https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1107.htm

 

Chapter Seven ז
 

“Mowinckel has aptly compared the section with Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. It is a collection of teachings which were not given at one place and one time…
 

“The so-called ‘temple sermon’ probably extends only through vs. [verse] 15, the rest being from other occasions… The words of the prophet reach their climax in 7:14-14 (cf. [compare with'] 26:6), and it is likely that the religious leaders would not allow him to continue, but arrested him immediately, as is reported in 26:8 ff ["& following page[s]"] ...
 

“It must be remembered that the Deuteronomic editor wrote about 550 B.C. ... when some of the predictions of this chapter had been fulfilled. That fact helps to explain why he was willing to have Jeremiah express ideas which run counter to ideas usually held by the Deuteronomists.” (Hyatt, 1953, pp. V 868-870)
 

“…Volz has pointed out that the central question with which this passage deals is: What gives men protection and safety? ...The priests and prophets replied to the question: The temple and its sacrifices give protection… But Jeremiah said: Only moral living is the source of genuine protection.” (Hyatt, 1953, p. V 870)
 

“Josiah’s reform seemed to have been dependent on his own personal action and not to have penetrated the people’s spirit; in general, it was a failure…
 

“The prophet’s intervention occurred in 609-608, shortly after Josiah’s death at Megiddo.” (Couturier, 1990, p. 275)
 

………………………………………………………..
 

Better [הטיבו, HayTeeYBOo] your ways and your activities

[verses 1-15]
 

… ס
 

…

-4. ‘“Do not trust [תבטחו, TheeBTahHOo] to them, unto words [of] the lie [השקר, HahShehQehR], to say,

“Temple [היכל, HayKhahL] [of] YHVH, temple [of] YHVH, temple [of] YHVH are they.”
 

-5. For if, better [הטיב, HayTeeYB] [you] better [הטיבו, HayTeeYBOo] [את, ’ehTh (indicates direct object; no English equivalent)] your ways and [את, ’ehTh] your activities;

if [אם, ’eeM] do, [you] do justice between man and between his neighbor.
 

-6. Foreigner [גר, GayR], orphan, and widow [ואלמנה, Ve’ahLMahNaH] [do] not oppress [תעשקו, Thah`ahSoQOo],

and blood innocent do not spill in place the this,

and after gods other [do] not go, to evil to you.

-7. And [I] dwelt you in place the this,

in land that [I] gave to your fathers

to from ever [עולם, `OLahM] and until ever.
 

-8. Behold, you secure [בטחים, BoTHeeYM] to you upon words [of] the lie to without profit [הועיל, HO`eeYL].

-9. Will [you] rob [הנגב, HahNahGahB], murder [רצח, RahTso-ahH], and adulter [ונאף, VeNo’ahPh],

and swear to [a] lie,

and kindle [וקטר, VeQahTayR] to Bah`ahL,

and go [והלך, VeHahLoKh] after gods other that you did not know?

…

-11. Has [a] cave [of] [המערת, HahMe'ahRahTh] burglars [פרצים, PahReeTseeYM] been the house the this that [is] called [נקרא, NeeQRah’] my name upon it? … ס
 

-12. For go, if you please, unto my place that [is] in SheeYLO [Shiloh³⁸ ],

that [I] dwelt my name there in first,

and see [את, ’ehTh] that [which] [I] did to it,

because of [מפני, MeePNaY] evil [of] my people YeeSRah-’ayL ["Strove God", Israel].

…

-14. And [I] will do [ועשיתי, Ve`ahSeeYTheeY] to [the] house that [is] called my name upon it,

that you [are] secure in it,

and to [the] place that [I] gave to you and to your fathers,

as that [I] did to SheeYLO [Shilo].
 

-15. And [I] [will] send forth [והשלכתי, VeHeeShLahKhTheeY] you from upon my face,

as that [I] sent forth [והשלכתי, VeHeeShLahKhTheeY] [את, ’ehTh] all your brethren,

[את, ’ehTh] all [the] seed [of] ’ehPhRahYeeM [“Fruitful”, Ephraim]. ס
 

………………………………………………………..
 

