Jeremiah 46 is the forty-sixth 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 is part of a series of "oracles against foreign nations", consisting of chapters 46 to 51.[1] In particular, chapters 46-49 focus on Judah's neighbors.[2] This chapter contains the poetic oracles against Egypt.[2][3]

Jeremiah 46
A high resolution scan of the Aleppo Codex showing the Book of Jeremiah (the sixth book in Nevi'im).
BookBook of Jeremiah
Hebrew Bible partNevi'im
Order in the Hebrew part6
CategoryLatter Prophets
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part24

Text

edit

The original text was written in Hebrew. This chapter is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses

edit

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).[4] Some fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., 2QJer (2Q13; 1st century CE[5]), with extant verses 27‑28.[6][7]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (with a different chapter and verse numbering), made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;  B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK:  S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A;  A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q;  Q; 6th century).[8]

Parashot

edit

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex.[9] Jeremiah 46 is a part of the prophecies in Jeremiah 46-49 in the section of Prophecies against the nations (Jeremiah 46-51). {P}: open parashah; {S}: closed parashah.

{P} 46:1-12 {P} 46:13-19 {S} 46:20-26 {P} 46:27-28 {P}

Verse numbering

edit

The order of chapters and verses of the Book of Jeremiah in the English Bibles, Masoretic Text (Hebrew), and Vulgate (Latin), in some places differs from that in the Septuagint (LXX, the Greek Bible used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and others) according to Rahlfs or Brenton. The following table is taken with minor adjustments from Brenton's Septuagint, page 971.[10]

The order of Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint/Scriptural Study (CATSS) based on Alfred Rahlfs' Septuaginta (1935) differs in some details from Joseph Ziegler's critical edition (1957) in Göttingen LXX. Swete's Introduction mostly agrees with Rahlfs' edition (=CATSS).[10]

Hebrew, Vulgate, English Rahlfs' LXX (CATSS) Brenton's LXX
46:1,26 n/a
46:2-25,27-28 26:2-25,27-28
39:1-3,14-18 46:1-3,14-18 46:1-4,15-18
39:4-13 none

Judgment on Egypt (46:1–26)

edit

Verse 1

edit
The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations.[11]

This statement serves as an introduction to the oracles, as Jeremiah 1:2, 14:1 and 25:1 act as introductions to other sections.[3]

Verse 2

edit
Against Egypt.
Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:[12]

In May/June 605 BCE the army of Nebuchadnezzar, at the time the Crown Prince of Babylon, defeated the troops of Pharaoh Necho II at Carchemish, on the northern Euphrates 95 km (59 mi) west of Haran (Genesis 11:31), and pursued the troop to the border of Egypt.[3]

Verse 3

edit
"Order the buckler and shield,
And draw near to battle![13]

For "order", some commentators read "prepare" or, more literally, "set in line".[14] O'Connor suggests that "it is not clear which army is being addressed, the Egyptian for the defence or the Babylonian for the attack".[2] "Harness the horses" (verse 4, coupled with verse 9) suggests the appeal is addressed to the Egyptian armies, whereas the nineteenth century commentator Edward Plumptre argues that this verse is "a summons to the hosts of Nebuchadnezzar to prepare for their victory".[15]

Verse 11

edit
Go up into Gilead and take balm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt;
in vain you shall use many medicines,
for you will not be cured.[16]
  • "Virgin daughter": alluding to Egypt’s geographical isolation that provides safety and protection "enjoyed by a virgin living at home under her father’s protection"[17]

God will preserve Israel (46:27–28)

edit

This passage contains hope-restoring words for the dismayed exiles (verse 27), that Israel (Jacob), unlike the 'exiled Egypt', will return after YHWH makes an end of all the nations 'among which I banished you' for punishment (verse 28).[18]

See also

edit
  • Related Bible part: Isaiah 19, Isaiah 20, Jeremiah 1, Jeremiah 14, Jeremiah 25
  • References

    edit
    1. ^ Coogan 2007, p. 1148 Hebrew Bible.
    2. ^ a b c O'Connor 2007, p. 522.
    3. ^ a b c Coogan 2007, p. 1149 Hebrew Bible.
    4. ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
    5. ^ 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.
    6. ^ Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (2008). A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 26. ISBN 9780802862419. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
    7. ^ Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill. pp. 581. ISBN 9789004181830. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
    8. ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
    9. ^ As reflected in the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English.
    10. ^ a b "Table of Order of Jeremiah in Hebrew and Septuagint". www.ccel.org.
    11. ^ Jeremiah 46:1 NKJV
    12. ^ Jeremiah 46:2 NKJV
    13. ^ Jeremiah 46:3 NKJV
    14. ^ Streane, A. W., Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Jeremiah 46, accessed 10 April 2019
    15. ^ Plumptre, E., Jeremiah 46 in Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers, accessed 10 April 2019
    16. ^ Jeremiah 46:11 Modern English Version
    17. ^ Huey, F. B. "Jeremiah, Lamentations" [NAC], p. 379; apud note [b] on Jeremiah 46:11 in NET Bible
    18. ^ O'Connor 2007, pp. 522–523.

    Bibliography

    edit
    edit

    Jewish

    edit

    Christian

    edit