Are God’s ‘Good Plans’ not Good Enough?: The Place and Significance of Jer 29.15 in Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
My analysis of Jer 29 argues for including v. 15 in the unit describing God’s ‘good plans’, which is delimitated almost always as vv. 10-14. A review of translations and commentators reveals v. 15 to be a crux interpretum, which often is ‘solved’ through textual transposition. Discussing the omissio...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2021
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2021, Volume: 45, Issue: 4, Pages: 561-575 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Citation
/ Prophecy
/ Conflict
/ Babylonian Captivity
/ Context
/ Demarcation
/ Bible. Jeremia 29
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| Further subjects: | B
quoted speech
B Context B delimitation B prophetic conflict B Exile |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | My analysis of Jer 29 argues for including v. 15 in the unit describing God’s ‘good plans’, which is delimitated almost always as vv. 10-14. A review of translations and commentators reveals v. 15 to be a crux interpretum, which often is ‘solved’ through textual transposition. Discussing the omission of vv. 16-20 in Jer-LXX as well as some standard indicators of delimitation, such as speech formulas, conjunctions, and scribal paragraph markers, I argue for reading v. 15 as the exiles’ direct response to the preceding divine promises. This understanding of the structure of Jer 29 shifts the main message of the prophet’s letter from God’s ‘good plans’ to the addressee’s rejection of these plans. For a post-exilic readership, the letter explains the suspension of divine restoration and elevates the New Covenant promises of Jer 30-31. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0309089220963426 |