verses prepare the way for the following announcement concerning the nature of the new covenant.
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 31:31-40 The new covenant. - Jer 31:31. "Behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; Jer 31:32. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, though I had married them to myself, saith Jahveh; Jer 31:33.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jahveh: I will put my law within them, and on their heart will I write it; and I will become to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Jer 31:34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know ye Jahveh, for all of them shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jahveh; for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more.
Jer 31:35. Thus saith Jahveh, [who] gives the sun for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who rouses the sea so that its waves roar, Jahveh of hosts is His name: Jer 31:36. If these ordinances move away from before me, saith Jahveh, then also will the seed of Israel cease to be a people before me for ever. Jer 31:37. Thus saith Jahveh: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, then will I also reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done, saith Jahveh.
Jer 31:38. Behold, days come, saith Jahveh, when the city shall be built for Jahveh, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, Jer 31:39. And the measuring-line shall once more go out straight over the hill of Gareb, and turn round towards Goah. Jer 31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the valley of Kidron, unto the corner of the gate of the horses towards the east, [shall be] holiness to Jahveh; it shall not be plucked up nor pulled down again for ever.
The re-establishment of Israel reaches its completion in the making of a new covenant, according to which the law of God is written in the hearts of the people; thereby Israel becomes in truth the people of the Lord, and the knowledge of God founded on the experience of the forgiveness of sins is such that there is no further need of any external means like mutual teaching about God (Jer 31:31-34). This covenant is to endure for ever, like the unchangeable ordinances of nature (Jer 31:35-37); and in consequence of this, Jerusalem shall be guilt as the holy city of God, which shall never be destroyed again (Jer 31:38-40).
Jer 31:31-32 כּרת בּרית does not mean "to make an appointment," but "to conclude a covenant," to establish a relation of mutual duties and obligations. Every covenant which God concludes with men consists, on the side of God, in assurance of His favours and actual bestowal of them; these bind men to the keeping of the commands laid on them. The covenant which the Lord will make with all Israel in the future is called "a new covenant," as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai, when the people were led out of Egypt; this latter is thus implicitly called the "old covenant."
The words, "on the day when I took them by the hand," etc. , must not be restricted, on the one side, to the day of the Exodus from Egypt, nor, on the other, to the day when the covenant was solemnly made at Sinai; they rather refer to the whole time of the Exodus, which did not reach its termination till the entrance into Canaan, though it culminated in the solemn admission of Israel, at Sinai, as the people of Jahveh; see on Jer 7:22.
(On the punctuation of החזיקי, cf. Ewald, §238, d , Olshaus. Gramm . §191, f .) אשׁר is not a conjunction, " quod , because," but a relative pronoun, and must be combined with את־בּריתי, "which my covenant," i. e. , which covenant of mine. "They" stands emphatically in contrast with "though I" in the following circumstantial clause, which literally means, "but I have married them to myself," or, "I was their husband."
As to בּעלתּי, see on Jer 3:14. Hengstenberg wrongly takes the words as a promise, "but I will marry them to myself;" this view, however, is incompatible with the perfect, and the position of the words as a contrast with "they broke." The two closely connected expressions indicate why a new covenant was necessary; there is no formal statement, however, of the reason, which is merely given in a subordinate and appended clause.
For the proper reason why a new covenant is made is not that the people have broken the old one, but that, though Jahveh had united Israel to Himself, they have broken the covenant and thereby rendered it necessary to make a new one. God the Lord, in virtue of His unchangeable faithfulness, would not alter the relation He had Himself established in His love, but simply found it anew in a way which obviated the breaking of the covenant by Israel.
For it was a defect connected with the covenant made with Israel at Sinai, that it could be broken on their part. This defect is not to exist in the new covenant which God will make in after times. The expression "after those (not these ) days" is remarkable; ההם is not the same as האלּה, and yet the days meant can only be the "coming days;" accordingly, it is "those days" (as in Jer 31:29) that are to be expected.
The expression "after these days" is inexact, and probably owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase "in the end of the days" (בּאחרית, cf. Jer 23:20).
