Abstract
Commentaries on Jeremiah 8:18-23 generally recognize that this celebrated passage represents a cohesive lament over the destruction facing Judah. Exegesis of the passage has been impaired, however, by the opacity of the lament’s opening verse and particularly of its initial word, a notorious crux interpretum. In this article, the word is analyzed in light of the Akkadian noun balaggu. As a result, the article offers a new reading of the verse and explores the Mesopotamian cultural influences that appear to have been at work upon the composition of the lament.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 587-604 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Journal of Biblical Literature |
Volume | 138 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2019 |
Keywords
- babylonian scribal culture, cryptography, acrostic, anagram, akkadian loanwords, oral and visual wordplay, babylonian priestly lamentation