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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comKeil and Delitzsch Commentary - Jeremiah 1:13 - 1:13
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The Seething Pot. - Jer 1:13. "And there came to me the word of Jahveh for the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said: I see a seething-pot; and it looketh hither from the north. Jer 1:14. Then said Jahveh to me: From the north will trouble break forth upon all inhabitants of the land. Jer 1:15. For, behold, I call to all families of the kingdoms towards the north, saith Jahveh; that they come and set each his throne before the gates of Jerusalem, and against all her walls round about, and against all cities of Judah. Jer 1:16. And I will pronounce judgment against them for all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have offered odours to other gods, and worshipped the work of their hands." סִיר is a large pot or caldron in which can be cooked vegetables or meat for many persons at once; cf. 2Ki 4:38., Eze 24:3. נָפוּחַ, fanned, blown upon, used of fire, Ezek. 21:36; Eze 22:20.; then by transference, seething, steaming, since the caldron under which fire is fanned steams, its contents boil; cf. Job 41:12. The פָּנִים of the pot is the side turned to the spectator (the prophet), the side towards the front. This is turned from the north this way, i.e., set so that its contents will run thence this way. צָפֹונָה, properly: towards the north; then, that which lies towards the north, or the northerly direction. In the interpretation of this symbol in Jer 1:14, תִּפָּתַח, assonant to נָפוּחַ, is introduced, just as in Amo 8:2 קַיִץ is explained by קֵץ; so that there was no occasion for the conjecture of Houbig. and Graf: תֻּפַּח, it is fanned up; and against this we have Hitzig's objection that the Hophal of נָפַח never occurs. Equally uncalled for is Hitzig's own conjecture, xaw%pt@f, it will steam, fume, be kindled; while against this we have the fact, that as to xpanf no evidence can be given for the meaning be kindled, and that we have no cases of such a mode of speaking as: the trouble is fuming, steaming up. The Arabian poetical saying: their pot steams or boils, i.e., a war is being prepared by them, is not sufficient to justify such a figure. We hold then תִּפָּתַח for the correct reading, and decline to be led astray by the paraphrastic ἐκκαυθήσεται of the lxx, since תִּפָּתַח gives a suitable sense. It is true, indeed, that פָּתַח usually means open; but an opening of the caldron by the removal of the lid is not (with Graf) to be thought of. But, again, פָּתַח has the derived sig. let loose, let off (cf. ,פָּתַח בָּיְ Isa 14:17), from which there can be no difficulty in inferring for the Niph. the sig. be let loose, and in the case of trouble, calamity: break forth. That which is in the pot runs over as the heat increases, and pours itself on the hearth or ground. If the seething contents of the pot represent disaster, their running over will point to its being let loose, its breaking out. are the inhabitants of the land of Judah, as the interpretation in Jer 1:15 shows. In Jer 1:15 reference to the figure is given up, and the further meaning is given in direct statement. The Lord will call to all families of the kingdoms of the north, and they will come (= that they are to come). The kingdoms of the north are not merely the kingdoms of Syria, but in general those of Upper Asia; since all armies marching from the Euphrates towards Palestine entered the land from the north. מִשְׁפָּחֹות, families, are the separate races of nations, hence often used in parallelism with גֹּויִם; cf. Jer 10:25; Nah 3:4. We must not conclude from this explanation of the vision seen that the seething pot symbolizes the Chaldeans themselves or the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar; such a figure would be too unnatural. The seething pot, whose contents boil over, symbolizes the disaster and ruin which the families of the kingdoms of the north will pour out on Judah.