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Abstract
Among the “texts of terror,” the oracles against the nations stand out as documents which vehemently attest human and divine violence. In the collection of these oracles in the book of Jeremiah, the prophecy concerning Moab (Jeremiah 48), with its extraordinary length and its remarkable accumulation of reused prophetic material (from, i.a., Isaiah 15–16), proclaims a merciless divine judgment. No future is left for Moab; a total annihilation is envisaged (v. 42).
An intriguing feature in this chapter, however, is that this oracle, much more than the others in the section in Jeremiah 46–49, has a theological interest. The prophetic announcement of Moab’s destruction shows an idiosyncratic alternation of judgment and lament. Both fierce divine anger and divine regret, divine judgment and wailing over Moab are part of the oracle. A detailed analysis shows that in several texts in Jeremiah 48, Yhwh is most probably the subject of weeping. This chapter points out that this language of divine grief is not to be interpreted in a figurative sense, as an “ironic inversion of the lamentation” (Brian C. Jones), but as a sign of divine compassion (Terence E. Fretheim). The theological significance of this oracle in Jeremiah 48 is far-reaching.
After an exploration of the Umwelt use of the root NQM (vengeance/avenge), in the main part of the study all relevant Old Testament texts are dealt with in a thorough exegetical investigation. This leads to a theological outline which stresses the important place and positive function of God's vengeance in the Old Testament revelation.
The theories of G.E. Mendenhall, P. Volz and K. Koch with regard to the theme of vengeance are criticized. Of special interest are the additional sections on the issues of blood vengeance and the imprecatory prayers.
After an exploration of the Umwelt use of the root NQM (vengeance/avenge), in the main part of the study all relevant Old Testament texts are dealt with in a thorough exegetical investigation. This leads to a theological outline which stresses the important place and positive function of God's vengeance in the Old Testament revelation.
The theories of G.E. Mendenhall, P. Volz and K. Koch with regard to the theme of vengeance are criticized. Of special interest are the additional sections on the issues of blood vengeance and the imprecatory prayers.
Abstract
Among the “texts of terror,” the oracles against the nations stand out as documents which vehemently attest human and divine violence. In the collection of these oracles in the book of Jeremiah, the prophecy concerning Moab (Jeremiah 48), with its extraordinary length and its remarkable accumulation of reused prophetic material (from, i.a., Isaiah 15–16), proclaims a merciless divine judgment. No future is left for Moab; a total annihilation is envisaged (v. 42).
An intriguing feature in this chapter, however, is that this oracle, much more than the others in the section in Jeremiah 46–49, has a theological interest. The prophetic announcement of Moab’s destruction shows an idiosyncratic alternation of judgment and lament. Both fierce divine anger and divine regret, divine judgment and wailing over Moab are part of the oracle. A detailed analysis shows that in several texts in Jeremiah 48, Yhwh is most probably the subject of weeping. This chapter points out that this language of divine grief is not to be interpreted in a figurative sense, as an “ironic inversion of the lamentation” (Brian C. Jones), but as a sign of divine compassion (Terence E. Fretheim). The theological significance of this oracle in Jeremiah 48 is far-reaching.