^32:12I took both copies of the deed of purchase²¹ and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence²² of my cousin²³ Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

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Footnotes

21 Heb “the deed, the purchase.” This is a case of apposition of species in place of the genitive construction (cf. §131.b and compare the usage in Exod 24:5).
22 Heb “I took the deed of purchase, both that which was sealed [and contained] the order and the regulations and that which was open [i.e., unsealed], and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch … in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and in the presence of … and in the presence of.…” It is awkward to begin a sentence with “I took …” without finishing the thought, and the long qualifiers in v. 12 make that sentence too long. The sentence is broken up in accordance with contemporary English style. The reference to the “deed of purchase” in v. 12 should be viewed as a plural consisting of both written and sealed copies as is clear from v. 11 and also v. 14. Part of the confusion is due to the nature of this document which consisted of a single papyrus scroll, half of which was rolled up and sealed and the other half which was left “opened” or unsealed. J. Bright (Jeremiah [], 237–38) is probably incorrect in assuming that the copies were duplicate since the qualification “containing the order of transfer and the regulations” is only applied to the appositional participle, “the sealed one [or copy].” Aramaic documents from a slightly later period help us understand the nature of such deeds. The document consisted of a single papyrus sheet divided in half. One half contained all the particulars and was tightly rolled up, bound with strips of cloth or thread, sealed with wax upon which the parties affixed their seal, and signed by witnesses. The other copy consisted of an abstract and was left loosely rolled and unsealed (i.e., open to be consulted at will). If questions were raised about legality of the contract then the sealed copy could be unsealed and consulted.
23 The translation follows a number of Hebrew and the Greek and version in reading “the son of my uncles (= my cousin; בֶּן דֹּדִי, ben dodi).” The majority of Hebrew do not have the word “son of (בֶּן).”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

and gave the purchase agreement to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. I did this in the sight of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the purchase agreement, and all the Judeans sitting in the guard’s courtyard.

NLTNew Living Translation

and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel, the son of my uncle, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, in the presence of the Judeans who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

KJV 1900King James Version

And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

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