Discovery BoxJeremiah 46:17
Context46:17 There at home they will say, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise! 1
He has let the most opportune moment pass by.’ 2
Jeremiah 8:7
Context8:7 Even the stork knows
when it is time to move on. 3
The turtledove, swallow, and crane 4
recognize 5 the normal times for their migration.
But my people pay no attention
[46:17] 1 tn Heb “is a noise.” The addition of “just a big” is contextually motivated and is supplied in the translation to suggest the idea of sarcasm. The reference is probably to his boast in v. 8.
[46:17] 2 tn Heb “he has let the appointed time pass him by.” It is unclear what is meant by the reference to “appointed time” other than the fact that Pharaoh has missed his opportunity to do what he claimed to be able to do. The Greek text is again different here. It reads “Call the name of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt Saon esbeie moed,” reading קִרְאוּ שֵׁם (qir’u shem) for קָרְאוּ שָׁם (qor’u) and transliterating the last line.
[8:7] 3 tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.
[8:7] 4 tn There is debate in the commentaries and lexicons about the identification of some of these birds, particularly regarding the identification of the “swallow” which is more likely the “swift” and the “crane” which some identify with the “thrush.” For a discussion see the Bible encyclopedias and the UBS handbook Fauna and Flora of the Bible. The identity of the individual birds makes little difference to the point being made and “swallow” is more easily identifiable to the average reader than the “swift.”
[8:7] 5 tn Heb “keep.” Ironically birds, which do not think, obey the laws of nature, but Israel does not obey the laws of God.
[8:7] 6 tn Heb “do not know.” But here as elsewhere the word “know” is more than an intellectual matter. It is intended here to summarize both “know” and “follow” (Heb “observe”) in the preceding lines.