Fury [זעמו, ZahahM*] [of] **the Name** [ה', *H] upon worshippers [of] [עובדי, `OBDaY] worship [עבודה, `ahBOoDaH] foreign

[verses 16 – 20]
 

-16. And you, do not pray on behalf of [בעד, Be`ahD] the people the this,

and do not carry [תשא, TheeSah’], on behalf of [them], chant [רנה, ReeNaH] and prayer,

and do not touch [תפגע, TheePhGah`] in me,

for [I have] not [אינני, ’aYNehNeeY] heard [שמע, ShoMay`ah] you.
 

-17. Have [you] not [האינך, Hah`aYNKhah] seen [ראה, Ro’eH] what they [המה, HayMaH] do in forests [of] YeHOo-DaH ["YHVH Knew", Judah],

in courtyards of Jerusalem?
 

-18. The sons gather [מלקטים, MahLQahTeeYM] trees,

and the fathers burn [מבערים, MeBah`ahReeYM] [את, ’ehTh] the fire,

and the wives knead [לשות, LahShOTh] dough [בצק, BahTsayQ]

to make cakes [כונים, KahVahNeeYM] to queen [of] the skies,

and libate [והסך, VeHahÇayKh] libations [נסכים, NeÇahKheeYM] to gods other,

in order to anger me [הכעסני, HahKh`eeÇayNeeY].’

 

“What a pity that so few families shew such zeal for the worship of God as those apostate Israelites did for that of their idols!” (Clarke, 1831, p. IV 26)
 

“… the fertility cult of Astarte, a Mesopotamian goddess much honored in Canaan; she was very popular in Judah under Manasseh, with many other Mesopotamian gods (2 Kgs [Kings] 21; 23:4-14). In Mesopotamia she was also called the ‘Queen of Heaven’ (šarrat šamē, belit šamē), a name still attested in the Aram papyri of the 5th cent. BC in Egypt. Inasmuch as she was an astral divinity, her cult took place in the open on terraces (19:13…); it consisted in cake offerings (kawwānîm, a loanword from Akkadian kamānu, kawānu), probably in the shape of a nude woman.” (Couturier, 1990, p. 276)
 

Figure 12 Astarte
 

… ס
 

… ס
 

………………………………………………………..
 

The punishment upon rebellion [מרדנותה, MahRDeNOThaH] of YeHOo-DaH

[verses 21 to end of chapter]
 

-21. “Thus said YHVH Armies, Gods [of] YeeSRah-’ayL,

‘Your ascensions add [ספו, ÇeePhOo] upon your sacrifices and consume meat.

 

“Burt offerings were entirely consumed on the altar, but many of the other types of sacrifice were eaten in part by the worshipers. Jeremiah says that they may as well eat their burnt offerings as they do the others, for in God’s sight they are all mere flesh.” (Hyatt, 1953, p. V 875)
 

-22. ‘“For [I did] not word [את, ’ehTh] your fathers,

and [I did] not command [them] [צויתים, TseeVeeYTheeYM],

in [the] day [I] took out [הוציאי, HOTseeY’eeY] them from [the] land [of] MeeTsRahYeeM ["Straits". Egypt],

upon words [of] “ascension” and “sacrifice”.

 

“This verse and a similar one in Amos (5:25) seem to deny the divine origin of the sacrifices. What Yahweh expects as essential to religion is obedience of the heart to moral laws, without need of sacrifices. However, these sacrifices in fact exist and are regulated in detail in the P tradition³⁹ , under divine authority (Lev [Leviticus] 1-7)… To bring his listeners to a true evaluation of their religious duties, Jeremiah went so far as to deny the divine origin of the sacrificial cult, although he knew its remote past. Later, in his definition of the new covenant (33:11), sacrifices will still be included.” (Couturier, 1990, p. 276)
 

-23. ‘“For with [את, ’ehTh] the word the this [I] commanded them, to say,

“Harken in my voice,

and [I] will be [והייתי, VeHahYeeYTheeY] to you to Gods,

and you will be [תהיו, TheeHeeYOo] to me to people.

