CONTRIBUTE TO UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF נָחַם AND ׁשּוב HOW JEREMIAH 4:28, 15:6-7, 18:7-10 AND 26:3, 13 AND 19 By Allen Bythel Marsh A dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theology at the South African Theological Seminary April 2018 Supervisor: Dr WR Domeris DECLARATION I hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work and has not previously been submitted to any institution for a degree. Allen B Marsh Geneva, AL, USA April, 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are several that deserve my thanks and appreciation for all their support. I want to first and foremost give God the glory for without Him none of this would even be possible. Jesus, I thank you for your love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. May you receive all the glory for anything good that may come from my life. Create in me a heart that loves you more and more each day. Dr Bill Domeris, for your expertise, professionalism and guiding me through this process from start to finish. It was the greatest pleasure working with you, and there are no words to adequately explain how much I am thankful to have had the opportunity to research with you. My wife, Andrea, for encouraging me to continue no matter the circumstances. You continually push me to become a better person. You have always believed in me, and I am eternally grateful for you. May we always keep Jesus and His kingdom our number one priority in our life. Dr Rick Freeman, for your support, encouragement and being a wonderful mentor and friend. Without your generosity, I would not have had the opportunity to pursue a doctorate degree. My Trinity Church family, for your love, support and patience with me through my educational journey. ABSTRACT (nacham) נָחַם shub) and) ׁשּוב The purpose of this thesis was to explore how contribute to understanding the meaning of Jeremiah 4:28, 15:6-7, 18:7-10 and 26:3, 13 and 19. This thesis affirms three hypotheses: (1) When Jeremiah 4:28, 15:6-7, 18:7-10 and 26:3, 13 and 19 are exegetically examined, the relationship nacham) plays a vital role in) נָחַם shub) and) ׁשּוב between the Hebrew words ׁשּוב understanding the overall message of those passages. (2) Jeremiah used nacham) to demonstrate that God sometimes but not arbitrarily) נָחַם shub) and) relents in response to the decisions of his people. (3) Based on a careful נָחַם shub) and) ׁשּוב reading of the Hebrew Text, the relationship between (nacham) reveals that conditional propositions are real not only from man’s perspective but also from God’s. נָחַם shub) and) ׁשּוב This thesis reveals how the covenantal relationship of (nacham) proved to contribute much to the understanding of the Jeremiah passages. For example, the covenantal relationship shows that the response of the nation had an influence on what God did or did not do, meaning that to some degree the future of the nation was in the hands of the people depending upon how they responded to God. God’s relenting was based on the nation repenting. Another example is when Jeremiah 18:1-10 is viewed in the context of covenant relationship, it was found that the main point of the passage shifted from the potter’s unilateral control and sovereignty over the clay to the flexibility of the potter to work with his clay. nacham) with God as its) נָחַם This thesis challenges the traditional notion that subject does not have literal meaning and is merely an anthropomorphic metaphor. This thesis provides a framework for metaphorical interpretation as it relates to anthropomorphisms. Instead of interpreting all anthropomorphisms in the same way and by the same standard, this thesis calls for a distinction to be made between material (physical) and immaterial (non-physical) anthropomorphic statements in the Old Testament and shows why they cannot be interpreted in the same way. For example, this thesis shows that if an immaterial anthropomorphism is not to some degree interpreted literally, then it loses its meaning and purpose. Furthermore, this thesis concludes that an nacham) is not) נָחַם anthropomorphic non-literal interpretation of God relenting necessary based on the exegesis of the Jeremiah passages and is not consistent with the evidence presented in the Old Testament. This thesis also offers a possible explanation as to why Christian tradition has largely dismissed God’s relenting as “anthropomorphic metaphor” despite the evidence from the exegesis and the Old Testament. This is accomplished by comparing the concrete thought of the ancient Hebrews with the abstract thought of the ancient Greeks and shows why the early Greek philosophers disliked anthropomorphic depictions of the gods and how that led the philosophers to develop an idea of the divine as utterly transcendent and in most cases separated and un-relatable to creation. This thesis continues the discussion by showing how this thought influenced some of the early Christian leaders in their mind-set and thinking about God as utterly transcendent, which resulted in non-literal views of God relenting. