Language:
English
Year of publication:
2020
Titel der Quelle:
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
Angaben zur Quelle:
45,2 (2020) 268-287
Keywords:
Esarhaddon,
;
Bible. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Assyro-Babylonian literature Relation to the Bible
;
Gardens in the Bible
Abstract:
The version of the ‘building and planting’ conceptual pair found in Jeremiah 29:5 differs from the standard trope used elsewhere within the Hebrew Bible; it is the only example in which the object to be planted is a garden (גנה). Awareness of the exilic community’s Mesopotamian context potentially illuminates this alteration, as two mutually inclusive historical factors could have influenced the change. Jeremiah’s exhortation could account for the community’s agricultural context. By planting gardens, the exiles participated in the shift toward horticulture during the long 6th century and contributed to the שלום of the region. Alternatively, Jeremiah 29:5 shares language with royal inscriptions of Esarhaddon. This proposed connection builds upon previous explorations of references to a 70-year exile elsewhere in both texts. The plausibility of the latter option would lend support to the literary coherence of Jeremiah 29:5–14, while the former suggests a 6th century provenance for the passage.
DOI:
10.1177/0309089219882446
URL:
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