translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: JER

label: NET study note

text: This verse repeats v. 22 but with specific reference to all the clans of Israel , i.e., to all Israel and Judah. It functions here as a transition to the next section which will deal with the restoration of Israel ( 31:3-20 ) and Judah ( 31:21-25 ) and their reunification in the land ( 31:27-29 ) under a new covenant relation with God ( 31:31-37 ). See also the study note on 30:3 for further reference to this reunification in Jeremiah and the other prophets.


text: Contrast Jer 7:34 and 25:10 .


text: The terms used here refer to the enjoyment of a period of peace and stability and the reversal of the curse (contrast, e.g., Deut 28:30 ). The Hebrew word translated “enjoy its fruit” is a technical one that refers to the owner of a vineyard getting to enjoy its fruit in the fifth year after it was planted, the crops of the first three years lying fallow, and that of the fourth being given to the Lord (cf. Lev 19:23-25 ).


text: Watchmen were stationed at vantage points to pass on warning of coming attack ( Jer 6:17 ; Ezek 33:2, 6 ) or to spread the news of victory ( Isa 52:8 ). Here reference is made to the watchmen who signaled the special times of the year such as the new moon and festival times when Israel was to go to Jerusalem to worship. Reference is not made to these in the Hebrew Bible but there is a good deal of instruction regarding them in the later Babylonian Talmud.


text: Not only will Israel and Judah be reunited under one ruler (cf. 23:5-6 ), but they will share a unified place and practice of worship once again in contrast to Israel using the illicit places of worship, illicit priesthood, and illicit feasts instituted by Jeroboam ( 1 Kgs 12:26-31 ) and continued until the downfall of Samaria in 722 b.c .


text: Jer 31:8-9 are reminiscent of the “New Exodus” motif of Isa 40-66 which has already been referred to in Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8 . See especially Isa 35:3-10; 40:3-5, 11; 41:17-20; 42:14-17; 43:16-21; 49:9-13 . As there, the New Exodus will so outstrip the old that the old will pale in comparison and be almost forgotten (see Jer 23:7-8 ).


text: Ephraim was the second son of Joseph who was elevated to a place of prominence in the family of Jacob by the patriarch’s special blessing. It was the strongest tribe in northern Israel and Samaria lay in its territory. It is often used as a poetic parallel for Israel as here. The poetry is not speaking of two separate entities here; it is a way of repeating an idea for emphasis. Moreover, there is no intent to show special preference for northern Israel over Judah. All Israel is metaphorically God’s son and the object of his special care and concern ( Exod 4:22 ; Deut 32:6 ).


text: Two rather theologically significant metaphors are used in this verse. The Hebrew word translated “will set…free” is a word used in the legal sphere for paying a redemption price to secure the freedom of a person or thing (see, e.g., Exod 13:13, 15 ). It is used metaphorically and theologically to refer to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage ( Deut 15:15 ; Mic 6:4 ) and its deliverance from Babylonian exile ( Isa 35:10 ). The word translated “secure their release” is a word used in the sphere of family responsibility where a person paid the price to free an indentured relative ( Lev 25:48, 49 ) or paid the price to restore a relative’s property seized to pay a debt ( Lev 25:25, 33 ). This word, too, was used to refer metaphorically and theologically to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage ( Exod 6:6 ) or release from Babylonian exile ( Isa 43:1-4; 44:22 ). These words are traditionally translated “ransom” and “redeem” and are a part of traditional Jewish and Christian vocabulary for physical and spiritual deliverance.


text: Ramah is a town in Benjamin approximately five miles (8 km) north of Jerusalem. It was on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem. Traditionally, Rachel’s tomb was located near there at a place called Zelzah ( 1 Sam 10:2 ). Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin and was very concerned about having children because she was barren ( Gen 30:1-2 ) and went to great lengths to have them ( Gen 30:3, 14-15, 22-24 ). She was the grandmother of Ephraim and Manasseh which were two of the major tribes in northern Israel. Here Rachel is viewed metaphorically as weeping for her “children,” the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, who had been carried away into captivity in 722 b.c .


text: Israel’s backsliding is forgotten and forgiven. They had once been characterized as an apostate people ( 3:14, 22 ; the word “apostate” and “unfaithful” are the same in Hebrew) and figuratively depicted as an adulterous wife ( 3:20 ). Now they are viewed as having responded to his invitation (compare 31:18-19 with 3:22-25 ). Hence they are no longer depicted as an unfaithful daughter but as an unsullied virgin (see the literal translation of “my dear children” in vv. 4, 21 and the study note on v. 4 .)


text: Heb “create.” This word is always used with God as the subject and refers to the production of something new or unique, like the creation of the world and the first man and woman ( Gen 1:1; 2:3; 1:27; 5:1 ) or the creation of a new heavens and a new earth in a new age ( Isa 65:17 ), or the bringing about of new and unique circumstances ( Num 16:30 ). Here reference is made contextually to the new exodus, that marvelous deliverance which will be so great that the old will pale in comparison (see the first note on v. 9 ).


text: The blessing pronounced on the city of Zion/Jerusalem by the restored exiles looks at the restoration of its once exalted state as the city known for its sanctity and its just dealing (see Isa 1:21 and ). This was a reversal of the state of Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah where wickedness not righteousness characterized the inhabitants of the city (cf. Isa 1:21 ; Jer 4:14; 5:1; 13:27 ). The blessing here presupposes the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple which gave the city its sanctity.


text: The Lord answers their charge by stating that each person is responsible for his own sin and will himself bear the consequences. has a more extended treatment of this and shows that this extends not just to the link between parents and children but between former behavior and future behavior of the same individual. To a certain extent the principle articulated here is anticipatory of the statement in v. 34 which refers to the forgiveness of former sins.


text: Compare Jer 24:7; 30:22; 31:1 and see the study note on 30:2 .


text: This statement should be understood against the background of Jer 8:8-9 where class distinctions were drawn and certain people were considered to have more awareness and responsibility for knowing the law and also Jer 5:1-5 and 9:3-9 where the sinfulness of Israel was seen to be universal across these class distinctions and no trust was to be placed in friends, neighbors, or relatives because all without distinction had cast off God’s yoke (i.e., refused to submit themselves to his authority).


text: This answers Jeremiah’s question in 14:19 .


text: It is generally agreed that this refers to the Hinnom Valley which was on the southwestern and southern side of the city. It was here where the people of Jerusalem had burned their children as sacrifices and where the Lord had said that there would be so many dead bodies when he punished them that they would be unable to bury all of them (cf. Jer 7:31-32 ). Reference here may be to those dead bodies and to the ashes of the cremated victims. This defiled place would be included within the holy city.


text: The Kidron Valley is the valley that joins the Hinnom Valley in the southeastern corner of the city and runs northward on the east side of the city.


text: The Horse Gate is mentioned in Neh 3:28 and is generally considered to have been located midway along the eastern wall just south of the temple area.