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Discerning the Dynamics of Jeremiah 25–52 (MT) Mark A O’Brien OP Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 1 13-May-20 5:25:50 PM Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 2 13-May-20 5:25:50 PM Discerning the Dynamics of Jeremiah 25–52 (MT) Mark A O’Brien OP THEOLOGY Adelaide 2020 Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 3 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM Text copyright © 2020 remains withMark A O’Brien OP. All rights reserved. Except for any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without prior permission. Inquiries should be made in the first instance with the publisher. Unless stated otherwise. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible © 1989, and 1983 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved. Cover art work Thinkstock Cover Design: MyfCadwallader Layout by Extel Solutions, India Text: Minion Pro size 10 &11 Published by: THEOLOGY An imprint of the ATF Press Publishing Group owned by ATF (Australia) Ltd. PO Box 504 Hindmarsh, SA 5007 ABN 90 116 359 963 www.atfpress.com Making a lasting impact Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 4 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM To the Memory of my Mother Cecilia May O’Brien (née Flanagan) 2017–2003 Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 5 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 6 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ix Foreword xi Introduction: An Outline of The Dynamics of Jeremiah 25–52 (MT) xiii Part 1 Jeremiah 25:1–36:32 1 Chapter 1 25:1–26:24 3 Chapter 2 27:1–29:32 21 Chapter 3 30:1–31:40 47 Chapter 4 32:1–33:26 75 Chapter 5 34:1–36:32 95 Part 2 Jeremiah 37:1–45:5 127 Chapter 6 37:1–39:18 129 Chapter 7 40:1–45:5 175 Part 3 Jeremiah 46:1–52:34 229 Chapter 8 46:1–49:39 231 Chapter 9 50:1–51:64 267 Chapter 10 52:1–34 297 vii Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 7 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM viii Discerning the Dynamics of Jeremiah 25–52 (MT) Concluding Remarks 305 Bibliography of Works Cited 315 Subjects Index 329 Author Index 341 Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 8 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM List of Abbreviations AB Anchor Bible ANE Ancient Near East AOTC Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries ATD Das Alte Testament Deutsch BCE Before the Common Era BETL Biblioteca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium Bib Biblica BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BZABR Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechsgeschichte BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissen- schaft CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly dtr deuteronomistic ESV English Standard Version ETL Ephemerides theologicae lovaniensises EvT Evangelische Theologie FAT Forschungen zum Alten Testament FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments HB/OT Hebrew Bible/Old Testament HB/OTS Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies HDR Higher Degree Research HThKAT Herders Theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JBQ Jewish Biblical Quarterly JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies ix Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 9 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM x Discerning the Dynamics of Jeremiah 25–52 (MT) JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series LHBOTS Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies LXX Septuagint (Greek) MT Masoretic Text (Hebrew) MS Manuscript OBO Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis OTE Old Testament Essays OTM Old Testament Message SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series SHBC Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary SJOT Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament VT Vetus Testamentum VTSup Supplements to Vetus Testamentum WBC Word Biblical Commentary WMANT Wissenschaftliche Monograhien zum Alten und Neuen Testament WTJ Westminster Theological Journal ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 10 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM Foreword This is a follow-up volume to the one that I published with ATF Press in 2017 on Discerning the Dynamics of Jeremiah 1–25 (MT), and its aim is to carry out the same kind of analysis on chapters 25–52 of the book of Jeremiah. The fact that chapter 25 appears in the title of both volumes is due to my perception that this chapter functions as a pivotal or hinge text in the book, drawing together what has been proclaimed in the preceding chapters and preparing the reader for what is to follow in the subsequent chapters. Once again I would like to thank my colleagues at Catholic Theo- logical College (CTC) and Yarra Theological Union (YTU) within the University of Divinity, Melbourne, for their support and wise advice that assisted me in bringing the project to completion. I would also like to thank my confreres in the Dominican Order in Australia for their support and encouragement. A recent semester’s sabbatical in Sydney enabled me to complete a draft of this volume, and the Don- ald Robinson Library at Moore College in the University of Sydney provided a very valuable bibliographical resource. My sincere thanks to the library staff for their assistance. It is an honour to have this volume accepted for publication in ATF Press, Adelaide. My sincere thanks to Hilary Regan, Patricia Cramp and the staff at ATF Press for their assistance and advice dur- ing the publication process. I hope the two volumes make a worth- while contribution to ongoing research into this extraordinary book. xi Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 11 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 12 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM Introduction An Outline of The Dynamics of Jeremiah 25–52 (MT) Before outlining my understanding of the Dynamics of Jeremiah 25–52, it may be of use to readers to summarise the Dynamics of Jer- emiah 1–25 as presented in my preceding volume.1 The book begins with Jeremiah appointed by YHWH over Judah and the nations ‘to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant’ (cf 1:10). The accompanying announcement that YHWH is summoning invaders from the north against Judah and the nations implies that any planting and building will only occur after the exist- ing (dis)order has been plucked up and pulled down, destroyed and overthrown. Jeremiah’s preaching commences in chapter 2 with a review that employs the metaphor of a perfect marriage that subse- quently went awry due to the infidelity of wife Israel. Because the review has to cover the period of the divided kingdom, in 3:5–11 and following there is a discrete shift from the marriage metaphor to that 1. Cf Discerning the Dynamics of Jeremiah 1–25 (MT) (Adelaide: ATF Press, 2017). As stated in the Introduction, I have adopted the term ‘Dynamics’ from Georg Fischer. In his commentary on Jeremiah he states that ‘Von Wort zu Wort und Vers zu Vers baut Jer seine Aussagen und seine Botschaft auf. So erhält das Buch eine Dynamik, und es ist aus diser seiner Abfolge heraus zu interpretieren’ (‘Jeremiah builds its assertions and its message from word to word and from verse to verse. In this way the book acquires a dynamic quality and it is to be interpreted on the basis of this sequence’—my translation) (Jeremia übersetzt and ausgelegt, 2 volumes HTKAT [Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2005] 1, 87). Even though I accept the book was assembled over a period of time by various redactors/editors, the focus of my study is the way the MT version portrays the character Jeremiah and his words and actions, as well as other characters in the book and their words and actions, in order to present and promote its theology of prophecy. My reasons for including chapter 25 as an integral part of the two major sections of the book are provided below. xiii Discerning the Dynamics of Jermiah 25-52.indd 13 13-May-20 5:25:51 PM xiv Discerning the Dynamics of Jeremiah 25–52 (MT) of the two sisters, Israel (northern kingdom) and Judah (southern kingdom), apparently in order to avoid portraying YHWH with two wives. These sisters are the rebellious children of parent YHWH, with ‘false Judah’ compared unfavourably with her sister ‘faithless Israel’. Given the setting of Jeremiah’s ministry in the final days of Judah and its capital Jerusalem, one is not surprised to find this nation and its capital city as the focus of a series of indictments in 4:3–6:20. The most sacred place in Judah and Jerusalem is the temple, and the series of indictments reaches a dramatic climax in a sermon that Jer- emiah delivers at the gate of the temple in 7:1–8:3. Here he declares on YHWH’s authority that the most sacred place in the land will be destroyed like the northern shrine of Shiloh, and the people will be cast out of YHWH’s presence. A number of passages in chapters 4–10 signals the stress this mes- sage causes the prophet, a stress that reaches crisis point in his first lament or complaint in 11:18–12:4.
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