Jer 32:1-5 The time and the circumstances of the following message from God. - The message came to Jeremiah in the tenth year of Zedekiah, i. e. , in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar (cf. Jer 25:1 and Jer 52:12), when the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah was kept in confinement in the fore-court of the royal palace. These historical data are inserted (Jer 32:2-5) in the form of circumstantial clauses: 'ואז חיל וגו, "for at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem."
The siege had begun in the ninth year of Zedekiah (Jer 39:1; Jer 52:4), and was afterwards raised for a short time, in consequence of the approach of an auxiliary corps of Egyptians; but, as soon as these had been defeated, it was resumed (Jer 37:5, Jer 37:11). Jeremiah was then kept confined in the court of the prison of the royal palace (cf. Neh 3:25), "where Zedekiah, king of Judah, had imprisoned him, saying: Why dost thou prophesy, 'Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, so that he shall take it; Jer 32:4.
And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall assuredly be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with his mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; Jer 32:5. And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord. Though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not succeed?'"
- We have already found an utterance of like import in Jer 21:1-14, but that is not here referred to; for it was fulfilled at the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, and did not bring on Jeremiah the consequences mentioned here. From Jer 37 we learn that Jeremiah, during the siege of Jerusalem, on till the time when it was raised through the approach of the Egyptian army, had not been imprisoned, but went freely in and out among the people (Jer 37:4.)
Not till during the temporary raising of the siege, when he wanted to go out of the city into the land of Benjamin, was he seized and thrown into a dungeon, on the pretence that he intended to go over to the Chaldeans. There he remained many days, till King Zedekiah ordered him to be brought, and questioned him privately as to the issue of the conflict; when Jeremiah replied, "Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."
On this occasion Jeremiah complained to the king of his imprisonment, and requested that he might not be sent back into the dungeon, where he must soon perish; the king then ordered him (Jer 37:11-21) to be taken into the court of the prison-house (חצר , Jer 37:21), where he remained in confinement till the city was taken (Jer 38:13, Jer 38:28; Jer 39:14). The statement in our verses as to the cause of this imprisonment does not contradict, but agrees with the notice in Jer 37, as soon as we perceive that this account contains merely a brief passing notice of the matter.
The same holds true of the utterance of the prophet in Jer 32:3-5. Jeremiah, even at the beginning of the siege (Jer 21:3.) , had sent a message of similar import to the king, and repeated the same afterwards: Jer 34:3-5; Jer 37:17; Jer 38:17-23. The words of our verses are taken from these repeated utterances; Jer 32:4 agrees almost verbatim with Jer 34:3; and the words, "there shall he remain עד־פּקדי אתו, till I regard him with favour," are based upon the clearer utterance as to the end of Zedekiah, Jer 34:4-5.
- The circumstances under which Jeremiah received the following commission from the Lord are thus exactly stated, in order to show how little prospect the present of the kingdom of Judah offered for the future, which was portrayed by the purchase of the field. Not only must the kingdom of Judah inevitably succumb to the power of the Chaldeans, and its population go into exile, but even Jeremiah is imprisoned, in so hopeless a condition, that he is no longer sure of his life for a single day.
Jer 32:1-5 The time and the circumstances of the following message from God. - The message came to Jeremiah in the tenth year of Zedekiah, i. e. , in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar (cf. Jer 25:1 and Jer 52:12), when the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah was kept in confinement in the fore-court of the royal palace. These historical data are inserted (Jer 32:2-5) in the form of circumstantial clauses: 'ואז חיל וגו, "for at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem."
The siege had begun in the ninth year of Zedekiah (Jer 39:1; Jer 52:4), and was afterwards raised for a short time, in consequence of the approach of an auxiliary corps of Egyptians; but, as soon as these had been defeated, it was resumed (Jer 37:5, Jer 37:11). Jeremiah was then kept confined in the court of the prison of the royal palace (cf. Neh 3:25), "where Zedekiah, king of Judah, had imprisoned him, saying: Why dost thou prophesy, 'Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, so that he shall take it; Jer 32:4.
And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall assuredly be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with his mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; Jer 32:5. And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord. Though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not succeed?'"
