And I will Make Thee a Burnt Mountain (Jer. 51 : 25) / "... ṿnttykh lhr shrfh" (ḳllt yrmyhṿ ʾt vvl, n"ʾ, khh)
And I will Make Thee a Burnt Mountain (Jer. 51 : 25) / "... ונתתיך להר שרפה" (קללת ירמיהו את בבל, נ"א, כה)
Why did the prophet curse Babylon by personifying it as a mountain when he knew that Babylon lies in the valley? As a rule, Jeremiah's expressions reflect that which he himself saw. Where could he possibly see a volcano? In western Israel there are no active volcanos, but in trans-Jordan, in th...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | Hebrew |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1975
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| In: |
Bet miḳra
Year: 1975, Volume: 21, Issue: 1, Pages: 118-123 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Why did the prophet curse Babylon by personifying it as a mountain when he knew that Babylon lies in the valley? As a rule, Jeremiah's expressions reflect that which he himself saw. Where could he possibly see a volcano? In western Israel there are no active volcanos, but in trans-Jordan, in the Syrian desert and in Midian there are volcanos which were active during the historical period. Volcanic action is reflected in Biblical expressions: The Revelation on Mt. Sinai, (situated in Midian), many chapters in Psalms and in Jeremiah. In the verse under consideration, the prophet mentions the word "mountain" twice, first when he describes the sins of Babylon as he sees its many sins as a big heap, as a mountain of sins; the second time is when he curses Babylon. He conjures up a scene that he saw which impressed itself on his memory, the eruption of a volcano and the massive destruction in its wake. This is what he wishes for Babylon. Therefore we must understand the expression, "I will make thee a burnt mountain" as the Septuagint understood it: "I will make thee as a burnt mountain." |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Bet miḳra
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