Jeremiah 17

Jeremiah 17
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A high resolution scan of the Aleppo Codex showing the Book of Jeremiah (the sixth book in Nevi'im).
Book	Book of Jeremiah
Hebrew Bible part	Nevi'im
Order in the Hebrew part	6
Category	Latter Prophets
Christian Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Christian part	24

Jeremiah 17 is the seventeenth 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. This chapter includes the third of the passages known as the "Confessions of Jeremiah" (Jeremiah 17:14–18). ^[1]

Text

The original text of this chapter is written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 27 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). ^[2] Some fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., 4QJer^a (4Q70; 225-175 BCE ^{[3] [4]} ) with extant verses 8‑26. ^{[5] [6]}

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (with a different verse numbering), made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^Q; 6th century). ^[7] Verses 1-4 are not found in the Septuagint. ^{[8] [9]}

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. ^[10] Jeremiah 17 is a part of the Sixth prophecy (Jeremiah 14-17) in the section of Prophecies of Destruction (Jeremiah 1-25). {P}: open parashah; {S}: closed parashah.

{S} 17:1-4 {S} 17:5-6 {S} 17:7-10 {S} 17:11-13 {P} 17:14-18 {S} 17:19-27 {P}

The sin and punishment of Judah (17:1–11)

Verse 1

The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron,

and with the point of a diamond:

it is graven upon the table of their heart,

and upon the horns of your altars; ^[11]

Similarly, in Job 19:23–24:

Oh, that my words were written … with an iron pen.

The image of "sin written with an iron pen" is used by Israeli poets Dvora Amir, Dahlia Falah and Liat Kap, criticising Israel's occupation of lands conquered in the 1967 war, and the resulting oppression of the Palestinian people. ^[12]

Verses 5-8

Verses 5-8 contrast the prospects for a tree in a desert and a tree whose roots can reach water, and apply these images to curse one man and bless another. Verna Holyhead suggests that the tree by water has been carefully transplanted there, from the desert, in order that it can survive: ^[13]

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit. ^[14]

• One who "trusts in the Lord" (verse 7) is described as a "fruitful, well-watered tree" (Psalm 1:3; Psalm 92:12–15; Proverbs 3:18). ^[15]
• "Fear" (from Hebrew: ירא yi-rā ; as in Masoretic Ketiv, LXX and Vulgate): in Qere and Targum read "see" (from Hebrew: יראה yir-'eh ). ^[16]

See also

• Benjamin
• David
• Jerusalem
• Judah
• Negev
• Sabbath

• Related Bible parts: Psalm 1, Psalm 92, Proverbs 3, Jeremiah 14, Jeremiah 15

References

1. Diamond, A. R. (1987), The Confessions of Jeremiah in Context, JSOTSup 45, Sheffield
2. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
3. Cross, F.M. apud Freedman, D.N.; Mathews, K.A. (1985). The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll (11QpaleoLev). Winona Lake, Indiana. p. 55
4. Sweeney, Marvin A. (2010). Form and Intertextuality in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature. Forschungen zum Alten Testament. Vol. 45 (reprint ed.). Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 66. ISBN   9781608994182. ISSN   0940-4155.
5. Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (2008). A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 37. ISBN   9780802862419 . Retrieved February 15, 2019.
6. Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill. pp. 566–567. ISBN   9789004181830 . Retrieved May 15, 2017.
7. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
8. "Swete's Septuagint: Jeremiah 17".
9. "Table of Order of Jeremiah in Hebrew and Septuagint". www.ccel.org.
10. As reflected in the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English.
11. Jeremiah 17:1 KJV
12. With an Iron Pen: Twenty Years of Hebrew Protest Poetry, edited by Tal Nitzán and Rachel Tzvia Back, 2009
13. Holyhead, V. (2006), Welcoming the Word in Year C: With Burning Hearts, p. 97, Liturgical Press
14. Jeremiah 17:8: NKJV
15. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. p. 1105-1107 Hebrew Bible. ISBN   978-0195288810
16. Notes on Jeremiah 17:8 in NKJV.

Bibliography

• Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill.
• 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.

External links

Jewish

• Jeremiah 17 Hebrew with Parallel English

Christian

• Jeremiah 17 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate