Ch. Jeremiah 33:1-26. Renewed promise of return and of honour among the nations

For the late character of Jeremiah 33:14-26 of this ch. see introd. note there. Jeremiah 33:1-13 are also rejected by Schmidt, Co. and Du., while Gi. admits that they include a certain amount of interpolation, e.g. Jeremiah 33:2-3. The case against the earlier portion of the ch. seems far from proven, though Jeremiah 33:1-13 probably contain a considerable amount of editorial addition. The latter part of Jeremiah 33:1 suggests for the Jeremianic portion the same date as ch. 32.

The contents may be summarized as follows. (i) Jeremiah 33:1-3. Jehovah invites the prophet to call upon Him for teaching as to His secret purposes. (ii) Jeremiah 33:4-9. Resistance to the Chaldaeans will involve fruitless bloodshed; but afterwards there shall come to Judah and Israel healing and restoration from exile. Jerusalem shall be honoured of all nations, who shall be smitten with dismay when they behold Jehovah’s mercy towards her. (iii) Jeremiah 33:10-13. The cities and land that are now desolate shall once more flourish and abound in the joys of life, while flocks shall pasture without fear as in former time. (iv) Jeremiah 33:14-18. A righteous Ruler shall spring up in David’s line. Jerusalem shall be named “The Lord is our righteousness.” The permanence of the kingly and priestly line shall be securely established. (v) Jeremiah 33:19-26. The order of nature shall not be more fixed than the continuity of king and priests. The seed of David and the ministering Levites shall be as the stars or the sand for multitude. So far is Jehovah from rejecting His people that He will deliver and cherish them as certainly as day and night alternate in due succession by His ordinance.

1. in the court of the guard] See on ch. Jeremiah 32:2.

2. the Lord is his name] He is God and not man, and so is unchangeable and omnipotent. A similar expression is frequent in Isaiah (Isaiah 47:4, Isaiah 48:2, etc.). Cp. Jeremiah 10:16, in connexion, as here, with Jehovah as Creator (“former”) of all things.

2, 3. These vv. bear a close affinity to several passages in 2 Isaiah (e.g. Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 48:6), and are probably an insertion by a later hand. For the indefinite “that doeth it,” etc., which in the Hebrew still more than the English resembles Isaiah 22:11 (cp. Jeremiah 33:4 f. here with Isaiah 22:10), we should probably read with LXX “who made the earth and formed it to establish it.” Cp. Isaiah 45:18.

3. great things, and difficult] mg. Heb. fenced in. The word means lit. cut off, inaccessible. But certain MSS. of MT., not apparently supported, however, by LXX, read probably rightly (differing only by one letter, nĕtsûroth for bĕtsûroth) hidden, as in Isaiah 48:6.

4. mounts] See on Jeremiah 6:6.

4, 5. These vv., as they stand, are evidently corrupt; for “they” (seeing that the word cannot, as strict grammar demands, mean “the houses”), as applied to the defenders of the city, would require the verb go out instead of “come.” There is something like an agreement among commentators that “the Chaldeans” were originally the subject, not the object, in Jeremiah 33:5. Thus the general sense is given in Co.’s emendation of the passage, viz. “which are broken down, against which the Chaldaeans come with mounds and swords to fight and to fill them with the dead bodies, etc.”

4–9. See introd. summary to section.

5. have hid my face] in displeasure. Cp. Deuteronomy 31:17 and elsewhere.

6. health] mg. healing; lit. fresh flesh; See on Jeremiah 8:22.

abundance] The word in MT. occurs here only, the meaning that the corresponding root bears in Ezekiel 35:13; Proverbs 27:6, being taken to justify the sense assigned here. But the text is probably corrupt. A word almost identical in consonants denotes treasures, and so is very apposite here as a conjectural emendation (so Du.).

truth] (God’s) faithfulness.

7. as at the first] as in former times (those of the undivided kingdom).

