Jeremiah 2:14-28

Jeremiah 2:14-Hosea : . Israel’ s False Religion.— Israel has forfeited the privileges of a son, and incurred disaster by forsaking Yahweh for the sensuous worship of the Baalim ( cf. Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 2:28). Jeremiah 2:14-Esther : may be a later insertion, as it seems to break the connexion between Jeremiah 2:13 and Jeremiah 2:18; Jeremiah 2:15 apparently refers to the devastation of the northern kingdom by Assyria, Jeremiah 2:16 to the defeat of Judah by Pharaoh Necho (pp. 60, 72) at Megiddo in 608 (Noph ( Isaiah 19:13 *) is Memphis, Tahpanhes is Daphne, these being taken as representative cities of Egypt). In Jeremiah 2:16, the Hebrew reads as mg. The last clause of Jeremiah 2:17, “ when he led thee by the way” , should be omitted with LXX. Jeremiah 2:18 resumes the figure of Jeremiah 2:13, and remonstrates against the pro-Egyptian policy, which was the chief alternative to subjection to Assyria. In Jeremiah 2:20, read as mg., with Jeremiah 2:21 employs the familiar figure of Israel as a vine, which might be called the national emblem ( Jeremiah 12:10 ff., Hosea 10:1, Isaiah 5:1-Judges :, Ezekiel 17:5 ff.). In Jeremiah 2:22, “ lye” and “ soap” denote a vegetable and a mineral alkali respectively; “ marked” should be “ ingrained” . Israel protests ( cf. Jeremiah 2:27; Jeremiah 2:35) that she has not abandoned Yahweh, in worshipping Him according to the manner of the Baalim ( Jeremiah 2:23); she is answered by a reference to the valley (Hinnom; Jeremiah 7:31 *, Mark 9:43 *), and the sensuality of her worship (so repugnant to the God of righteousness) is suggested by the figures of the young camel ( Jeremiah 2:23 mg.) , and the ass ( Jeremiah 2:24) when in heat. Reference is made in Jeremiah 2:25 to the eager pursuit of strange gods, in Jeremiah 2:27 to the Asherah (p. 100, 1 Kings 15:13 *) and Mazzebah (p. 98) employed in their worship ( Deuteronomy 16:21 f.*), in each locality ( Jeremiah 11:13).