תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

with the rural inhabitants in the enjoyment of peace and plenty. The verse is made up of stock phrases, displaying none of the creative capacity of vv. 1-3; cf. 1 K. 425 2 K. 1831 Zc. 310 Is. 172 Je. 3010 4627 Ez. 3428 Zp. 313 Na. 211 Lv. 26°.-For the mouth of Yahweh of hosts hath spoken it] A concluding phrase commonly employed to attest the divine origin of a prophecy; cf. Is. 120 405 5814.-5. Though all the peoples walk each in the name of his God, yet we will walk in the name of Yahweh, our God, for ever and ever] This is the utterance of a practical man who realises the visionary character of the foregoing ideal and seeks to establish connection with things as they are. Instead of one universal religion, it is tot gentes quot dei. But even so, and even should it always be so, Israel will remain faithful and true to Yahweh through endless time. The expression 'walk in the name of' is not elsewhere used; but it clearly means here that yielding of a hearty allegiance and obedience to the divine will spoken of in v. as 'walking in his laws.' It is fanciful to find here a contrast between the loyal obedience of the nations to their gods and the defective honouring of Yahweh by the majority of his people;* or between the eternal 'walking' of Israel and the 'walking' of the heathen which is not eternal.† This verse is certainly not from the writer of vv. 1-3 or of v. 1; for the general point of view of v. is identical with that of vv. 1-3, while that of v. 5 is wholly different. The writer of vv. 1-3 lived wholly in the future; v. 5 is vividly conscious of the discordant present, and can only express Israel's determination to be true to her highest ideals at any cost. What is here expressed as a firm decision is found in Is. 25 as an exhortation. The two verses are evidently closely related, but on which side the dependence lies is wholly uncertain.

יהיה .1 נכון—.cle

...

4

The subj. clause lacks an introductory partiLate usage; Ges. 116-vby] Literally, upon it; stronger than N, Is. 22.-2. 12] Including the speaker, Kö. §3448.— apy 7] The only occurrence of this title in the book of Micah; so also 'as in v. ^.—x37] If fut. it belongs in mouth of the prophet; but better taken as present of an existing fact.-3. D] Found only in 1 S. 1320. Jo. 410; the latter sheds no light upon the meaning; in the former the list of agricultural implements begins with an, plough* Contra Ry.. + Contra Pont.

share, hence it is unlikely that n carries the same meaning; it is probable also that in 2 K. 6 - should read 'n ry and be rendered "the axe of iron." renders by aporpov, plough, except in 1 S. 1320, where the indefinite axeûos, tool, appears.

89. The Doom of Exile and a Promise of Restoration (46-10).

This section reflects a period when Jerusalem was in imminent danger from an invader. It foretells capture and exile as the inevitable outcome of the situation, but hastens to assuage the grief by the declaration that Yahweh will intervene, bringing deliverance from captivity and restoration to the home-land. It can be treated as a unit only by transposing vv. 9. 10 to precede vv. 6-8; v. i.. Str. I pictures Israel's bitter suffering and gently satirises the futility of human leaders. Str. II declares that even greater calamity is coming, but that Yahweh will thereupon deliver Israel from its foes. Str. III announces that Yahweh will then gather together the exiles. Str. IV promises their re-establishment as a mighty nation under Yahweh as their eternal king. Str. V reaches the climax with the assurance that Jerusalem will be restored as the nation's capital.

WHEREFORE, now, dost thou cry so loud?

Is there no king in thee,

Or, has thy counsellor perished,

That agony has seized thee like one in childbirth?

WRITHE and bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like one in childbirth.

For now thou must go forth from the city and dwell in the field,

And go to Babylon; there shalt thou be rescued.

There Yahweh will redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

IN that day, it is the oracle of Yahweh,

I will gather the halt,

And the outcast I will assemble,

And her whom I have afflicted.

AND I will make the halt a remnant,

And her that was sick a strong nation.

And Yahweh will be king over them in Mount Zion.

From now on even forever.

AND thou, O tower of the flock,

Height of the daughter of Zion,

Unto thee will come the first dominion;

Yea, there will come the kingdom of the house of Israel.