- We have already found an utterance of like import in Jer 21:1-14, but that is not here referred to; for it was fulfilled at the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, and did not bring on Jeremiah the consequences mentioned here. From Jer 37 we learn that Jeremiah, during the siege of Jerusalem, on till the time when it was raised through the approach of the Egyptian army, had not been imprisoned, but went freely in and out among the people (Jer 37:4.)
Not till during the temporary raising of the siege, when he wanted to go out of the city into the land of Benjamin, was he seized and thrown into a dungeon, on the pretence that he intended to go over to the Chaldeans. There he remained many days, till King Zedekiah ordered him to be brought, and questioned him privately as to the issue of the conflict; when Jeremiah replied, "Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."
On this occasion Jeremiah complained to the king of his imprisonment, and requested that he might not be sent back into the dungeon, where he must soon perish; the king then ordered him (Jer 37:11-21) to be taken into the court of the prison-house (חצר , Jer 37:21), where he remained in confinement till the city was taken (Jer 38:13, Jer 38:28; Jer 39:14). The statement in our verses as to the cause of this imprisonment does not contradict, but agrees with the notice in Jer 37, as soon as we perceive that this account contains merely a brief passing notice of the matter.
The same holds true of the utterance of the prophet in Jer 32:3-5. Jeremiah, even at the beginning of the siege (Jer 21:3.) , had sent a message of similar import to the king, and repeated the same afterwards: Jer 34:3-5; Jer 37:17; Jer 38:17-23. The words of our verses are taken from these repeated utterances; Jer 32:4 agrees almost verbatim with Jer 34:3; and the words, "there shall he remain עד־פּקדי אתו, till I regard him with favour," are based upon the clearer utterance as to the end of Zedekiah, Jer 34:4-5.
- The circumstances under which Jeremiah received the following commission from the Lord are thus exactly stated, in order to show how little prospect the present of the kingdom of Judah offered for the future, which was portrayed by the purchase of the field. Not only must the kingdom of Judah inevitably succumb to the power of the Chaldeans, and its population go into exile, but even Jeremiah is imprisoned, in so hopeless a condition, that he is no longer sure of his life for a single day.
Jer 32:1-5 The time and the circumstances of the following message from God. - The message came to Jeremiah in the tenth year of Zedekiah, i. e. , in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar (cf. Jer 25:1 and Jer 52:12), when the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah was kept in confinement in the fore-court of the royal palace. These historical data are inserted (Jer 32:2-5) in the form of circumstantial clauses: 'ואז חיל וגו, "for at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem."
The siege had begun in the ninth year of Zedekiah (Jer 39:1; Jer 52:4), and was afterwards raised for a short time, in consequence of the approach of an auxiliary corps of Egyptians; but, as soon as these had been defeated, it was resumed (Jer 37:5, Jer 37:11). Jeremiah was then kept confined in the court of the prison of the royal palace (cf. Neh 3:25), "where Zedekiah, king of Judah, had imprisoned him, saying: Why dost thou prophesy, 'Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, so that he shall take it; Jer 32:4.
And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall assuredly be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with his mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; Jer 32:5. And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord. Though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not succeed?'"
- We have already found an utterance of like import in Jer 21:1-14, but that is not here referred to; for it was fulfilled at the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, and did not bring on Jeremiah the consequences mentioned here. From Jer 37 we learn that Jeremiah, during the siege of Jerusalem, on till the time when it was raised through the approach of the Egyptian army, had not been imprisoned, but went freely in and out among the people (Jer 37:4.)
Not till during the temporary raising of the siege, when he wanted to go out of the city into the land of Benjamin, was he seized and thrown into a dungeon, on the pretence that he intended to go over to the Chaldeans. There he remained many days, till King Zedekiah ordered him to be brought, and questioned him privately as to the issue of the conflict; when Jeremiah replied, "Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."
On this occasion Jeremiah complained to the king of his imprisonment, and requested that he might not be sent back into the dungeon, where he must soon perish; the king then ordered him (Jer 37:11-21) to be taken into the court of the prison-house (חצר , Jer 37:21), where he remained in confinement till the city was taken (Jer 38:13, Jer 38:28; Jer 39:14). The statement in our verses as to the cause of this imprisonment does not contradict, but agrees with the notice in Jer 37, as soon as we perceive that this account contains merely a brief passing notice of the matter.
