Jeremiah 22:5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 22:5 sn Heb “I swear by myself.” Oaths were guaranteed by invoking the name of a god or swearing by “his life.” See Jer 12:16 and 44:26. Since the Lord is incomparably great, he could swear by none higher (see Heb 6:13-16) than to swear by himself or his own great name.
2. Jeremiah 22:5 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
3. Jeremiah 22:6 tn Heb “Gilead you are to me, the height of Lebanon, but I will surely make you a wilderness, [with] cities uninhabited.” The points of comparison are made explicit in the translation for the sake of clarity. See the study note for further explanation. For the use of the preposition ל (lamed) = “in my eyes/in my opinion,” see BDB 513 s.v. ל 5.a(d) and compare Jonah 3:3 and Esth 10:3. For the use of the particles אִם לֹא (ʾim loʾ) to introduce an emphatic oath, see BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b(2).sn Lebanon was well known for its cedars, and the palace (and the temple) had used a good deal of such timber in its construction (see 1 Kgs 5:6, 8-10; 7:2-3). In this section several references are made to cedar (see vv. 7, 14, 15, 23), and allusion has also been made to the paneled and colonnade armory of the Forest of Lebanon (2:14). It appears to have been a source of pride and luxury, perhaps at the expense of justice. Gilead was also noted in antiquity for its forests as well as for its fertile pastures.
4. Jeremiah 22:7 sn Heb “I will sanctify destroyers against it.” If this is not an attenuated use of the term “sanctify,” the traditions of Israel’s holy wars are being turned against her. See also 6:4. In Israel’s early wars in the wilderness and in the conquest, the Lord fought for her against the enemies (cf., e.g., Josh 10:11, 14, 42; 24:7; Judg 5:20; 1 Sam 7:10). Now he is going to fight against them (21:5, 13) and use the enemy as his instruments of destruction. For a similar picture of destruction in the temple see the lament in Ps 74:3-7.