The prevailing measure in this section is trimeter, but there are many variations. Str. II is in the rhythm of the dirge. Though the metre is on the whole very broken, the parall. is clear and furnishes the only safe guide to the length of lines and the formation of strs.. Siev.'s arrangement in three strs. of 3+3+2 seven-tone lines ignores this guidance, as is evident from the fact that no any (v. 9) appears in the middle of one of his strs., and even of one of his lines, instead of starting a new line and str. as it clearly must. In the present arrangement, vv. 9. 10 are placed before vv. 6-8 in response to the demands of the logic. They furnish the presuppositions requisite to the understanding of the message of vv. 6-8. The resulting movement of thought is clear and straightforward throughout the piece. It seems unnecessary to assign vv. 6-8 and 9.10 to different authors and periods as has been done by Kue., We., Volz, Now., Marti, Hpt., et al.. As here arranged, vv. 9. 10 furnish the necessary preparation for vv. 6-8. The order of events becomes perfectly natural-downfall of Jerusalem, exile, deliverance, restoration to power. The date of the prophecy cannot be definitely determined, but it would seem to have originated in the dark days just prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 597 or 586 B.C.. Those who claim vv. 9. 10 for Micah (Kue., et al.) are under the necessity of excising "and thou shalt go to Babylon" (v. 10), but this phrase is demanded by the poetic form of v. 1o, and is, furthermore, in harmony with the background of the whole section. In support of the period suggested by this phrase may be urged the advanced stage in the conception of the 'remnant' (v. i.), the significance of the phrase "tower of the flock" (v. i.), and the general Messianic tone of the passage. The only serious alternative to this date is suggested by the not altogether unlikely view that this is a vaticinium post eventum (so We., Marti; but v. i.), in which case a period after Deutero-Isaiah and the return may be sought.

6. ON] Siev. om..—7] the distant ones; similarly T.—ny¬¬¬xi] kal oûs ȧnwσáμny. Now. om.; so Siev.; cf. Zp. 3. Ro., Elh. N

,ואשיב א' הר'.Du איטיב Gr. adds וְהִרְעֵתִי and points אשר .K. 13mom .'

=

et eam

—7. a8baını] Rd., with We., ; so Now., Marti, Gu., Du.. quae laboraverat ; so Stei., Gr., OortEm., Hpt.. A kal Thy ȧwoμévηv. Siev. n.— ] Perhaps a marg. n.; cf. £'s addition of and in Jerusalem.-8. ] The Vrss. have confused this with spr; so Ag. σκοτώδης; « αὐχμώδης; Η nebulosa; Σ ἀπόκρυφος; Τ pp; dark.-nar] Ry. om. as gloss upon 2; so Taylor, Pont, Du..N] Tr., with Ro., to precede noon; so Elh., Now., OortEm., Marti. Hpt. om. as gloss on aan.—nobar] Cod. Kenn. 4 om.. Marti, pp. 6 adds ex Baßuxŵvos.—chwin› nab] Rd., foll. We., Now., Du. ba¬w› nah. Cod. Reuch. of T offers ↳ for b. OortEm., Siev. and Gu. om. na.-9. nny] Siev. and Gu. om..-] 6 kyvws xaká =y? y¬7. doest thou evil, taking vb. as Hiph. of and reading as obj.,

with 6.1 moerore contraheris, deriving vb. from II. connectest thou thyself with peoples.—73y1] Œ ǹ Bouλý σov; so also in Pr. II" Is. 95. S T pl..—10. mai ibin] 6 åölve kal åvôpíšov kal ěyyıše, of which dvoplov is to be taken, with Ry., as a duplicate rendering of which was wrongly connected with ; while eyyige represents a confusion of n with 's rendering of corresponds to C's ȧvôpíčov. GAL and codd. 87, 91, 97, 228, 310, SH om. κal ěyyɩše. 'n' is rendered by I, satage; Ty. Elh. and Che.CB; cf. Je. 4831. HWB.15 p; cf Is. 4214; so Now., Gu.. Pont, nn. Gr. and Martin).