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………...1 1.1 The statement of the problem 1.1.1 The main problem 1.1.2 The key questions 1.1.3 The hypothesis 1.2 Research methodology and design 1.2.1 The design 1.2.2 The methodology and tools 1.3 Theological and practical value 1.4 Definition of key terms 1.5 Basic assumptions of the researcher 1.6 Delimitations of this thesis 1.7 Introductory conclusion Chapter 2 The Literature Review………………………………………………….....9 2.1 Chapter introduction 2.2 The accommodating anthropomorphism metaphor viewpoint 2.3 The straightforward literal language viewpoint 2.4 The conditional prophecy viewpoint (nacham) נָחַם shub) and) ׁשּוב The sovereignty debates surrounding 2.5 2.6 Chapter conclusion Chapter 3 The Context of the Book of Jeremiah……….…………………………62 3.1 Chapter introduction 3.2 General background of the book of Jeremiah 3.2.1 Debates about Jeremiah: the book and prophet 3.2.2 Dates and timeframes of the events of the book of Jeremiah 3.3 Historical context of the book of Jeremiah 3.3.1 The political background of the book of Jeremiah 3.3.2 The religious context and setting of the book of Jeremiah 3.3.3 The historicity of the biblical texts 3.3.4 The purpose of the book of Jeremiah 3.4 Literary context of the book of Jeremiah 3.4.1 The Hebrew and Greek versions of the book of Jeremiah 3.4.2 The structure and argument (flow and thought) of the book of Jeremiah 3.4.3 The theological themes of the book of Jeremiah 3.4.3.1 Themes from oracles in the book of Jeremiah 3.4.3.2 The covenant theme of the book of Jeremiah 3.4.3.3 The canonical themes of the book of Jeremiah 3.5 Chapter conclusion Chapter 4 Word Studies…………………………………………….……………….99 4.1 Chapter introduction (shub) ׁשּוב Word study of 4.2 (shub) ׁשּוב Philological background of 4.2.1 4.2.1.1 The Akkadian Semitic language 4.2.1.2 The Northwest Semitic language 4.2.1.3 The Southwest Semitic language shub) in the Old) ׁשּוב The meanings and usages of 4.2.2 Testament (shub) ׁשּוב The verbal usage of 4.2.2.1 (shub) ׁשּוב The nonverbal usages of 4.2.2.2 shub) as a proper name) ׁשּוב The usages of 4.2.2.3 (shub) ׁשּוב The synonyms of 4.2.2.4 shub) in the Old Testament) ׁשּוב The covenantal usages of 4.2.3 (shub) is translated in the Septuagint (LXX) ׁשּוב How 4.2.4 shub) is used in the book of Jeremiah) ׁשּוב How 4.2.5 (nacham) נָחַם Word study of 4.3 (nacham) נָחַם Philological background of 4.3.1 4.3.1.1The Akkadian Semitic language 4.3.1.2 The Northwest Semitic language 4.3.1.3 The Southwest Semitic language nacham) in the Old) נָחַם The usages and meanings of 4.3.2 Testament (nacham) נָחַ ם The verbal usage of 4.3.2.1 (nacham) נָחַ ם Nonverbal usages of 4.3.2.2 nacham) as a proper name) נָחַ ם Usages of 4.3.2.3 (nacham) is translated in the Septuagint (LXX) נָחַם How 4.3.3 nacham) is used in the Book of Jeremiah) נָחַם How 4.3.4 4.4 Chapter conclusion Chapter 5 Exegesis of the Key Texts……………………………..…………..….125 5.1 Chapter introduction 5.2. Exegesis of Jeremiah 18:1-10 5.2.1 The Masoretic Text (MT) and the Septuagint (LXX) 5.2.2 Literary and historical-cultural matters 5.2.3 Jeremiah 18:1-4 5.2.4 Jeremiah 18:5-6 5.2.5 Jeremiah 18:7-10 5.2.6. Exegetical conclusions from Jeremiah 18:1-10 5.3 Exegesis of Jeremiah 4:23-31 5.3.1 The Masoretic Text (MT) and Septuagint (LXX) 5.3.2 Literary and historical-cultural matters 5.3.3 Jeremiah 4:23-26 5.3.4 Jeremiah 4:27-31 5.3.5 Exegetical conclusions from Jeremiah 4:23-31 5.4 Exegesis of Jeremiah 15:1-7 5.4.1 The Masoretic Text (MT) and Septuagint (LXX) 5.4.2 Literary and historical-cultural matters 5.4.3 Jeremiah 15:1-2 5.4.4 Jeremiah 15:3-5 5.4.5 Jeremiah 15:6-7 5.4.6 Exegetical conclusions from Jeremiah 15:1-7 5.5 Exegesis of Jeremiah 26:1-19 5.5.1 The Masoretic Text (MT) and Septuagint (LXX) 5.5.2 Literary and historical-cultural matters 5.5.3 Jeremiah 26:1-9 5.5.4 Jeremiah 26:10-15 5.5.5 Jeremiah 26:16-19 5.5.6 Exegetical conclusions from Jeremiah 26:1-19 5.6 Chapter conclusion Chapter 6 The Divine Council………………………..………………………..…..173 6.1 Chapter introduction נָחַם shub) and) ׁשּוב Stats drawn from biblical data concerning 6.2 (nacham) nacham) in the Old Testament) נָחַם shub) and) ׁשּוב Similar usages of 6.3 to that of the context of Jeremiah 6.3.1 Exodus 32:7-14 6.3.2 Amos 7:1-6 6.3.3 Jonah 3:3-10 6.3.4 Genesis 6:6-7 6.3.5 1 Samuel 15:10-11, 35 6.3.6 1 Chronicles 21:14-15 6.4 Reconciling other Old Testament passages 6.4.1 Numbers 23:13-20 6.4.2 1 Samuel 15:27-29 6.4.3 Malachi 3:6 6.5 Chapter conclusion Chapter 7