Jeremiah 22:23

Footnotes

1. 38 Heb “You who dwell in Lebanon, you who are nested in its cedars, how you.…” The metaphor has been interpreted for the sake of clarity. The figure here has often been interpreted of the people of Jerusalem living in paneled houses or living in a city dominated by the temple and palace which were built from the cedars of Lebanon. Some even interpret this as a reference to the king who has been characterized as living in a cedar palace, in a veritable Lebanon (cf. vv. 6–7, 14 and see also the alternate interpretation of 21:13–14). However, the reference to “nesting in the cedars” and the earlier reference to “feeling secure” suggests that the figure is rather like that of Ezek 31:6 and Dan 4:12. See also Hab 2:9 where a related figure is used. The forms for “you who dwell” and “you who are nested” in the literal translation are feminine singular participles referring again to personified Jerusalem. (The written forms of these participles are to be explained as participles with a hireq campaginis according to §90.m. The use of the participle before the preposition is to be explained according to §130.a.)
2. 39 The verb here should be identified as a Niphal perfect of the verb אָנַח (’anakh) with the א (aleph) left out (so 336 חָנַן Niph and §23.f, n. 1). The form is already translated that way by the Greek, Latin, and versions.
3. 40 This simile has already been used in Jer 4:31; 6:24 in conjunction with Zion/Jerusalem’s judgment.