[ocr errors]

SO GA S.-1] adds ỏ @ebs σov.

Several codd. of Kenn. ;

Str. I, in good trimeter, brings out through three questions the desperate situation in which Israel now finds itself.-9. Wherefore, now, dost thou cry so loud?] Jerusalem is on the verge of a siege apparently, or already besieged. The anguish of the cry is to be inferred from the last line of this str.. The person addressed is "the daughter of Zion" (v. 10). Now is not temporal, but logical; it lends a tone of expostulation to the question.-Is there no king in thee, or has thy counsellor perished?] The confusion and terror in the city are so great, it would seem that no ruler was present (cf. Ho. 1310). The term 'counsellor,' used of the Messiah in Is. 9o, is here a synonym for 'king,' rather than a collective for citizens pre-eminently wise (cf. Is. 363). The common meaning of the root in Assy. is advise, counsel. For a similar question, cf. Je. 81o. This question does not imply the actual absence of a king, involving a postexilic date for the passage, but is ironical and derisive. Of what use is it to trust in those who cannot help? Marti considers Yahweh to be the king here mentioned, but this is an interpretation made necessary by his view that the passage is postexilic.* That agony has seized thee like one in childbirth ?] A figure frequently employed as the most vivid description of physical pain; cf. Je. 624 2223.

Str. II, with a change from trimeter to the dirge movement so well adapted to the contents of the str., announces the climax of calamity, but only as a background for a message of hope.-10.

* Cf. Sellin, Serubbabel, 67 ff., who, though accepting the postexilic origin of these verses, still insists that a human monarch is meant, and so seeks to posit a short period of monarchy under Zerubbabel; but in Studien zur Entstehungsgeschichte der jüdischen Gemeinde, II, 174 fl., this view is in part abandoned.

9. 10

Writhe and bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like one in childbirth] The figure in the previous line (v. 9) is here taken up and enlarged upon. Having ironically inquired in Str. I why Jerusalem abandons herself to grief, the prophet here in all seriousness says, 'thou hast good reason to agonise.'-For now thou must go forth from the city and dwell in the field] i. e. from the protection of the walled city into the open country, exposed to inclement weather, wild beasts, and hostile armies. For exit from the city as denoting surrender, cf. Is. 3618 2 K. 242. Now, i. e. in a little while, soon; cf. 7. 10 Am. 6'.-And go to Babylon] Those who would retain vv. for Micah are forced to regard this phrase as an interpolation,* for it is unlikely that Micah had the Babylonian captivity before his mind. Israel's enemy in Micah's age was Assyrian, and Babylon was playing a subordinate part. It is clear also from chs. 1-3 that Micah expected the doom of Judah to follow close upon that of Samaria, and Je. 2618 f. shows that the time for the fulfilment of Micah's prediction there cited was regarded as being long past in Jeremiah's day. The force of these objections to the phrase is not overcome by the suggestion that Babylon is representative of the Assyrian empire as being one of its most powerful kingdoms, nor by the fact that Sargon transported some of the population of Babylonia to northern Israel (2 K. 1724), and may therefore be supposed to have put Israelites in their places, thus suggesting to Micah a destination for Judah's exiles. Micah and contemporary prophets were occupied with Assyria, the world-power of the eighth century B.C.. But all that goes to show this phrase to be of late origin is evidence for the late date of the verse in which it stands, for the verse is incomplete without this clause which is essential both to form and content. It is the only satisfactory antecedent to the following there, which cannot go back to the elusive and indefinite field. There shalt thou be rescued; there will Yahweh redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies] The thought that deliverance from the foe would be accomplished in Babylonia and that this was but the first step in the coming of the Messianic glory

*So e. g. Oort, Kue., WRS. Proph., de Goeje, Now., Nö., Pont, GASM..

† So e. g. We., Marti, Du.; cf. van H., who retains the context as the utterance of Micah, but relegates v. 10 as a whole to a later period. Du. likewise makes v. 10 a still later addition to vv. 6-9 which are themselves late.

« הקודםהמשך »