8. And I will cleanse them] This feature of the new covenant has been brought out strongly in Jeremiah 31:34. We have it again, Jeremiah 50:20.

9. shall fear and tremble] inferring that He who so honours those who seek Him will punish with equal emphasis those who disregard Him.

10–13. See introd. summary to the section. The genuineness of these vv. may be regarded as questionable; although the fact that the overthrow of Jerusalem is a thing of the past and the land is waste does not prove it to be non-Jeremianic, as the prophet survived the final disaster. The form of the doxology (Jeremiah 33:11), we may note, differs distinctly from that of post-exilic times.

11. Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his mercy endureth for ever] liturgical forms used in the Temple services. See 1 Chronicles 16:34; 2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 7:3; 2 Chronicles 7:6; Ezra 3:11; Psalm 106:1.

sacrifices of thanksgiving] See on Jeremiah 17:26.

I will cause the captivity of the land to return] See note on Jeremiah 32:44.

13. him that telleth] For “tell” in the sense (now archaic) of count cp. Genesis 15:5; Psalm 22:17; Psalm 48:12.

“While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred.”

Hamlet, Jeremiah 1:2.

The cognate substantive is preserved to us in the title of the “tellers” who report the result of a division in the House of Commons. For tale in the Bible in the sense of number see Exodus 5:8; Exodus 5:18; 1 Samuel 18:27; 1 Chronicles 9:28.—Bible Word Book.

14–18. The Kingly and Priestly Offices shall be re-established.

14–26. See introd. summary to the section. This portion of the ch. is clearly later than Jeremiah’s time. The expression “Levitical priests” (see on Jeremiah 33:18) is not one which he uses elsewhere. Moreover, there is a considerable amount of repetition in the passage (cp. Jeremiah 33:14-16 with Jeremiah 29:10, Jeremiah 23:5 f., and Jeremiah 33:17 with Jeremiah 35:19, and Jeremiah 33:20-26 with Jeremiah 31:35 f.). Above all, it is lacking in the LXX. It is very improbable that those translators would have designedly omitted such a proclamation of the Messianic hope, of the permanence of David’s line, and of the importance of the priestly office. The generally hopeful character of the passage also would have appealed to them. Gi., though deciding against the genuineness of the passage, considers that the phrase “Levitical priests” is so suitable to Jeremiah’s time, that here it must be considered as an archaism employed by a later writer. Co. summarily rejects the passage, and substitutes Jeremiah 23:7 f., as being most appropriate here, while at least suspicious in 23. in view of its varying position in MT. and LXX.

15, 16. See notes on Jeremiah 23:5 f. For the name applied (Jeremiah 33:6) not to the king but to the city cp. Ezekiel 48:35.

17. David … man] lit. as mg. There shall not be cut off from David.

18. The making of the Levites co-extensive with the priests, while in consonance with the Deuteronomic legislation (e.g. Deuteronomy 17:9; Deuteronomy 17:18), was no longer recognised in Nehemiah’s day. Probably this passage was written after the change had in effect taken place, while yet the earlier phrase was retained.

19–22. God’s Covenant is as certain in its working as the ordinances of nature. Cp. Psalm 89:34 ff.

21. See 2 Samuel 7:12-16.

23–26. Renewal of the assurance to the people as a whole, with the same illustration.

24. this people] If the words be right, they must indicate the sceptical part of the nation. But the subsequent context, as it stands, rather requires the meaning to be hostile nations. The emendation which makes the best sense is that of Du. and Co.: “He hath cast them off and rejected His people, that they should be no more a nation before Him.”

The two families] Israel and Judah, as shewn by Jeremiah 33:26.

25. stand] The absence of a verb in this clause to balance “have … appointed” in the next has led to Du.’s emendation, adopted also by Co., to read by a very slight change in the Hebrew for “If my covenant,” If I have not created. The alteration to the present text might have easily been made by a scribe who was influenced by “my covenant” of Jeremiah 33:20.