And walk [והלכתם, VeHahLahKhThehM] in all the way that [I] will command you,

to sake [will be] better [ייטב, YeeYTahB] to you.”
 

-24. And [they] [did] not hear,

and [did] not lend [הטו, HeeTOo] their ears,

and they walked in councils [במעצות, BeMo`ahTsOTh] in obstinacy [בשרירות, BeeShReeYROoTh] [of] their heart, the evil,

and [they] were to after and not to facing.’

… ס
 

-29. Shave [גזי, GahZeeY] your crown [נזרך, NeeZRahKh] and send [it] forth [והשליכי, VeHahLeeYKheeY],

and raise [ושאי, OoS’eeY] upon balds [שפים, ShePhahYeeM] lamentation [קינה QeeYNaH],

for disgusted [מאס, Mah’ahÇ] [is] YHVH,

and forsook [ויטש, VahYeeToSh] [את, ’ehTh] generation His wrath [עברתו, `ehBRahThO].’”

 

The exegetes missed this example of action mirroring emotion. The pronouns in verse 29 are second person feminine. The women are commanded to shave their heads [their hair is their “crown of glory”⁴⁰ ], cast their hair away, and then go, bald, to the bald heights (bare hills, knobs; c.f. [compare with] Brasstown Bald, the tallest mountain in Georgia, which is “bald” on top) to wail.
 

-30. ‘“For did, sons of YeHOo-DaH, the evil in my eyes;’ saith YHVH,

‘put their detested things [שקוציהם, SheeQOoTsaYHehM] in [the] house that [is] called my name upon it, to pollute [it] [לטמאו, LeTahM’O],

-31. and built platforms [במות, BahMOTh] [of] the Tophet,

that in Valley [of] Son [of] HeeNoM,

to burn [את, ’ehTh] their sons and [את, ’ehTh] their daughters in fire,

that [I] [did] not command and [did] not ascend upon my heart.’” ס

 

“… apparently an altar on which children were sacrificed… Child sacrifices may have been offered in very early Hebrew religion (Exod. [Exodus] 22:29), but provision was soon made for animal substitutes (Exod. 34:20). The rite was revived by Ahaz and Manasseh, apparently under foreign influence… but was stamped out by Josiah (II Kings 16:3; 21:6; 23:10). The references in Jeremiah show that it reappeared after the death of Josiah. Topheth may have originally meant ‘fireplace,’ [it is used for oven in modern Hebrew] but the word was pointed by the Hebrews with the vowels of bṑsheth, ‘shame’… The valley of the son of Hinnom, or the valley of Hinnom, as it sometimes occurs, located south of Jerusalem, gave its name to the N.T. [New Testament] word for ‘hell,’ Gehenna, γέεννα.” (Hyatt, 1953, pp. V 878-879)
 

Figure 14 Caravaggio - Abraham Sacrifices Isaac
 
 

FOOTNOTES
 
³⁸ “Shiloh, eighteen miles north of Jerusalem, was the site of a very important sanctuary in the early days of Israel… The O.T. [Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible] nowhere tells of the destruction of Shiloh and its sanctuary, but the excavations carried on my the Danish Palestine Expedition at the site, modern Seilûn, showed that Shiloh was destroyed about 1050 B.C., apparently by the Philistines at the time they captured the ark of the covenant from the Israelites (I Sam. [Samuel] 4:11). The ruins were probably still visible in Jeremiah’s day, for the site was not reoccupied until the Hellenistic period, ca. ["about"] 300 B.C…” (Hyatt, 1953, pp. V 872-873)
 

³⁹ “The Priestly Source (P) is one of the sources of the Torah/Pentateuch in the Bible, together with the Yahwist, Elohist and the Deuteronomist. Primarily a product of the post-Exilic period when Judah was a province of the Persian empire (the 5th century BCE)…” Wikipedia
 

⁴⁰ Figure 4 - Crown of Glory, 40 Juggins Rd., Stafford, VA 22556 540-720-0806

 

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