Jeremiah 2

Jeremiah 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapters 2 to 6 contain the earliest preaching of Jeremiah on the apostasy of Israel.[1] Verses 2:1 to 3:5 dramatize the ending of "marriage" between Yahweh and Israel.[2]

Jeremiah 2
A high resolution scan of the Aleppo Codex showing the Book of Jeremiah (the sixth book in Nevi'im).
BookBook of Jeremiah
Hebrew Bible partNevi'im
Order in the Hebrew part6
CategoryLatter Prophets
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part24

Text

The original text of this chapter, as with the rest of the Book of Jeremiah, was written in the Hebrew language. Since the division of the Bible into chapters and verses in the late medieval period, this chapter is divided into 37 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).[3]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; Q; 6th century).[4]

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex.[5] Jeremiah 2 is a part of the Second prophecy (Jeremiah 2:1-3:5) in the Prophecies of Destruction (Jeremiah 1-25) section. {P}: open parashah; {S}: closed parashah.

{P} 2:1-3 {P} 2:4-28 {S} 2:29-37 [3:1-5 {P}]

Analysis

This chapter belongs to a section comprising Jeremiah 2:1–25:38 about the 'Divine Judgment' on Judah and Jerusalem.[6] The structure of the chapter is as follows.[6]

  • (i) The faithfulness of Israel’s youth: her ideal status (2:1-3)
  • (ii) Israel’s apostasy (2:4-13)
  • (iii) The consequences of Israel‘s apostasy (2:14-19)
  • (iv) The fascination and futility of Baal worship (2:20-28)
  • (v) Israel deserves judgment (2:29-37)

The broken marriage between Yahweh and Israel (2:1–3)

Similar to the theme in Hosea 1–3, the relationship between Yahweh and the people of Israel is described using the marriage metaphor, where Yahweh acts as a husband to Judah as his wife.[2] The poem in 2:1–3:5 shows the evidence of a broken covenant against Israel, addresses alternately between the two personae of Judah (or Jerusalem) as a female wife (using Hebrew feminine singular grammatical forms in 2:2; 2:17–25; 2:33–3:5) and the "male Israel" (using masculine singular and plural forms in 2:3; 2:4–16; 2:26–32).[2] Yahweh accuses Israel of betraying and forsaking him, while he has been generous to bring them into a "plentiful land" (2:7), evoking sympathy for Yahweh who cannot understand this treachery.[7]

Verse 1
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,[8]

The opening word Moreover (in the King James Version) connects Jeremiah's first prophecy with his call as a prophet in Jeremiah 1:4–19, using a similar formula of statement as in Jeremiah 1:4.[2]

The unfaithfulness of Israel (2:4–37)

Verse 7
And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.[9]

Verse 16
Also the people of Noph and Tahpanhes
Have broken the crown of your head.[10]

Egypt, identified by its two cities, will inevitably hegemonize Israel.[2]

Verse 18
And now why take the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of Sihor?
Or why take the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the River?[14]

The futility of relying on Egypt and Assyria was stated by other prophets (cf. Isaiah 30:1–5), but here it refers to the two political factions in Judah: the pro-Egyptians and the pro-Assyrians.[15] This points to the early period of Jeremiah's ministry, when the two nations held the "balance of power in the Middle East"; this ends when Assyria collapsed in 612 BCE.[16] "Sihor" (lit. "blackness") refers to the Nile, whereas "the river" refers to the Euphrates[17] (cf. Deuteronomy 1:7; 1 Kings 4:21; Isaiah 7:20; Nehemiah 2:7).[16]

Verse 36
Why do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also you shall be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria.[18]

Israel's two lovers will shame her.[19]

See also

References
  1. Jerusalem Bible (1966), footnote at Jeremiah 2:1
  2. O'Connor 2007, p. 491.
  3. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
  4. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
  5. As reflected in the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English.
  6. Thompson 1980, p. 125.
  7. O'Connor 2007, pp. 491–492.
  8. Jeremiah 2:1 KJV
  9. Jeremiah 2:7 KJV
  10. Jeremiah 2:16 KJV
  11. Note [f] on Jeremiah 2:16 in NKJV.
  12. Note on Jeremiah 43:7 in NET Bible
  13. Note [g] on Jeremiah 2:16 in NKJV
  14. Jeremiah 2:18 NKJV
  15. Thompson 1980, pp. 9–27.
  16. Thompson 1980, pp. 174.
  17. Note [a] on Jeremiah 2:18 in the New King James Version
  18. Jeremiah 2:36 NKJV
  19. O'Connor 2007, p. 492.

Sources
  • O'Connor, Kathleen M. (2007). "23. Jeremiah". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 487–533. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  • Thompson, J. A. (1980). A Book of Jeremiah. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (illustrated, revised ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802825308.
  • Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.

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