Jeremiah 31:18

Footnotes

1. 33 The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see §35.3.1f).
2. 34 Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on . The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.
3. 35 Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11). Jer 2:20; 5:5 already referred to Israel’s refusal to bear the yoke of loyalty and obedience to the Lord’s demands. Here Israel expresses that she has learned from the discipline of exile and is ready to bear his yoke.
4. 36 The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.
5. 37 Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See 999 שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see §108.d or §34.5.2b. There is a wordplay on several different nuances of the same Hebrew verb in vv. 16–19. The Hebrew verb shub refers both to their turning away from God (v. 19) and to their turning back to him (v. 18). It is also the word that is used for their return to their homeland (vv. 16–17).