The same holds true of the utterance of the prophet in Jer 32:3-5. Jeremiah, even at the beginning of the siege (Jer 21:3.) , had sent a message of similar import to the king, and repeated the same afterwards: Jer 34:3-5; Jer 37:17; Jer 38:17-23. The words of our verses are taken from these repeated utterances; Jer 32:4 agrees almost verbatim with Jer 34:3; and the words, "there shall he remain עד־פּקדי אתו, till I regard him with favour," are based upon the clearer utterance as to the end of Zedekiah, Jer 34:4-5.
- The circumstances under which Jeremiah received the following commission from the Lord are thus exactly stated, in order to show how little prospect the present of the kingdom of Judah offered for the future, which was portrayed by the purchase of the field. Not only must the kingdom of Judah inevitably succumb to the power of the Chaldeans, and its population go into exile, but even Jeremiah is imprisoned, in so hopeless a condition, that he is no longer sure of his life for a single day.
Jer 32:1-5 The time and the circumstances of the following message from God. - The message came to Jeremiah in the tenth year of Zedekiah, i. e. , in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar (cf. Jer 25:1 and Jer 52:12), when the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah was kept in confinement in the fore-court of the royal palace. These historical data are inserted (Jer 32:2-5) in the form of circumstantial clauses: 'ואז חיל וגו, "for at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem."
The siege had begun in the ninth year of Zedekiah (Jer 39:1; Jer 52:4), and was afterwards raised for a short time, in consequence of the approach of an auxiliary corps of Egyptians; but, as soon as these had been defeated, it was resumed (Jer 37:5, Jer 37:11). Jeremiah was then kept confined in the court of the prison of the royal palace (cf. Neh 3:25), "where Zedekiah, king of Judah, had imprisoned him, saying: Why dost thou prophesy, 'Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, so that he shall take it; Jer 32:4.
And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall assuredly be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with his mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; Jer 32:5. And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord. Though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not succeed?'"
- We have already found an utterance of like import in Jer 21:1-14, but that is not here referred to; for it was fulfilled at the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, and did not bring on Jeremiah the consequences mentioned here. From Jer 37 we learn that Jeremiah, during the siege of Jerusalem, on till the time when it was raised through the approach of the Egyptian army, had not been imprisoned, but went freely in and out among the people (Jer 37:4.)
Not till during the temporary raising of the siege, when he wanted to go out of the city into the land of Benjamin, was he seized and thrown into a dungeon, on the pretence that he intended to go over to the Chaldeans. There he remained many days, till King Zedekiah ordered him to be brought, and questioned him privately as to the issue of the conflict; when Jeremiah replied, "Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."
On this occasion Jeremiah complained to the king of his imprisonment, and requested that he might not be sent back into the dungeon, where he must soon perish; the king then ordered him (Jer 37:11-21) to be taken into the court of the prison-house (חצר , Jer 37:21), where he remained in confinement till the city was taken (Jer 38:13, Jer 38:28; Jer 39:14). The statement in our verses as to the cause of this imprisonment does not contradict, but agrees with the notice in Jer 37, as soon as we perceive that this account contains merely a brief passing notice of the matter.
The same holds true of the utterance of the prophet in Jer 32:3-5. Jeremiah, even at the beginning of the siege (Jer 21:3.) , had sent a message of similar import to the king, and repeated the same afterwards: Jer 34:3-5; Jer 37:17; Jer 38:17-23. The words of our verses are taken from these repeated utterances; Jer 32:4 agrees almost verbatim with Jer 34:3; and the words, "there shall he remain עד־פּקדי אתו, till I regard him with favour," are based upon the clearer utterance as to the end of Zedekiah, Jer 34:4-5.
- The circumstances under which Jeremiah received the following commission from the Lord are thus exactly stated, in order to show how little prospect the present of the kingdom of Judah offered for the future, which was portrayed by the purchase of the field. Not only must the kingdom of Judah inevitably succumb to the power of the Chaldeans, and its population go into exile, but even Jeremiah is imprisoned, in so hopeless a condition, that he is no longer sure of his life for a single day.