Читать книгу Jeremiah 26-52 - Carolyn Sharp - Страница 28

­From Jer 1–25 to the ­latter ­half of ­JeremiahJeremiah comprises an artful mixture of poetic and prose traditions. Outpourings of the poetic imagination dominate in the first half of the book, interleaved with brief prose interpolations. The reader also encounters more elaborate Dtr-Jer prose sections, including 7:1–8:3; 11:1–17; 13:1–14; 16:1–18; 17:19–27; 18:1–12; and more. As vivid poetic oracles and detailed prose scenes unfold in the first half of Jeremiah, the prose interpolations become more and more numerous, until finally the ideological rhetoric expressed in prose becomes dominant. This will not change until the poetic oracles against other nations, placed in the MT at Jer 46–51. The reader preparing to engage the second half of Jeremiah will notice the vital role played by Jer 25, positioned at what interpreters have rightly understood to constitute a redactional and ideological “seam” in the final form of the book. Jeremiah 25 constitutes a striking intervention into the flow of undated poetic oracles and prose elaborations that make up the first half of Jeremiah. In significant ways, Jer 25 lays the groundwork for the strong political claims made in the second half of the book.

The historical dating of key geopolitical events in the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah was important to the scribes who preserved and amplified Jeremiah’s legacy, especially in the traditions in the second half of the book. A superscription at the beginning (1:1–3) had placed the arc of the narrative within the span of 627 to 587 BCE. Apart from that opening, the material in Jer 1–19 is dated, with a few exceptions, only in broad strokes. There are traditio-historical reflections on the time of the exodus and the conquest of Canaan (e.g., 2:6–7; 11:4–7). The eighth-century disaster of the Assyrian invasion of the northern kingdom is expressly recalled (2:36; 3:8). ­Relatively few historical dates in Jer 2–23 Other oblique references to foes invading from the north (e.g., 1:15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22; 13:20) may have Assyria in mind, or Babylonia (see the clarifying clause in 25:9), or another enemy. The poet would have been familiar with cultural traditions about hordes of barbaric invaders from the north, so we cannot identify a particular political entity as the referent in such poetic passages with unassailable certainty. Indeed, the genius of elliptical poetic expression in these instances meant that these oracles could endure as a cultural resource for Israel and Judah over time, standing ready to hand when new eras brought new threats. Allusion to the historical trauma of Assyria’s attack on the northern kingdom serves to mark the long span of time within which Israel and Judah have suffered. In a chiastic structure that connects Jer 2 and 50, Assyria’s terrors are mentioned explicitly in 50:17–18 as the beginning of the long political trauma that has ended with Babylonian hegemony over Judah. The exilic period is suggested when the enemies of Judah, figured as roaring lions, are said to “have made [Israel’s] land a horror, his cities ruined, without inhabitant” (2:15). The “days of King Josiah” are mentioned in passing (3:6).

The Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 588–587 may be in view in 6:6, though we cannot be sure, since the ancient poet could have utilized the image of siege, a warfare tactic known throughout the ancient Near East, at any time prior to this point as well. The destruction and abandonment of the ancient shrine at Shiloh are mentioned at 7:12 and 26:6. But there are otherwise few points of historical specificity, the scribes preferring elliptical formulations such as “the days are coming” (ימים באים; see 7:32; 9:24; 16:14; 19:6; 23:5, 7; eight occurrences in the second half of the book) and “at that time” (בעת ההיא; see 3:17; 4:11; 8:1; 31:1). The horrific aftermath of Jerusalem’s fall to the Babylonians may be signaled in 7:32–8:3 and other passages describing widespread death and the impossibility of burying a massive number of corpses (see, e.g., 9:21–22; 14:16; 16:4–6; 19:7; 25:33). But again, this material is elliptical. This makes the grim prophetic vision available, culturally speaking, for future generations struggling with the experience of militarized violence and trauma. Brief interpolations of hope, such as promises of restoration from diaspora in 12:15 and 16:14–15 // 23:7–8, may reflect the postexilic period but could also theoretically reflect another time in which ancient scribes yearned to return from an experience of forced displacement.

Jeremiah 17:19–27 envisions a time when the Judean monarchy still exists, yet that does not mean the passage was composed when that form of governance was the reality. An astute reader could argue the reverse: that this late Dtr-Jer tradition is reflecting, from a post-monarchic social location, on what it might have meant or could mean again for the Torah-observant community to flourish under kingly leadership. Scribal gestures toward concrete historical specificity are not on offer until we encounter mention of the king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, along with names of Judah’s rulers, priests, and other officials, in prose material in Jer 20–24.

The beginning of Jer 25 signals a concrete date—the fourth year of Jehoiakim, 605 BCE—from which the narration will move forward. Jeremiah, speaking in the first person, summarizes his prophetic ministry of the past twenty-three years and the people’s stubborn recalcitrance about amending their ways (25:3–7). This dominant historical perspective takes over the rest of the book from this point, through Jer 26 and on, excepting the Book of Consolation in chs. 30–31 and the collection of oracles against other nations in chs. 46–51, through Jer 52. The architectonic structure of the book offers a clear trajectory of movement, with elliptical poetry gradually but inexorably yielding to the dominance of prose narratives about the maelstrom of traumatic events during the time of Babylonia’s hegemony. Historically-minded readers of Jer 1–25 are required, over and over again, to bracket their desire for clarity about the specific contexts to which those oracles were addressed. In the latter half of Jeremiah, historical specificity comes more and more into focus until, with crystalline clarity, the trauma of the Babylonians’ invasion and the fall of Jerusalem move into the foreground of the reader’s vision.

­Jeremiah 26 The story that continues in Jer 26 serves a vital purpose for the second half of the book. Through dramatic narration, it focuses the attention of the implied audience on a central motif of Jeremiah, namely, fierce opposition to the prophetic word. Louis Stulman finds that in Jer 26, “what is at stake … is more than another instance of the community rejecting the word of the Lord. Chapter 26 presents leading sectors of the nation attempting ritually and legally to silence the voice of God.”¹ Different constituents within the plot help the implied audience visualize the options for response to Jeremiah’s oracle of prophetic indictment. These include resistance to the the idea that Yhwh might rain destruction upon Jerusalem (vv. 8–11), courage in the face of murderous antagonism (vv. 12–15, 24), reasoned consultation of the sacred traditions of Israel for a fuller perspective (vv. 16–19), and clarity about the risks of continued prophetic witness (vv. 20–24). Elaboration and exploration of these motifs will prove important for the narratives that follow in the second half of Jeremiah.