Jeremiah 2:16

2:16 Even the soldiers ¹  from Memphis and Tahpanhes

have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. ² 

Jeremiah 13:2

13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do ³  and put them on. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 41:17

41:17 They set out to go to Egypt to get away from the Babylonians, ⁵  but stopped at Geruth Kimham ⁶  near Bethlehem. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 42:18

42:18 For ⁸  the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁹  says, ‘If you go to Egypt, I will pour out my wrath on you just as I poured out my anger and wrath on the citizens of Jerusalem. ¹⁰  You will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. ¹¹  You will never see this place again.’ ¹² 

[2:16]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of…”

[2:16]  ² tc The translation follows the reading of the Syriac version. The Hebrew text reads “have grazed [= “shaved” ?] your skulls [as a sign of disgracing them].” Note that the reference shifts from third person, “him,” to second person, “you,” which is common in Hebrew style. The words “people of Israel” have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent and ease the switch. The reading presupposes יְרֹעוּךְ (yÿro’ukh) a Qal imperfect from the verb רָעַע (ra’a’; see BDB 949 s.v. II רָעַע Qal.1 and compare usage in Jer 15:2; Ps 2:9). The MT reads יִרְעוּךְ (yir’ukh), a Qal imperfect from the root רָעָה (ra’ah; see BDB 945 s.v. I רָעָה Qal.2.b for usage). The use of the verb in the MT is unparalleled in the sense suggested, but the resultant figure, if “graze” can mean “shave,” is paralleled in Jer 47:5; 48:37; Isa 7:20. The reading of the variant is accepted on the basis that it is the rarer root; the scribe would have been more familiar with the root “graze” even though it is unparalleled in the figurative nuance implied here. The noun “head/skull” is functioning as an accusative of further specification (see GKC 372 §117.ll and compare usage in Gen 3:8), i.e., “they crack you on the skull” or “they shave you on the skull.” The verb is a prefixed form and in this context is either a preterite without vav (ו) consecutive or an iterative imperfect denoting repeated action. Some modern English versions render the verb in the future tense, “they will break [or shave] your skull.”

[13:2]  ³ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord.”

[13:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “upon your loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion including the figurative uses see R. C. Dentan, “Loins,” IDB 3:149-50.

[41:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[41:17]  ⁶ sn Geruth Kimham is nowhere else mentioned in the Bible and its precise location is unknown. Many commentators relate the second part of the name to the name of the son of David’s benefactor when he fled from Absalom (2 Sam 19:38-39) and see this as a reference to an estate that David assigned this son as reward for his father’s largess. Gibeon was about six miles northwest of Jerusalem and Benjamin is approximately the same distance southwest of it. Hence, the people mentioned here had not traveled all that far.

[41:17]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[42:18]  ⁷ tn Or “Indeed.”

[42:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study note on 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title.

[42:18]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[42:18]  ¹⁰ tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.

[42:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “land.” The reference is, of course, to the land of Judah.